038: Walker Brandt | Self-Discovery, Star Trek, and Supporting Women in Hollywood

Walker Brandt was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California on July 13, 1966. At age 12 started her own business as a horse trainer and exerciser. In her teens, she moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College. She worked various part-time jobs while taking classes in business, nutrition science, and child development.

During that time, she was approached by a photographer who encouraged Walker to go into modeling and signed with Elite Model Management. When she was 18 years old, Walker moved to Milan, Italy and started her professional model and acting career. In the 1990s she was featured in major Hollywood productions, including City Slickers (1991), Dante's Peak (1997) & Lunarcop (1995), as well as US and international TV shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), and Die Gang (1997), to name a few. Some of the projects she worked on took her to locations such as to South Africa where she was able to meet and spend time with Nelson Mandela before his election, laugh backstage with Shirley MacLaine when she was on tour in Africa, and play with baby lions and see wild African elephants in their habitat. Another project took her into the countryside of East Berlin while living in Hamburg Germany during the shooting of a TV series.

Walker's image and talents have also been used in dozens of commercials and Ad campaigns for popular national and international brands. In addition to traditional acting roles, she has also hosted and done voice over for several of the brands.

In 2001, Walker married Jeff Stafford, and she and her husband raised her stepdaughter. Raising a child motivated her to stay closer to home with her work. During that time, she took courses at Santa Monica College and Orange Coast College as well as serving as a board member of her community organization for a period of time, where her responsibilities included organizing the Neighborhood Watch program for 1700 residents as well as addressing safety & security issues with the city on behalf of the community. She established working relationships with the Mayor, Councilman, and various city officials as a result.

Walker and her husband enjoy stand up paddling, hiking, golf, mountain biking, and spending active time out in nature at every opportunity with their family in Southern California.

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