I think the biggest challenge in my life came when I was in eighth grade, around 12 or 13 years old. I have talked about this in other interviews, but it was 100% the pivotal point in my life. When I was in eighth grade, I went to a party for the first time. I was not ‘cool’. I was that girl that no one wanted to sit next to at lunch. I was picked last for all the gym teams. And I hated school for very good reasons. 

I put on makeup for the first time and switched to a different junior high. Suddenly I was seen as the pretty girl in this new school. I didn't understand it and I was surprised. I was used to being the loser - being called "loser," to my face. All of a sudden, I was the pretty new girl and I didn't know what to do with that.

Some friends I grew up with are in prison. A lot of them never stopped doing drugs and ended up going down very dark paths. For whatever reason, I didn't. I found a way out of what was supposed to be my path. My ending.

A girl that I had befriended invited me to a party to show off my new look. When I arrived at the party, it was her boyfriend and five other guys but I didn't think much of it. Again, I was 12 or 13 years old. They handed me a bottle of whiskey, and I had never drunk in my life. They had me taking big swigs of whiskey because that's what they were doing. Then they handed me a bong, and again, I had never smoked pot in my life either. I inhaled the bong like they showed me and the last thing I remember is taking another drink of whiskey and blacking out. 

However, long later, I “woke up” for a second. I was on a bed naked surrounded by all these guys, they were laughing. I remember desperately trying to get up, and one of these guys coming towards me… also naked. I either couldn't get up or was pushed back down and blacked out again. The next memory I have is being on the sidewalk in the dead of winter in Chicago, being kicked by one of these guys who was saying “Get up bitch” but of course, I couldn’t. They dumped me at the back of the police station. Somehow my father picked me up and I woke up in my own bed. It was night and I knew something awful had happened. 

In addition to all this, I had also gotten hit by a car, so I was out of school for a couple of days. I had a sling on my arm. It was a whole ordeal, and I remember not knowing how to keep going.

To make a very long story short, that was a pivotal turning point in my life, and it changed me profoundly. I couldn't escape, and unfortunately, in this town, outside of Chicago, everyone blamed me. It became “Did you hear about that girl who slept with all those guys?” as opposed to, “Did you hear about that girl who had been raped?” My parents blamed me and I was grounded for 6 months, they were dealing with their own issues and either just didn’t know or it was too much for them. The police came and asked me if I wanted to press charges, but by that point, I was too scared and too beaten down to even think I was a victim so I didn't. I just wanted to escape and I just wanted it all to end.

I fell into acting by complete accident. I had these emotions and raw energy bubbling at the surface - I was so angry and could cry or scream at any moment. Having those emotions right at the surface, ended up making me a very good actor because I could tap into them and find an excuse to let them out.

From then on, I was faced with a choice: succumb or survive. It eventually turned me into a fighter because I wanted to survive. I did. I fought hard for that survival for a very long time, and unfortunately or fortunately, it shaped me into who I am today. 

I have leveraged those experiences. I know what it feels like to be beaten down. I know what it feels like to not know how to go on, how to get up in the morning and keep pushing. I just wanted to hide for the rest of my life. 

Years later, I fell into acting by complete accident. I had these emotions and raw energy bubbling at the surface - I was so angry and could cry or scream at any moment. Having those emotions right at the surface, ended up making me a very good actor because I could tap into them and find an excuse to let them out. I was fortunate to turn a big, giant negative into a positive and use those experiences to make me the actor I am today.

Marisol Nichols

It made me look around at normal life and all the kids I grew up with who had a 'normal' upbringing. I wondered why they had a normal upbringing and I didn’t. I always tried to make sense of life because you don't end up where I did in eighth grade without some kind of background - and I had one. Without going into more details, there was a lot that happened to get me to that point in eighth grade and that party.  I grew up thinking there was something wrong with me, that I was different from everybody else, I had concluded that I was just bad. Because of this, I wasn't afraid to question ‘normal society,’ especially as I grew up and got out of that environment. 

