Reneé Redden-Somoza, Houston actress and co-owner of RedFan Films, was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Her hobbies include writing, cooking, working out and spending time with her son, Sebastian.
This Houstonian was just finishing her degree in communications at Sam Houston State University when a magazine editor discovered her. Then it took only a matter of months before Renée Redden was a well-known fitness idol in Houston. She taught aerobics classes that drew huge crowds. She wrote columns on fitness that locals studied and sampled. She was a force in the newly developing world of aerobics-to-music that was stampeding across the country. Fortunately, Renée realized early on that for the best results, women needed weight training as part of their fitness regimens. She promoted that idea and followed it religiously until her own fitness level became legendary in Houston. So it came as no surprise to anyone when she began competing and placing consistently in the top five in local, national and international Ms. Fitness competitions.
"I love all the adventure I have lived," Renée says. "I feel so lucky I've been able to accomplish so many things I wanted to do in my career. I just began to know in recent years that more than anything I wanted to be in the entertainment business even though I knew I would have to fight having a southern lilt."
From her early years, the cornerstone of Renée's existence has been exercise. "Basically, my life as been about fitness," she says. "As a kid, I was a shy tomboy... I devoured books about girls from other cultures and would always picture myself as the heroine of the story." "I was incredibly interested in physicality," she recalls. "From the time I was eleven until age sixteen, I jumped rope every night for thirty minutes after dinner." She laughs. "My parents thought I was crazy, but I loved my mom's cooking so I had to find a way to maintain my weight."
Soon she was working for Houston Health & Fitness Magazine as an advertising executive. The job meant she had to network far and wide and develop a high profile, and in doing so, she honed numerous skills -- marketing, public relations, sales, and management. Thrust into the job of hosting a Mr. and Ms. Health & Fitness Competition, Reneé discovered yet another gift--she was a witty and talented emcee. "I began emceeing local bodybuilding competitions around town and eventually entered one," she says. "I got 'ripped' for the show and decided that the unfeminine look of bodybuilders was not what I wanted, so I then entered the Ms. Fitness USA the second year it was held."
Thanks to her beautiful, toned body, Reneé won fourth place in the nation and then went on to compete in Ms. Fitness Universe. There she won Best Physique and met Arnold Schwarzenegger, who awarded the trophy.
Renee began working for MET-Rx Engineered Foods as their spokesperson. In that capacity, she met Sly Stallone, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and Cher...all MET-Rx fans. MET-Rx founder Dr. Scott Connelly networked constantly, and he was glad when Sly, Clint and Cher began asking about Reneé. Reneé and Dr. Connelly visited the home of Clint Eastwood at his office at MalPaso Studios several times. Eastwood often inquired about Reneé. When Reneé accompanied Connelly to Cher's home, the award-winning actress and singer quizzed her about fitness. "Cher wanted to know how I managed to keep such a feminine physique while staying lean, "Reneé says. "She asked me to train her, but I lived in Houston and she was in Malibu so that wasn't possible."
Reneé got to know Stallone. "Sly and I kept in touch by phone for about six months after that, but I never dated him because I was too intimidated to meet him alone in person."
Next Reneé began taking acting classes because she loved the film world. "They were just normal people concerned with taking care of themselves like the rest of us," she says. "I thought, if they can do this, why can't I?
Inspired to succeed, Reneé moved to Los Angeles and trained under Tom Todoroff for eight months. She then attended Beverly Hills Playhouse and trained under Gary Imhoff for seven months. But fate changed the script; Reneé found out she was pregnant. "I announced my pregnancy to the acting class and said I was moving back to Houston to be with my husband and family," she says. "Gary Imhoff made me promise that I would get back into classes and get an agent after my son was born." I had every intention of doing that, but my heart was not into acting because it was all into my baby. I did get back into Deke Anderson's classes at Next Level Acting in Houston, but then stopped.
A few years ago Reneé's son was actually the one who got her back on track. "He told me that I should get back into acting because that seemed to make me happiest. I took his advice and made a goal for myself for 2015. That was to produce a short film, with parts for my son and me. The movie, co-produced with Welling Films and my own film company, RedFan Films, will be released on April 10, 2016" Her son, Sebastian Somoza, now fourteen and an actor, appears in the film.
The Blimp Trap is a sweet true story set in the 70's about two children who are on a quest to capture the Goodyear Blimp, explains Reneé, who plans to produce another film in 2016. "My mission is to create and act in films that touch the human spirit and create awareness about the importance of love and good will for humanity and our planet," she says.
"My family has been very supportive. I'm driven to have a film career, and they get that. I'm at a point in my life right now that I know what I want, and that's a great feeling."
