Meet actress and talent agent Heather Arendt
A longtime dream kept her anchored to the acting industry, helping talent shine
By Freddy Moyano
The acting industry is one Heather Arendt, a Green Bay-based talent agent and Luxemburg native said she’s always been interested in.
Though none of her relatives were involved in modeling or acting, Arendt said it’s always been a career path she’s been drawn to.
She said a 1977 TV show called Sha Na Na – a comedy variety show featuring the retro rock ‘n’ roll group with the same name, and her mom’s favorite soap opera, All My Children, made a profound impact in her acting craft.
“We did not have any internet or streaming services,” Arendt said. “So I spent quite a bit, not only reading books, but really learning the craft of acting.”
Among those skills – crying on cue, which she said took a long time to master.
“It’s not easy to do,” Arendt said. “It’s a muscle you actually have to work on, like anything else.”
Marketing footprints
Arendt said opening an agency is something she never thought of doing.
“When I graduated (high school), I wanted to pursue the arts,” Arendt, who always thought she would end up being a singer or an actress, said.
However, when that didn’t quite work out, her focus shifted toward pursuing a career in business administration, which she said brought her to Green Bay.
Arendt said she initially worked in advertising and marketing, and traveled for work quite a bit.
“I worked as a trainer for Schneider traveling throughout the U.S. to field offices, yet on the side, I was pursuing acting and modeling,” she, who worked as an actress in The Beast, the last TV series starred by the late Patrick Swayze, said.
During that time, Arendt said she also worked in New York with the Off-Broadway show Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding where she made lifelong friends and connections.
Agency beginnings
Arendt said she never envisioned starting a talent agency until she began to feel the agency representing her at the time did not meet her expectations.
“I talked to a friend about the things that I would do differently if I had my own agency,” she said. “Then, I literally took the jump, and I guess started building my wings on my way down.”
Arendt opened Belle Agency in June 2012.
She said the word “Belle” appealed to her from the beginning as a potential business name, because of its positive connotation of “beautiful” – saying she believes everyone has some sort of beauty.
“With the logo creation, the butterfly, it all worked for me,” Arendt said. “Everything in this life is about transformation and so are butterflies, as they are the end (result) of this beautiful transformation in the journey they go through.”
She said with everything to lose and a gain unknown, she took the leap.
“I had nothing,” Arendt said. “I quit a full-time job, with an amazing salary, an awesome bonus structure, a company car that I could use anytime, a company credit card – I was doing very, very well. And I quit to pursue a dream I had. It was a quick decision. I had four kids I had to support. So it was something that I was going to make happen.”
She said the first years were interesting.
“Nobody knew me,” Arendt said. “I was a new agency coming into town. In my first year, my mom – with a ‘what are you doing’ attitude – sent me a lot of job openings. But as a very grassroots effort, I went out to businesses. I had a strong sales and marketing background.”
She said she is grateful to the people who gave her an opportunity.
“I had this client I had to interview in a boardroom with multiple leaders,” Arendt said. “I think they had been burned out by a previous agency. Because I did not have history with them or anybody, they were a bit hesitant at first. I did not hear from them until one year later. It was a matter of being persistent and they are one of my best clients now.”
Green Bay
Arendt said she is often asked why she chose Green Bay.
“I felt like we had a need here,” she said. “I felt like there was so much more that I could bring to the table here, possibilities that weren’t explored.”
As Belle Agency approaches its 10-year anniversary, Arendt said she has no regrets, and that no matter what, she never lost sight of her dream.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she said. “I think everything happened in the time it should have.”
Arendt said she doesn’t fit the mold of a classic Monday-Friday, 8-5 agent.
“I have a client who tells me they won’t message me after 5 or during the weekend, because they know I will get (right) back to them,” she said.
Arendt said she believes responsiveness is one of her main attributes as a talent representative.
“I am there for my clients when they need me, and if I do have the exact thing they were looking for, I go out and find it,” she said.
For more about Arendt and Belle Agency, including children and adult acting classes, visit belletalent.com
Freddy Moyano is a film producer, entrepreneur, actor, critic and voice-over artist based in Green Bay. Follow Freddy on instagram.com/freddymoyanoofficial.