I shouldn't have become an actor in Hollywood. I shouldn’t have made it out of my circumstances. Some friends I grew up with are in prison. A lot of them never stopped doing drugs and ended up going down very dark paths. For whatever reason, I didn't. I found a way out of what was supposed to be my path. My ending. This made me question, look around and understand that there are plenty of ways to survive, succeed and follow your passion. You don't have to follow the ‘normal’ way. And no one and nothing dictates who you are or what you will become. It’s your choice and your decision.

There are plenty of ways to survive, succeed and follow your passion. You don't have to follow the ‘normal’ way. And no one and nothing dictates who you are or what you will become. It’s your choice and your decision.

I didn't go to college. I wasn't the popular kid; I wasn't any of that. Yet somehow, I made it to Hollywood and found a path that led me away from what I was supposed to become. Now, I have founded my own nonprofit focusing on combating human trafficking. I strive to make a difference in children's lives because it's so much harder now than when I was a kid, despite what I experienced. Nowadays, kids have to worry about predators on the internet and being taken and sold to strangers for sex. It's astonishing that children have to worry about that today. Having been a troubled kid myself, I know that they are the ideal targets of these predators.

Since founding my nonprofit, I have been fortunate enough to work alongside law enforcement to find these predators, help take them down and bring them to justice. Additionally, I also started a podcast to spread the word and hopefully reach other troubled teens and kids and their parents. I hope to use the podcast to not just enlighten these kids on what to look out for so they don’t fall into the hands of predators but also to let them know their worth. I want them to understand that they have done nothing wrong if they have ever encountered abuse or invalidation to the degree that I experienced in my life.

I would say one of the things that I am proud of is turning my life around. I did a lot of drugs when I was younger as a way of coping with everything that happened. When I was 17 years old, I looked around and realised that if I didn’t stop, I would end up in prison or dead.  So, I stopped. Because of that decision, I found acting, a way out and pursued that passion. I suppose that has made me very proud. I didn't allow the circumstances handed to me to shape who I turned out to be. I forged my own path.

As a single mom,  I am now most proud of raising my beautiful, amazing, 15-year-old daughter in a way that she never has to experience what I went through. I am hopefully raising her to feel protected, safe, and loved, to know her worth and that there's at least one person in the world who is looking out for her, who has her back, and whom she can turn to for the rest of her life if she ever needs anything.

I suppose I am a Disruptor because I didn't let what was handed to me dictate who I am. In today's world, there's a lot of pressure to label people as victims. I hate the word "victim." There's this trend of saying "my abuser." Why would you ever give someone who treated you like crap that much power, that much ownership over you? I don't understand it. So I suppose what makes me a Disruptor is fighting back, challenging the status quo, and refusing to let anything dictate who I am or how I live my life. 

I like making a difference in the world. I like fighting back against those who would prey on the vulnerable. I like helping and protecting others. I hope that by sharing a bit of my past, I've made a difference in others' lives, showing that you don't have to be what anyone else says you are. You can be whatever you want to be. Don't let anyone ever get the best of you. You decide who you are, you choose your own path, and you decide who you're going to be.

Marisol Nichols, actress and humanitarian, has been working in film and television since her breakout role as Audrey Griswold. On the small screen, Marisol has been seen on numerous television series, most recently as Hermione Lodge on The CW’s highly-rated, RIVERDALE. On the big screen, Marisol just completed the romantic comedy; WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER OR FALL for Paramount Pictures opposite Jenna Ortega, due out in 2024. Marisol can also be seen in Hulu’s THE VALET opposite Eugenio Derbez and Lions Gate’s SPIRAL opposite Sam Jackson and Chris Rock. 

On the humanitarian front, Marisol’s work on combatting sex & human trafficking led her to create the Marisol Nichols Podcast; The Hollywood Vigilante, which explores and highlights several of Marisol’s undercover Ops as well as guests to help educate all and shine a spotlight on Sex Trafficking, Sex predators and how to keep yourself and loved ones safe. Marisol also created her non-profit, Foundation for a Slavery Free World where she focuses on broad-reaching dissemination and education campaigns to prevent women and children from ever falling into the hands of, “True Monsters.” 

In a combination of both her TV/Film work and humanitarian efforts, Sony Pictures Television recently bought the rights to her life story and is adapting it to a film starring Nichols.