Cancer diagnosis propels Montreal woman to drop everything, pursue true passion for acting
Posted December 15, 2022 1:11 pm.
Last Updated December 15, 2022 6:47 pm.
It’s never too late to change your life and pursue your dreams.
Montrealer Teresa Picciano is living proof of that. she walked away from everything to become an actor at the age of 50.
“My parents wanted me to be a lawyer, a notary, a doctor, and I wanted to be a singer, an actor,” joked Picciano.
Picciano’s parents, who immigrated to Canada from Italy, were scared their daughter would choose an artistic career. That’s how she ended up getting “safer” and well-paying jobs.
All of that changed when she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. It turned her life upside down – a life she already wasn’t completely satisfied with.
“That was a wake-up call and when I returned back to work, I said, ‘oh my God, if I continue this I’m gonna die.’ And I didn’t want my life to end. I wanted my life. I wanted to do what I wanted to do in my life since I was young. So I left everything. I left the corporation, I left my pension and everything and I took my passion and made it happen at 50,” she recounted.
From that moment Picciano decided to devote herself to her true passion. A few years she was a successful actor, producer and screenwriter – all despite many challenges and rejections.
“It’s a men’s world but it’s slowly changing and that’s where I said, ‘well OK, I’m just going to keep knocking on doors, they can’t say no to me all the time, right?””
Picciano shared a message to anyone – especially women – who are convinced they might be too old to go after their dreams.
“You might be 70 years old and you want to parachute, you’ve never done it, do it.
“You want to write, write. If you want to make a film, make a film. So what? At least you tried, at least you achieved something. It’s not going to win an Oscar, it doesn’t matter, but you did it. I just say you need to go, you have to get up and you have to do it. Don’t live with that regret cause that’s the hardest thing to live by. My God, I’m getting emotional here. No regrets.”
