TWIRLYGIRL

CYNTHIA JAMIN is a former sitcom actress who had recurring roles on Friends and Veronica's Closet as well as other NBC "Must See TV" shows. Cynthia now designs whimsical clothes for girls and the joy they bring to those who wear them helps ease the pain of her own abusive childhood. (43:09) EXPLICIT

EPISODE NOTES:

Remember the "Must See TV" sitcoms of the 1990s? CYNTHIA JAMIN certainly does. She was a working actress who had roles on several NBC shows back in the network's comedy block heyday, including "Friends."

In fact, as Cynthia tells me in TWIRLYGIRL she was invited to audition for one of the principal characters on "Friends" (originally called "Six of One") after series co-creator Marta Kauffman saw her perform at a small LA theater. She read for the part of Rachel. So did Jennifer Aniston. And the rest is TV history.

But Marta K. really liked Cynthia and asked her to play a waitress on the pilot. After the show got picked up, she was given the recurring role of Jasmine -- Phoebe's co-worker at the massage parlor. As Cynthia says, she ended up being a "friend of a Friend." But she was also an eyewitness to the explosion of one of television's Top 10 sitcoms of all time, and saw first-hand the impact the show's meteoric rise had on the 6 mostly unknown leads.

Today, Cynthia designs and manufactures fantastical clothing for young girls and tweens. But her popular TwirlyGirl line is an unexpected success story. It all started after taking a sewing class when she began making her now-signature "twirly dresses" for her 2 young daughters. Pretty soon parents were stopping Cynthia and asking her where she bought the colorful dresses with the dramatic twirl. "You made them? Can you make one for my daughter? I'll pay you!"

One dress led to another and before she knew it, Cynthia had more orders than she could handle from home. So she set up shop in DTLA's garment district and now, nearly 10 years later, is proud to say that every stitch of the groovy-juvie fashion she sells is Made in America.

But Cynthia's experience with TwirlyGirl has been about much more than growing a business in a highly competitive industry. It's also been a deeply personal journey of coming to terms with the darkness of her abusive childhood, stepping into the light and finding her own way to twirl.

BP

Many thanks to the composer of the music featured in this episode royalty free through Creative Commons licensing:

1. "A New Day" by Scott Holmes

2. "Inspiring Corporate" by Scott Holmes

3. "Duck Pond" by Scott Holmes

4. "Childrens TV" by Scott Holmes

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