ON THE COVER
The actress and singer who won our hearts as one of the Bellas in the best movie trilogy of all time, Pitch-Perfect, Chrissie Fit, tells us what she’s doing this holiday season ... and why.
Meet this issue’s cover model, Actress and Singer Chrissie Fit, and find out how she’s celebrating the holidays this year ... and why!
If you’re like me, then I know you cannot argue when I say that it’s absolutely impossible not to love Actress, Singer, Producer, Writer, and Voiceover Star Chrissie Fit. Like, what’s there not to love? All of her projects end up making all of us laugh, cry, sing along, and then rewind to the beginning, and start all over again. While creating this holiday issue, for example, everyone has smiled seeing Chrissie on the cover. She can actually tell people that her day job makes millions of people smile. I wonder if she knows that?
As a long-time Chrissie Fit fan, I know her best from the hit movies Pitch Perfect 2 and 3, where she plays Flo, the always-keeping-it-too-real Latina with the best one-liners: “When I was nine years old, my brother tried to sell me for a chicken, so …” Besides the zingers, in each film she’s a talented Bella, singing and dancing in the all-female acapella group who always ends up succeeding against insane odds – from competing against the frighteningly-intense Das Sound Machine singers to surviving an international kidnapping. Aca-amazing! (That’s an inside joke between millions of Pitch Perfect fans.)
Our youngest CATALINA journalist, Cristina, not only knows and loves the Bella side of Chrissie, but, like all of her friends, Cristina is also a mega fan of Chrissie’s bubbly character Chee-Chee, from Disney’s hit Teen Beach Movie, 1 and 2. Then, to top it all off, Chrissie brings even more smiles as the voice of Princess Valentina on Disney Channel’s series Elena of Avalor, another hit and inspiration for young girls everywhere.
Yeah, so it’s impossible to even explain how giddy Cristina and I were to interview Chrissie for our podcasts this fall. She was everything we’d hope she’d be, and more. So, when it came time to put together CATALINA’s Special Holiday Issue full of warmth, happiness, and shared traditions, we knew what we had to do: reach out to Chrissie Fit for some holiday cheer and realness.
“I’m staying in Los Angeles,” she explained. “I usually go to Miami for Christmas to be with my family but, because of COVID, I decided to stay and not travel. I think my health and that of my family and friends is the most important thing this year. I would hate to go over there to then give them the gift of COVID. Not down with giving that during the season of giving.”
As a Cuban-American raised in Miami, Florida, surely Chrissie would be with all of her many cousins, tios, and tias in Hialeah or Kendall (one of the Miami suburbs) for Noche Buena, traditionally a Cuban family’s most special day of the year, with a holiday party which includes a mandatory roasting of the pig in the backyard. But, as she reminded me, this year is a little different for all of us because, well, it has to be. She’s right. So many large gatherings (even the legendary Miami Cuban ones) have been replaced mostly with virtual fiestas on Zoom or maybe Facetime.
But that has not, and will not, stop this star from celebrating and having a great end to this “unique” year with her family. “I will join in virtually and pretend I’m having the delicious Cuban food my family makes every year.”
If you’ve been keeping up with Chrissie via her fun Instagram page, you already know that Chrissie has been busy: from baking festive treats for the first time to giving back to charity. She made and “renovated” her first Gingerbread house; and she performed – in a Santa cap, of course – for “Carols for Kids,” a virtual sing-along concert with all proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She called the charity performance a “Chee-Chee’s kind of Christmas,” inspired by her character in Disney’s Teen Beach Movie, 1 and 2. Oh, and she also keeps it real. Like, check out her post where she attempts to put on her favorite jeans during the year of COVID. There’s definitely a little bit of Bella Flo’s realness still in Chrissie.
Her contributions to charity and human rights this year don’t surprise me. When I first interviewed Chrissie, it was obvious that she’s more than an actress and an amazing singer. She’s the real deal. “I’m so grateful to be able to do what I love to do and have this platform. But I’m also a person, I’m an American, I’m a Cuban; and … I care about my community.”
Chrissie practices what she preaches, from volunteering for causes that inspire her to going all out for a virtual concert from home. Then, on top of all of that giving, she remembers to entertain all of us this holiday season too, with a new movie out now. “All My Life is out on video on demand,” she tells me as I quickly make a mental note to add this new gem to my next movie night. “... It’s a beautiful true love story starring Jessica Rothe and Harry Shum Jr., who both do an incredible job in the film. I play Amanda, Jenn Carter’s, Jessica Rothe’s, best friend.”
She added a warning when watching this film for the first time. What? A warning? “It’s a tearjerker, so get those tissues ready,” Chrissie revealed. I love tearjerkers! … Wait, she did it again. It’s once again impossible for me/us not to just love everything she does. ■
Watch now!
■ Proceed with caution and enthusiasm: grab a tissue box now. Then, enjoy a sneak peek of All My Love, Chrissie Fit’s new movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWyJvohEFj8.
Listin now!
■ To hear Chrissie bring out her inner Chee-Chee’s sweet voice from her iconic Disney role, or one of her funny aca-zingers as Flo, the Bella in Pitch Perfect 2 & 3. Take a nice break, with perhaps a café con leche, and listen to her full interview on the podcast: “CATALINA Stars: Young and Famous with Cristina Areu” (everywhere podcasts are found).
“I think my health and that of my family and friends is the most important thing this year. ”