Interview with Samara Lee, Annabelle actress and Junior Miss Tar Heel State Cosmos

This Queenly TeaTalk is one for the books! Samara Lee is not only a pageant queen, but a famous horror actress! She is the reigning Junior Miss Tar Heel State Cosmos and is best known for her roles in the Annabelle series. Most importantly, she’s a member of the Queenly Royalty program! Join us as we chat with Samara about all things pageantry, acting, and our ambassador program!

K: Absolutely! And speaking of being an ambassador, we are so happy to have you as one of our Queenly Royalty! For people who might not know about it yet, Queenly Royalty is an ambassador program where Queenly partners up with teens and young adults, just like you, who have a passion for fashion and sustainability. So, why did you want to join the Queenly Royalty program?

S: When I first downloaded Queenly after I saw it on Tik Tok and I was like ‘this is literally perfect for me!’ I love the message that Queenly is trying to send because you don’t always have to get your clothes at full price. And some people who want to enter the pageant industry can’t afford all of these very expensive brands that can cost around $700 for a dress. Queenly gives you the opportunity to buy clothes from your sister queens and then you can pass it along for half the price.

K: As someone who competes in pageants too, I’ve totally been there before. Budgets can be so tight when it comes to your wardrobe! We have evening gown, interview- all these different areas of competition that we have to shop for. Do you have a favorite type of outfit that you love shopping for when it comes to pageantry?

S: Well, as I’m wearing right now, pretty much anything pink! I love pink so much, especially neon pink, so any time I see something pink and it’s in my size, I’m gonna buy it.

K: Girl, I totally feel that! Pink is my favorite color too! I love Queenly because like you mentioned, you’re able to find things that are specific to what you like. I love playing with the filters- I can put in my size, favorite colors, the styles I like and it finds me the perfect picks!

S: For real! Queenly really does have everything! I mean, every time you search there’s so much to choose from!

K: Right! It just sucks me in and I can spend hours scrolling and shopping, but I won’t really complain about that! So, let’s chat a bit about acting! I think it’s so cool that you act as well. Why don’t you tell us a bit about that!

K: I love hearing that because sisterhood is one of my favorite parts of pageantry and it’s incredible that you can get those relationships in other industries as well. Is there anything that you’ve acted in that’s particularly exciting?

S: Yes! So most of y’all probably know me from the Annabelle movies, I was in those. I would say playing Annabelle is where most of my fans know me from. I was in both Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Home.

K: It seems like your favorite movies that you’ve acted in are horror movies. Do you also like watching them?”

K: You have way more guts than me! I will say I’m not a fan of horror movies, but oddly enough, the Annabelle films are some of the few that I’ve watched. I went to go see the original with my best friend in the theatres because she actually loves horror movies! The Conjuring is actually my favorite horror film so it didn’t take much convincing to see Annabelle. I hope that you’re able to get back into acting soon and land whichever role you want! Speaking of that- what would be your dream role?

S: That is such a great question! I would say anything that I can be a lead in that’s very, very scary because I love to scare people. I’m not a Disney type girl even though all my friends all tell me ‘you should be on Disney Channel,’ I’m not that type of person. I love to scare your socks off!

K: I love that! You’re definitely one of the spookiest pageant queens! Speaking of pageantry, you have a national competition coming up. Is there anything that you’re really looking forward to?

K: You’re going to rock it! I can already feel the confidence when you talk about your evening gown and that’s one of the biggest things during the evening gown competition. Having the judges say ‘wow, she is owning it- the gown isn’t wearing her she’s wearing that gown!’ It’s so exciting that you’re going into the pageant feeling so confident about your evening gown! So, is there anything about the Cosmos pageant that makes it unique?

S: I think the past two years they’ve added something called the Runway competition. Last year, we had a designer custom make all of these really cool corsets and skirts and then we wore them on the runway. This year, we have a really big sponsor who is sponsoring our shirts for that and it’s a more laid back look. We’re wearing our shirts with leggings and sneakers for runway this year. I think that’s relent cool because it’s a time that you can just model and do whatever you want- like ‘Hi! This is my time!’

K: Right! And that really feels like true runway modeling and what it would feel like to be a real runway model. I love that! It seems to really be preparing you maybe if you want to go into the fashion or modeling industry. Pageantry is so great like that, it can really open many doors. I love that you’re sharing so much about the industry, maybe you’ll help inspire someone who needs that confidence boost to try something they’ve never done before. Another thing that some people might not know about is our Queenly Royalty program. What is something that is really unique about being Queenly Royalty?

S: I would say how quickly they are to pamper you! As soon as I found out that I was accepted, I got to go to a Queenly Royalty meeting and meet all of my sister queens. And then they gave you a $25 DoorDash gift card and I was like ‘oh my gosh I just joined this thing and they’re already pampering me!’ They give you a Queenly Royalty box too, so they’re giving you stuff left and right. We had a Queenly Zoom a couple of days ago and they’re really committed to growing the program and continuing to pamper us. I’m so lucky to be a part of it!

K: We are so happy to have you be a part of it! We want Queenly Royalty to be exactly what the name states: royalty! I’m so glad to hear that you’re getting the royal treatment because that’s the goal: to celebrate everyone that’s a part of the Queenly community and to treat you like the queens that you are.

Thanks again, Samara! Check out her interview here and be sure to follow Queenly on Instagram for more interviews!