6: Dascha Polanco on Loss, Love & Living Out Loud

In this unforgettable episode of grownwoman, award-winning actress and cultural force Dascha Polanco joins Shannon Allen for a powerful conversation about grief, identity, and unapologetic self-ownership. From her early days as a young Dominican immigrant juggling motherhood, multiple jobs, and education, to navigating Hollywood while holding onto her truth, Dascha opens up about the highs, lows, and healing that shaped her. She shares the heartbreaking loss of her soulmate, her creative rebirth as a songwriter, and the freedom she’s found in shedding shame. This isn’t a Hollywood fairytale - it’s a blueprint for becoming. Raw, radiant, and radically real, Dascha reminds us that owning your power is the glow-up. KEY POINTS  0:00 Dascha Polanco on Loss, Love & Living Out Loud 0:25 How her mother taught her that being poor didn’t mean being dirty. 08:12 Dascha’s early jobs, teen motherhood, and the fight for independence and education. 12:48 Losing her mother young, the urgency to live, and stepping into acting in life. 17:27 Acting as expression: Honoring her parents through her work. 21:25 Portraying “Daya”: Channeling her own lived experiences. 27:51 Asking for help, conducting brief, love, and music.usiness, and reclaiming confidence. 40:07 Honoring her late partner, Juan Abreu  55:06 Dascha on being a grown woman: boundaries, belief, and choosing yourself. QUOTES  “You can be poor, but you don't have to be dirty. Soap and water [are] cheap. What you have can still be beautiful—it’s yours.” – Shannon Allen “Acting became a way for me to validate myself—and to validate my parents. Look what I’m doing with the life they gave me.” – Dascha Polanco “My worth is not negotiable. My boundaries are not negotiable. My grief does not make me any less powerful.” – Dascha Polanco GUEST RESOURCES  Dascha Polanco IG | @sheisdash RESOURCES  Shannon Allen  Grown Website | https://www.grown.org/  IG | @swalkerwil  🌱 Stay Connected & Explore More 🔗 Visit the Grown Website⁠ Grown.org⁠ 📲 Follow Shannon on Instagram⁠ @swalkerwil⁠ 🎧 Like, Share & Subscribe If this episode moved you, inspired you, or made you think, don’t keep it to yourself! Like, share, and subscribe to grownwoman on your favorite podcast platform. grownwoman is produced by ⁠EPYC Media Network⁠