Francine Locke

Francine's career started in photography, modeling for national publications, traveling throughout in the Midwest, Toronto & Montreal. She began working in commercials & industrial training films, booking roles on Chicago productions, like Early Edition and Chicago Story, and played opposite Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Although her acting career began in her hometown of Chicago, it blossomed in the south. With a successful print and commercial career under her belt, she took a 10 year hiatus, and then got back into the industry with a bang, winning a Best Supporting nomination on her first film, and then booking the lead role in the award winning feature film, "Stand your Ground". Having fallen in love with the South while on location, she soon moved to the Atlanta area and booked the recurring role of Sandra Barkley (Avery's mom) on CMT's Nashville. Roles on Necessary Roughness, The Originals, The Dream Factory, Halt and Catch Fire followed, but her favorite was a viral transformation on Fox's The Passage. She has had many lead and supporting roles in a number of feature films, including Mine 9, Christmas Ranch, Keys to the City, Charlies Christmas Wish, Calm Before, Modern Prodigal (also produced) and Circles (pilot) where she was in her essence as a strong, battle weary, never-again-victim, fighting against unknown invaders. Along with her success in front of the camera, Locke has taken on the role of Producer, in order to have a more active role in the stories she tells. "As an actress, you train and work, and pretty much have to just wait to get hired. I am not very good at waiting, I believe in challenging myself, and doing what has to be done, not waiting for someone else. And when I don't know how to do something, I can always learn, what's life without challenges?" With this in mind, she started ElFilm Productions, LLC (named for her mother), produced several short films, won some awards, and has produced her first feature film, Modern Prodigal, which was immediately picked up for distribution by Bridgestone Multimedia Group, and is available on Amazon. Her goal is to make good films about real people, who make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. "I want to make people think, see another perspective, remember moments, and maybe even set them up to make better choices." She recently optioned a 2 book series by award winning author Deborah Raney, and hopes to be in production before the end of 2020.