1. Healthy Habits From Childhood
Zea grew up with healthy habits as a lifestyle. “I grew up in a family with nine chiropractors—both parents, both maternal grandparents, an uncle, a cousin and three stepdads—so I was ensconced in a sea of wellness, well before it became popular for the masses,” she says. “For me, eating healthy, choosing natural remedies first, and maintaining physical strength and harmony have been ingrained in me since birth, so I guess what wellness means to me is continuing to use what I learned in childhood about how to maintain a healthy mind and body even when it feels like more work than I have the energy for!”
2. Alternative Treatments
Shutterstock
Zea tried alternative treatments to cope with the symptoms of COVID-19. “I got the really bad version—not the ‘it’s just a cold’ version—so I threw everything at it,” she says. “I did IV vitamin infusions, Ayurvedic head massage, Shirodhara, acupuncture, which I do regularly anyway, and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. It took me about three-to-four weeks to recover, but once I was well, I was WELL. I can’t help but think all the voodoo worked!”
3. Hard Work and Good Luck
Shutterstock
Zea is aware of how hard work and luck combined led to her success. “I've been so fortunate. When I started, I had a really hard time getting work,” she says. “It was the mid- to late-nineties. There was the WB. My age was perfect for it, but I just never came across as a youngster. I had to grow into my age in order to start working, and by the time I did, it was when things started to get good.”
4. Professional Beauty Tips
Shutterstock
Zea has learned plenty about beauty and makeup from being on set. “Our makeup team uses top-quality stuff,” she says. “Chanel and Tom Ford and very high-end Australian brands. For my hair, we live for K18—it helps undo all the damage from the elements. The character may be a mess, but they always make sure she’s a pretty mess.”
5. Not a One-Trick Pony
Zea prides herself on spanning several different genres. “I've actually done a lot of comedy,” she says. “I think especially when you're on TV, once you become associated with one genre or the other, it's near impossible to break into the other one, even if you have experience with both. I was in a meeting a couple years ago at CBS, and I expressed interest in comedy and everyone looked at me like I had two heads. And I couldn't understand why, and one of the guys said, ‘You know, you're everyone's go-to drama girl.’ And I said, ‘That's lovely and flattering, but I also went to acting school.’ I'm not a one-trick pony.”
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
