Believe in Possible: How One Mount Olive Woman Chased Her L.A. Dreams

Imagine the phrase “living the dream,” and you might picture Bianca Roman’s life today: an apartment in Los Angeles, acting credits that include two major TV shows, a contract with a pop R&B girl group, and opportunity around every corner.

It’s a life she wouldn’t have pictured years ago.

Roman originally planned on a much different career. She graduated from Rutgers Newark in 2019 with a degree in criminal justice and international affairs. Then, intent on having different experiences before settling down for a nine-to-five job, she moved to Madrid to teach English abroad. After a delay in paperwork, she arrived in Spain– two months before COVID shut the country down.

Luckily, Roman was able to return to the States before the lockdown on international travel. She took jobs in different COVID testing labs, and time passed without an overarching sense of purpose.

By spring of 2022, Roman felt listless and unmotivated. “I didn't like the vision of where I saw my life going,” says the now 25-year-old Mount Olive native. “And one thing about me: I don't want to live with regrets.”

Plagued by stagnation and a fear of complacency, Roman found her mind returning to a conversation she’d had back in November 2021, when she met a former coworker for brunch.

The former coworker had recently moved to L.A. “I always wanted to go to L.A.,” Roman says. “It always sat in the back of my heart… I want to be in the arts. And she's like, there's so many opportunities to do it.”

Roman sat with her growing urge to leave NJ behind and follow her interest in the arts– what she calls her “silent desire of the heart.” In February 2022, she met with a psychic and asked her the question that had bothered her for months: should she take a leap of faith and move to L.A.?

The psychic laid down the cards and replied: “It would be in your best interest.”

With no background in acting or music, the decision to change her life looked impractical. But in Roman’s words: “I don’t believe in practical. I believe in possible. If it’s possible, you can do it.”

In July 2022, Roman packed her things and hit the road for California.

“I had pure will and just pure drive to make this thing happen,” she says. “I have this belief that once you start in the direction of where you want to go or where you feel is correct for you, even if you don't have all the answers beforehand, you still have to go down that path for everything to start falling into place.”

Once Roman reached L.A., everything did fall into place. She found a roommate, made her own headshots in her new apartment using ring lights and an iPhone, and began applying for acting gigs on casting call websites.

The first gig she landed was a background position on the Amazon Prime show “Bosch: Legacy.”

How long did it take for Roman to land this first role?

“Maybe two weeks,” she says.

The next gig came in September: a two-day shoot for “NCIS.” “I had so much fun on that one,” Roman says. The shoot allowed her to talk with the crew and other actors, who were amazed that she’d landed two roles so quickly. In the show’s final cut, Roman is the most visible person in a crowd scene that places her front and center.

The fall of 2022 brought new opportunities. First, Roman was invited to participate in the game show “Let’s Make a Deal” as part of their Mega Money Mondays series. Roman played– and won $10,000.

“I was like, oh my God, no way!” she recalls. “Because at this point, I burned through almost all my savings. And during this whole time I was probably the brokest I've ever been, very close to what I was in college. The brokest I've ever been, but the happiest I've ever been.”

Then, in October, Roman saw a casting call for singers in a pop R&B girl group.  “I had also always wanted to be a singer,” she says. “I never thought I was good enough and very insecure for that reason. But that's also why I came out here: because it was like, we're going to try it all.”

Bianca Roman with a signed record deal for JBVOA.

 She submitted a recording, went to two auditions, and landed the role. The five-woman group is called JBVOA, named for the first initial of each group member. They’re contracted to produce an EP as well as a full-length album. They’re also planning to open for another artist on his tour this summer.

Life has been a whirlwind for Roman, who looks forward to acting classes later this spring while working on her music with JBVOA. Her friends back in NJ are amazed. “They're like, how did you manage this in such a short period of time?” Roman says. “And I was like, I have no idea. Literally by the grace of God.”

Roman hopes that her story can inspire others. “I want other people to know that that little feeling that they feel inside of what they really want to do, that’s silent but it doesn't shut up, is there for a reason,” she says. “God doesn't put these desires in your head and your heart without also giving you the tools to accomplish them. And most people have more tools in their toolbox than they lead themselves to believe.”

Follow Bianca’s adventures on Instagram at @biancaroman2.