Latest news with #Blaise
Elle
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Luna Blaise on 'Jurassic World Rebirth' and Her Hollywood Dreams
Justin French Trench coat, jumpsuit, bodysuit, heels, Ferragamo. Necklace, Bulgari. When Luna Blaise's parents took her to the movies as a child in Hollywood, she looked up in awe, wondering how she could inhabit the world of the characters above. 'I would go down to the floor where the screen was, because I wanted to physically get inside,' she says from the backyard of her mom's Los Angeles home, dressed in an oversize cardigan, her hair pulled back in a low bun. 'I always told my parents, 'I wanna be in the screen. How do I do that?'' Now the 23-year-old is starring in the type of blockbuster movie she grew up watching, making her major feature film debut this summer in Jurassic World Rebirth . 'I remember watching the first J urassic Park movie at my house,' she says. 'It's such an iconic franchise, and I'm so grateful that I get to be able to be a part of something that is so loved.' When she thinks about the projects she hopes to take on in her career, she doesn't want to limit herself to any specific genre or type of character. 'I just want to make sure that anything that I'm involved in inspires me and that I'm always keeping up with new directors, scripts, and writers,' she says. 'I think it'd be fun to do a horror film. I think it'd be fun to do a great comedy. Acting is such a wide umbrella. I'm just grateful to be doing it.' Justin French Jacket, skirt, Chanel. Rings, Tiffany & Co. After spending years on television, most notably in the NBC-turned-Netflix hit sci-fi drama series Manifest , a story about a flight that reappears five years after it went missing, Blaise is excited to inhabit another dystopian world. The newest installment in the beloved Jurassic franchise follows a research team that travels to a remote island on a top-secret mission to find some forgotten dinosaurs that were once thought to be extinct. Blaise plays Teresa Delgado, a member of a family that is rescued by the research team after their vacation plans are ruined by dinosaurs, and joins 'Acting is such a wide umbrella. I'm just grateful to be doing it.' 'It's a whole new band of characters that nobody's seen before,' she says. 'It's a new story and a new chapter.' While filming the movie in Thailand, Malta, and London, Blaise took the opportunity to learn as much as she could from her co-stars. 'I was just watching everyone and studying how they practice and work,' she says. 'Just being in their orbit was really cool.' (And, she notes, it was nice to see a woman in a powerful leadership role: 'Seeing Scarlett man the troops and be the captain of our ship was awesome.') Justin French Trench coat, jumpsuit, bodysuit, heels, Ferragamo. Being on set with actors like Johansson felt like the culmination of all her childhood dreams—she's on the inside of the screen now. When she was 11, Blaise left school to focus on acting professionally and booked her first show, a small role on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat , shortly after. Though she was homeschooled, she was adamant about maintaining friendships, continuing to go with her friends to football games and school dances. 'That's something I look back on fondly—I'm so glad that I was able to have the best of both worlds,' she says. 'I had the career that I wanted at such a young age, and also the life that I wanted.' And that's what still guides her now: 'I can't really get distracted by the glitz and the glamour. I'm happy to be a normal girl acting and doing her thing.' Hair by Sami Knight for Rehab ; makeup by Alexandra French at Forward Artists; manicure by Jolene Brodeur at The Wall Group; produced by Anthony Federici at Petty Cash Production; photographed at Malibu Creek Ranch. A version of this story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of ELLE. Related Stories
Newsweek
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman Films Herself at the Gym, Not Knowing She's About To Lose Her Brother
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A woman's Instagram video of herself on her fitness journey became an unintended milestone in an entirely different journey—one of profound grief. Sierra Mendez was filming her workout in 2023 not knowing her brother, someone she considered her best friend, had died just two hours earlier. Since her loss, Mendez threw herself into her fitness. Now, two years later, her physical strength serves as a symbol for her emotional strength in the face of immense loss. Mendez, 23, spoke to Newsweek about her journey through grief, and how she imagines her brother's pride in her for her dedication. "She doesn't know it yet, but her best friend/brother died two hours before she recorded this," Mendez captioned the video. "Many of you followed me along this grieving process. It literally happened a few months into my journey and I was already 90 pounds down the last time I saw Blaise—he was so so proud of me. He was one of my biggest support