welcome to my website!

My name is Anika Waco and I'm a film, TV, and stage actor based in Los Angeles. I'm originally from Chicago-ish: Oak Park, IL (locals, you can decide if that counts or not). My love for acting began at age seven in summer theatre camp, and the Chicago theatre industry nurtured that love as I spent high school in the audiences at top-tier regional productions and storefront blackboxes. 

I attended Elon University in North Carolina and studied at a conservatory-style program within a liberal arts setting. I graduated in 2022 with my BFA in Acting and BA in Arts Administration, as well as minors in Spanish and Business Administration (it was a busy four years!). 

In January of 2023, I made the move to LA, and I've loved experiencing a whole new side of the entertainment industry (and escaping Chicago winters). I dove into this market head first, and have appeared onscreen in 20+ projects across TV, film, and commercials; I'm often seen playing a know-it-all class president, a holier-than-thou big sister, and a cool girl with a hidden backstory. I’ve also been having a blast training on-camera at Margie Haber Studio and leading theatre-based trainings with Pure Praxis, a theatre org for social change that utilizes improv and comedy. 

I’m also an arts administrator passionate about the power of non-profit arts organizations, and work at Geffen Playhouse in fundraising & donor relations. Outside of work and acting, you can usually find me blasting music with the car windows down (most likely Taylor Swift - ask me about the time I met her, craziest story I'll ever tell), trying to be a good plant mama, studying Survivor gameplay, cooking some sort of pasta dish, or crying over how beautiful the sky is. If I wasn’t so in love with performing, I would probably be off the grid in the mountains somewhere living solely off of s'mores, or traveling the country in a camper van.