Monika Abate

Monika Abate was born at Lenox Hill hospital in New York City during a snowstorm on December 19,1979. Monika is a fraternal twin and is the youngest by two minutes. Her mother was born in Sweden and her father was born in Jersey City, NJ. Her father was a WWII veteran and received a purple heart. Monika was raised in Hillsdale, NJ and spent many summers during her childhood in Sweden. Monika's mother saw a casting advertisement for the 1990 film Mermaids in the local newspaper. Monika's first audition was for the youngest daughter role. Although she did not get the part, it didn't stop her from pursuing the dream. Her first acting role was in her brother's homemade movie, Attack of the Killer Snake part one and two. She played the Sister and News Reporter. Monika received her Bachelors of Arts degree with a major in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY in 2005. In 2015 she wrote a blog called Planning My Escape, In route to 365. Monika studied the Sanford Meisner technique in NYC and has taken several acting workshops. In 2017, Monika wrote, directed, co-produced, cast and starred in Marian a promotional video for a feature film not yet produced. Monika was cast in John the Thief, an Amazon Prime TV mini-series and several other short films. Monika was cast as the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, an Off-Off Broadway play at the Producer's Club in New York City in August 2019. This was her first theater performance. In 2020, Monika's partnership was announced with 50/50 Films, a collaborative independent film making production group. Her most recent role as Mother in The Phone Plan was awarded Best Micro Short in 2019 by the Queen Palm International Film Festival.