systems." Photos from Sierra Mendez's Instagram reel which show her the day she learned her brother had died, and now. Photos from Sierra Mendez's Instagram reel which show her the day she learned her brother had died, and now. @sierra2fit/Instagfram Mendez explained the depth of the relationship she had with her brother, Blaise, to Newsweek. "My my best friend, as we grew up in an alcoholic and abusive home and had to have each other's back throughout all of the hardship," she said. "We shared many mutual friends despite only being two years apart and our favorite thing to do was go on road trips." The morning of her brother's death, Mendez said she remembered feeling unmotivated, but pushed through her workout anyway. Seven hours later, she began receiving multiple phone calls from her mother. "My mom was blowing my phone up, and I usually don't answer her calls due to our poor relationship," she recalled. "Eventually, she texted 'SOS, it's about Blaise.' I finally answered the phone and she shared the heartbreaking news barely able to breathe, she had to hand the phone over to the officer accompanying her at the time." Mendez's first response was disbelief. "Stop lying," she told the officer. Blaise had just posted an Instagram story hours before, and she had recently stopped by his work. He had been struggling with mental health issues and was living out of his car. "He had passed on November 8th, 2023 in a tragic one-car accident while under the influence shortly after I spoke with him about not following in our parents' footsteps," Mendez said. 'He Would Be Proud' Since the loss of her brother, Mendez said she has continued to use the gym as both an outlet and a refuge. "The gym was the one place I could push the anger out, crying in the weights section, sometimes even pushing more weight than some of the guys next to me," she said. "It was the one place I could push my body and turn my thoughts off." Before Blaise died, he had been one of her greatest champions during her weight loss journey. "My brother was also the biggest supporter of my weight loss journey and he had even came to the gym with me a few times allowing me to teach him a thing or two," Mendez shared. "[The gym] became my safe haven and a reminder that he would be proud that I'm still showing up to this day." Her gym journey and grief journey have intertwined in ways she never could have imagined. Building physical strength alongside emotional resilience wasn't easy, but she still showed up. "I no longer eat for comfort like I did when I was 300 pounds," she said. "I go to the gym instead, even on my worst days...I still consider it a place for 'me time' no matter how bad I'm feeling emotionally or mentally. "I think showing up on your worst days is the key," she concluded. "It makes the good days feel like you're going to the bounce house at your friend's birthday party when you were younger—and the bad days feel like therapy."
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Horrifying Report Showcases Dire Conditions in ICE Facilities
President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have proved fatal for seven people who were detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, as part of the president's massive deportation efforts. Of the seven immigrants who have died in ICE custody over the past three months, the agency has only published reports on three of the deaths, which were all reviewed by the Spanish newspaper El Paīs. According to the outlet, all three individuals arrived in detention in good condition, and saw their health rapidly decline. Makysm Chernyak, a 44 year-old Ukrainian man was arrested in January on assault charges, and transferred to ICE detention in Miami where he was found to be totally healthy, with the exception of an elevated heart rate. For a week in mid-February he was in and out of the clinic, after reporting nasal congestion and a cough. On February 18 he was found vomiting and trembling in his cell, and while awaiting transfer to the hospital he suffered six seizures, and vomited blood. Doctors shortly discovered he'd had a hemorrhagic stroke and was determined to be brain dead. He was declared dead two days later. Marie Blaise, a 44 year-old Haitian woman was detained on February 12 in the U.S. Virgin Islands when she tried to board a flight to North Carolina without a valid immigration visa. Another woman detained in Deerfield Beach detention center told the Miami Herald that Blaise began to complain of chest pains on April 25. She was given some pills, and told to rest, but hours later she awoke screaming in pain. Later that night she was announced dead, and her cause of death is still under investigation, according to El Paīs. Last week, Florida Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian-American member of Congress slammed ICE over Blaise's death. 'Marie had been complaining about chest pain for hours,' she said on the House floor. 