About Me
Pursuing Excellence With Integrity
"Candace Kirkpatrick is an award winning actress who commands attention whenever she is on stage. She breathes such life and vitality" into each of her roles.
Thanks for joining me as I share my story.
Born in Tampa, Florida I began acting before entering school. Mom says that I began talking at 7 months and as I grew, I could imitate anyone I heard, singing or speaking. I continued performing throughout all of my schooling and often did not tell my mom until the day of the show. “Uhh, Mom, I need to be at school early tonight because I am singing, or dancing, or doing this play...." Sad to say, she was not always a fan and wondered why I didn't use my brains to pursue something more profitable. Still, I graduated Valedictorian, earned a full ride to college where I obtained a BFA in performance studying Stanislavski and Uta Hagen; I performed in almost every show all 4 years and summer stock in upstate New York or theme parks each summer. I graduated summa cum laude, Valedictorian once more, and won an acting scholarship for graduate school.
I then attended FSU/Asolo Conservatory. While studying method acting (Meisner), I also did print work, local commercials, and before graduation earned my professional Equity card. With MFA and Equity card in hand, it was off to the Big Apple to pound the pavement with more than 25,000 other actors!!! Oh the joy or so I thought. There I worked doing theatre off-Broadway, regionally, and several shows internationally. At that time, I also had small roles in film, commercials, television soaps, music videos, and TV pilots. I was on an upward incline but then everything came to a screeeeeeeeching halt!
As a Christian actress, I seriously began to examine all the roles that I was being offered. What was the message? What was the takeaway for the audience? Is this something that I wanted to represent? “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) So after much prayer, I left the industry. I began to raise a family-- all the while writing and directing for schools and churches along with teaching the Bible.
Now after more than two decades, I have returned. I asked the Lord that if He ever brought me back into this field that He would give me work that honored Him. Truthfully, I have been overwhelmed by God's goodness for He has opened doors that only He could open: feature films and short films, commercials, print work, audio books, industrials, and even talk shows. I can be seen as Janet in the faith based crime drama Vindication with Todd Terry and TC Stallings, Sister Anne in Angels Unaware with the amazing talents of Karen Abercrombie and Cameron Arnett, Heather Gray in the feature film Running the Bases, Dr. Flores in the film An Angelic Christmas, Naamah in the audio drama The Adventum with New Wise Media, and as Annie, one of the leads in the 2023 release My 7 Grandmas. By His grace, I am a co-host on the award winning tv program The Christian View. with Dr. Trudy Simmons. He has also given me opportunities to write, direct, and produce. All of the above has been divinely orchestrated by Him.
I love the arts and believe that entertainment can inspire, uplift, and impact if done with excellence and integrity. And that is my heartfelt desire--to do work that truthfully expresses the human condition while showing there is great beauty in redemption. (Colossians 3:23,24)
I am happily married, a mom of three, and consider myself blessed to live in beautiful Tennessee. I still teach; coordinate prayer ministries; cook; do mountains of laundry; stink at paperwork; spend countless hours on the baseball field; do zumba, hip-hop, pilates; read inspiring books; and take every opportunity to learn something new and encourage someone else in their journey of faith.
Thanks for joining me. Reach out if you need an actress of passion, skill, and integrity. Or holler if you simply want to talk.
Blessings upon you!
"Life beats down and crushes our souls and theatre reminds us that we have one. At least, the type of theatre that I am interested in; that is, theatre that moves an audience. You have the opportunity to literally impact the lives of people if they work on material that has integrity. But today, most actors simply want to be famous. Well, being an actor was never supposed to be about fame and money. Being an actor is a calling because you've been given the ability, the gift to inspire humanity." --Sanford Meisner
