The Virtuoso Life of Rebecca Wang 29 Aug 2013
The Virtuoso Life of Rebecca Wang
In a six page interview given in the latest issue of Hollywood Weekly magazine, Rebecca Wang provides the most insightful account of herself to date, creating a kaleidoscopic portrait which covers the early formative influences and interests in her life, her passions, values and belief systems, sources of motivation and the broadest definitions of her aims, and by no means inconsiderable achievements.
Whether describing her work life route from academic success at a prestigious US university, through personal development and learning as a practicing psychotherapist, on to her first cinematic creation as an executive Hollywood producer working with a cast of A-list Oscar nominees and BAFTA winner, or sharing a modest insight for her inimitable star quality appearance and bearing, or in showing the dedication which she brings to her philanthropic work, Rebecca reveals herself to be a multifaceted very special person of many talents, who brings a highly intelligent and hands on approach along with an appreciative, compassionate and respectful attitude, to both mankind and life, and all that they bring.
Her early years were spent in Asia, but later living in the US and Europe along with yearly family international travel when young provided “a whole new set of experiences”, which she found “not only exciting but very rewarding”, and which have left her with an enduring love of travel, and also a practice of behaving open-mindedly and compassionately to all people, no matter where they are from.
Her life has been and is a continuous journey, both personally and professionally. In the interview she acknowledges the different ingredients that have formed her: how the practice of sport, ballet and piano when young honed the qualities of focus, discipline and patience; how, always trusting her intuition to take her to the right path, she chose to study clinical psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, practicing psychotherapy in leading institutions.
Her recognition of the healing role of the arts in therapy was the stepping stone to move towards the active role of creation in the film industry. She acknowledges that this move, which may seem for many to have been a seismic shift, was a huge challenge, describing it as: ”an achievement and also a major learning curve”, chief personal mastery among which for her personally was to break through her own fears and limitations.
Her primary driving force and what motivates her the most remains the ability to create, “to see and to watch an idea grow and develop from nothing into a finished entity”, along with the privilege of being “able to experience and develop or learn from that complete process”.
Rebecca lives her life fully: a huge desire for and love of the arts translates into active support for the film and TV charity BAFTA, and world class museums and art galleries in London. Beyond the arts, her philanthropy, which she views as a universal human attribute -she feels that each and every one of us can make a difference, is directed towards the realm of health and humanitarian issues, most notably the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) where she has acted as sponsor and chair to some of their renowned Inspiration Galas held world-wide.
With a reputation of always appearing elegant, calm and composed when at special events, Rebecca credits her own regular practice of meditation or yoga before any such occasion as possibly contributing to the serene aura around her in any of the accompanying photos.
She shows no hint of complacency: when asked about her accomplishments she explains that she never feels as if she is atop a mountain of impressive achievements, since there is always a natural human urge to strive further. Asked to define the greatest obstacles she had to overcome when making the film, she is pragmatic in her response, saying that, much the same as in any other work, this centered on the ability to overcome each obstacle as it occurred on a daily basis.
Crucial in her approach to living are the values she judges as important: honesty, integrity, respect and loyalty. The choice of lotus flower as her company’s logo with its symbolism of growing through difficulties towards the light underlines the morality she incorporates into all that she does.
With this life position, it more than probable that whatever new possibilities are next likely to present, Rebecca will render them as brilliant as everything else she has touched to date through the working of her own unique alchemy.
View Rebecca Wang’s full Hollywood Weekly Interview here.