'They gave her some pills and told her to go lie down. Unfortunately, Marie never woke up.' ICE is required to report on all in-custody deaths within 90 days, but Cherfilus-McCormick called for an 'full, independent investigation' into Blaise's death. Chernyak and Blaise are two of three immigrants who died in detention in Florida. The other was Genry Ruiz Guillén, 29 year-old Honduran detained at the Krome center in Florida who died on January 23. Others died in custody in Texas, Arizona, Puerto Rico, Missouri. In a statement ICE insisted that it was providing proper care to detainees. 'All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health screening and 24-hour emergency care at each detention facility,' it said. A 2024 report from the American Civil Liberties Union found that 95 percent of deaths at ICE-operated facilities between 2017 and 2021 could have been prevented 'if appropriate medical care had been provided.' In a whopping 88 percent of the deaths reviewed as part of the report medical staff at the ICE detention centers had 'made incorrect, inappropriate, or incomplete diagnoses.'
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida congresswomen demand answers after Haitian woman dies in ICE custody
Two Florida congresswomen who visited the Broward Transitional Center on Friday after a 44 year-old Haitian woman died in the custody of immigration authorities expressed concern over the lack of transparency at the detention center. 'When we tried to speak to the healthcare provider, the healthcare coordinator, we were met with more hostility and evasiveness from the healthcare facilitator,' U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick said during a press conference after touring the facility alongside U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson. 'We asked clear questions about their protocol for when you have someone who has heart pain or chest pain, and they refuse to give us complete and clear answers, which should be very clear.' Marie Ange Blaise, who died April 25, had been held at the Broward Transitional Center – which is owned and operated for the federal government by the GEO Group – in Deerfield Beach since April 5. She was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection two months earlier and transferred to ICE facilities in Puerto Rico and New Orleans before her final transfer to the Broward facility. When the Herald requested an autopsy report on Friday from the Broward Medical Examiner's office, an administrative coordinator emailed back that the case was under 'an active criminal investigation' and therefore 'exempt from public disclosure.' But about an hour later, after a reporter asked what agency was conducting the criminal investigation, the chief of Investigative Services for the office said the FBI had 'just released the hold that was on our case,' but that they had not completed the autopsy. Cherfilus-McCormick, whose parents were born in Haiti and who represents areas of Broward and Palm Beach County, said the administration of the facility refused to confirm whether an electrocardiogram was conducted to assess why Blaise was experiencing chest pain. 'Why wasn't she sent to the hospital? We have so many questions we wanted to ask, but they refused to answer,' she said. 'Instead, they gave us a tour to show off how pretty the facility was — empty bedrooms, the chapel. But this is not about a facility being pretty. This is about how you are treating these women who are here, and everybody else who's here in this facility.' The two representatives said they spoke to several detainees who were present when Blaise died, who said she had been complaining of chest pain for several days. 'They told us Blaise complained of chest pain regularly. They said that she got her pills at 8 a.m.' Cherfilus-McCormick said. 'One woman even said that she started complaining about chest pain after they gave her medication, and she was complaining of chest pain for quite a few days.' A press release Wednesday from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Blaise 'was pronounced deceased by medical professionals at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, April 25, at 8:35 p.m.' According to Cherfilus-McCormick, the facility has only one doctor on call for over 500 detainees and they refused to specify how many other health care professionals staff the detention center. 'Clearly one doctor on call for this amount, over 500 people, is not enough,' she said. ICE facilities are required to follow strict standards to ensure that detainees have access to appropriate medical, dental and mental health services, including emergency care. However, in Blaise's case, it remains unclear why, despite reportedly complaining of chest pain for several days, she was not taken to a hospital to evaluate the cause. Cherfilus-McCormick called the living conditions in the transitional center 'inhumane.' She said said one woman told her that sometime in March the facility was so overcrowded that there were people sleeping on the floor, which she called 'very disturbing.' 'They are being denied adequate health care,' she said. 