Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1378252
8 KEYFRAME T H E C L I M B ACTS OF FAITH When an email popped up in Carole Holliday's inbox in 2020, informing her she was the winner of the Black in Animation Lifetime Achievement Award, she almost deleted it as junk mail. "Who's going to honor me with a lifetime achievement award?" she wondered, believing that her roles in the animation industry have been out of the spotlight. "So when I found out that my peers noticed me, I was like George Bailey, surprised … but very happy." The award "was like a shot in the arm to say don't give up." In fact, Holliday's career is an example of staying the course, and she has many strings to her bow: animator, story director, training animator, character designer, and children's book writer and illustrator—to name just a few. Holliday's path to animation was not a direct one. Growing up in Los Angeles County, she split time between the homes of her divorced parents. Her super fun mom was her biggest fan and introduced her to art and music. As a child, Holliday doodled and drew, and at one point wanted to be Charles Schulz. However, she also sang, and soon her love of musical theater took over. Holliday and her sister were bussed to the Westside for school, and she landed a spot at Beverly Hills High. While it was the perfect school for her musical ambitions, being Black affected her opportunities there. At one point, "I auditioned for Elizabeth Proctor A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IS JUST ONE OF MANY SUCCESSES FOR MULTI-TALENTED CAROLE HOLLIDAY. "God wants me in animation... I insisted that was where I was supposed to be."