Lighting It Up.
Actress. Athlete. Grandmother. Illuminator.
Forget light bulbs. If you really want to illuminate a room, ask Carla Ginsburg to stop by. Though she is tiny, she fills the space around her with warmth, energy, humor and authentic, hard-won knowledge of just how precious each moment is. Elegant even in sweats, she took up Latin dancing in her mid-forties and got her SAG card shortly thereafter following years of raising kids and working as a bookkeeper. She is a poster child for living your life, not your age or any hurdle that may cross your path, including Stage 4 ovarian cancer which hit Carla on September 7, 2012
She went through the wringer in every way imaginable, then through it again when the cancer reappeared in her cerebellum two years later. Now, with her numbers back down, she’s continuing her acting. (You’ll know her best from her Olive Garden commercials but you could very well see more of her because, as she says, “Generally, there are parts for old Italian ladies, with or without cancer.”) She’s also still Latin dancing – solo, and working out at the Mission Training Center most days of the week, including Fridays when she takes back-to-back TRX and pilates classes.
“Pilates helps with balance and flexibility. So does TRX. You have to concentrate on using your whole body, especially your abs and back,” she explained.
Carla, who calls the Mission Training Center “a godsend” added, “There are people here who’ve gone through what I’ve gone through. There’s no attitude here. I love everything about it.”