'When we asked about mental health care, they told us someone comes in and asks a few questions for about 15 minutes — but the reality of it wasn't there.' She said she was told that inmates who cry too much are 'Baker Acted,' a reference to the Florida law that allows someone to be involuntarily placed in a mental health facility if they're believed to be mentally impaired. 'Marie Blaise's death wasn't an isolated incident,' she added. Ramped up arrests In the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term, the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration arrests nationwide, detaining more than 158,000 people, according to ICE data. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that in the span of six days, an immigration sweep described as the 'largest to date,' named Operation Tidal Wave, resulted in the arrest of more than 1,120 people across the state. At Friday's press conference, Wilson, who represents areas of Miami-Dade County, highlighted that in 2012 the same Broward facility had other health care issues: a man who was urinating blood, and a woman who had major surgery and was returned to the facility on the same day. At the time, members of Congress signed a letter and later toured the facility, she said, to find out what was happening. 'Now it's the same private company that is running this facility. They are still here, and we are experiencing the same kind of trepidation that we experienced back in 2012,' she said.. Wilson said it's time for Congress and the Department of Homeland Security to terminate its contract with the private contractor. Marie Ange Blaise had a 22-year-old son who lives in California, Wilson said. Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, who also attended the press conference, called for minimum standards of safety and care for those held in ICE custody. 'Is it that, as immigrants, we are not human? Is it that we do not deserve the minimum when we are in custody?' she asked. 'How many more errors will it take for ICE to stop its cruel vendetta against immigrants? Miami Herald staff writers Brittany Wallman and Jay Weaver contributed to this report.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Haitian woman dies in ICE custody, Florida congresswoman demands answers
May 1 (UPI) -- A Haitian woman died last week while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, prompting Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to demand a full investigation into Marie Ange Blaise's death. Blaise, 44, died Friday evening at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., nearly two months after being detained by ICE. Speaking before the House on Wednesday, Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat, rebuked President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown on immigration, calling it "sloppy and reckless since day one," and saying it has put the lives of migrants at risk. "I am calling for a full, transparent investigation into Marie's death, and I will be visiting the Broward Transitional Center very shortly," she said. "It is this neglect and cruelty that is really hurting our American families, who are being even deported at this very moment. We must have transparency; we must have justice." According to a Tuesday press release from ICE, Blaise entered the United States without admission at an unknown date and location. On Feb. 12, Customs and Border Protection detained Blaise at the Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport in Saint Croix, Virgin Islands, while she was attempting to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C. Blaise was issued a Notice of Expedited Removal. On Feb. 14, she was transferred to ICE custody in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Then, on Feb. 21, she was transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Oakdale, La., before being moved to the Pompano Beach facility on April 5. She was pronounced dead Friday at 8:35 p.m. EDT. The cause of death is under investigation, ICE said. During her floor speech Wednesday, Cherfilus-McCormick suggested ICE neglect contributed to Blaise's death. "Marie had been complaining about chest pain for hours. They gave her some pills and told her to lie down. Unfortunately, Marie never work up," she said. "Her loved ones deserve answers. They deserve accountability." Blaise was detained and died as the Trump administration seeks to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants. According to ICE statistics, during Trump's first 100 days in office, the federal government has deported 65,682 undocumented migrants, and agents have arrested nearly 66,500 more. ICE states it has "significantly ramped up arrests and removals." Cherfilus-McCormick chastised the Trump administration for holding migrants, such as Blaise, in inhumane and unsanitary facilities. "Immigrants are being treated without basic dignity and being denied medical care," she said. ICE said that all those in custody receive medical, dental and mental health screening and "at no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care."
