CAMILA MENDES

If I could go back to before I started 'Riverdale,' I would tell myself to speak up when I felt like something wasn't right - to use my voice and know that it's worth hearing.

I'm American; I was born and raised in America, and I don't want to fake who I am to fit a stereotype.

I often hear things like, 'You don't look Latina enough,' and that mentality is so backwards. The fact is, I am Latina, so how are you going to tell me that I don't look Latina?

I've learned to trust myself that I'm going to make healthy choices because I care about my health.

My sister would write plays, and I would act in them and perform them for my parents. They were on the comedy side, very much inspired by 'The Amanda Show.'

Rachel Bilson, Nicole Richie, Vanessa Hudgens... so many of my idols growing up were Bongo girls.

In high school, I always had boyfriends - it wasn't healthy! I was so used to having someone around that when I was finally on my own, it felt scary.

People know what I look like. I take photos on my own, and I don't edit them, so people know.

I connect with my culture through my family. I speak Portuguese to my parents so that I can practice. I stay engaged with my extended family through a lively group chat on WhatsApp. That sense of community and family is the heart of Brazilian culture, and staying engaged with my family is what keeps me connected.

I'm a Brazilian - full blood, parents born and raised, and I lived there for a little bit - but I didn't grow up there.

Everyone's bodies are different, and we all have different shapes, but it has nothing to do with who you are.

Vancouver is more laid-back, pretty much what you would expect from a West Coast city. Miami is definitely livelier - the nightlife, the people, everything. It's basically a little slice of Latin America.

I like communicating and being open and committing. That, for me, has always been something that I like to do.

It's rare that you see Latin families being portrayed as intelligent, sophisticated, and powerful entities.

I've always struggled with having frizzy hair, and it doesn't really cooperate the way I want it to.

My hair has always been a definitive part of my personal style, so I love being part of a campaign that celebrates hair as a form of expression.

In any job you do, you're going to have off days.

I spent a lot of my childhood moving around, so I was constantly adjusting to different environments and finding a new identity.

I spent a lot of my adolescence in Miami, where it was super humid, and my hair would get super frizzy, and my waves weren't really consistent or pretty.

I know what it's like to be the new girl.

I think from going to fittings once a week and having to look in the mirror for two hours, I feel like I built a intuition for what's gonna work and what isn't, and I noticed how important tailoring is, especially being a more petite body type.

I have so much appreciation for how those two cultures have created who I am. I'm a full-blooded Brazilian, with an entire extended family of Brazilians, but I was born and raised in the U.S.

I grew up watching 'Gossip Girl' and 'The O.C.,' and I looked up to Blair Waldorf and Summer Roberts.

For me, being an 'American Latina' means identifying with and being influenced by both my American upbringing and my Latin heritage, and I have so much appreciation for how those two cultures have created who I am.

My perfect day would be spent poolside with some friends.