Background and career
Masiela Lusha (; born October 23, 1985) is an Albanian-American actress and author. She gained recognition for playing Carmen Lopez on the globally syndicated ABC sitcom George Lopez, a role that earned her two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy or Drama. After transitioning into film, she starred in Sony Pictures’ Blood: The Last Vampire. Lusha also starred alongside David Hasselhoff and Ian Ziering in SyFy's television movie Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. Lusha made her acting debut in Summoning in 2001. That same year, she made her television debut in the Disney Channel series, Lizzie McGuire. Lusha appeared as a main cast member in Clifford's Puppy Days (2003-2005) for PBS, and also appeared in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Anger Management. Lusha starred in movies comprising a variety of genres, including Cherry Bomb (2004), My Father's Eulogy (2007), Muertas (2007), Time of the Comet (2008), Ballad of Broken Angels (2009), Kill Katie Malone (2010), Dragonfyre (2013), The Architect (2014), Of Silence (2014), Fatal Instinct (2014), and Branded (2016). In 2010, Lusha was appointed ambassador of Prince Harry's charity Sentebale. In 2014, Lusha was made the World Assembly of Youth's goodwill ambassador. Lusha is an advocate for UN Women. Lusha has written five books of poetry, Inner Thoughts, Drinking the Moon, Amore Celeste, The Call, The Living Air; a novel, The Besa; and two children's books. Lusha has written poetry and translated it into Albanian. She has translated poems and prayers by Mother Teresa.
Lusha was born in Tirana, Albania, and is the child of Max and Daniela Lusha. Her mother was a magazine publisher. In 1990, Lusha and her family left Albania as refugees. Upon leaving Albania, Lusha moved to Budapest and Vienna. In an interview in 2016, Lusha credits her early memories as a refugee for her lifelong humanitarian efforts.
At the age of seven, Lusha moved to Michigan where she and her mother reunited with her great-uncle Dr. Joseph H. Alli. Dr. Alli was a colonel in the army during World War II, and chief of laboratories for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. English was Lusha's fourth language, after Albanian, Hungarian, and German. At the age of twelve, Lusha began a modeling career in Michigan. After a few months of professional modeling and acting in local theater plays, she was discovered by a Hollywood talent agent who held an open call in Detroit, Michigan. That following year, while acting in Los Angeles, Lusha became a published author with her first book of poetry, Inner Thoughts.
As a poet, Lusha was recognized as one of the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America for her published work, and also received the public recognition of former President Bill Clinton. Upon graduating high school, Lusha had published two collections of poetry. As of 2010, Lusha has since written seven books.
From 2005 to 2010, Lusha wrote four poetry books. While filming George Lopez, Lusha published her second book, Drinking the Moon In 2010, Lusha wrote Boopity Boop Writes Her First Poem. Lusha chose poetry as the subject matter for her children's book because, "While some mothers sing lullabies to their children, my mother read me poetry," she said. "And to this day, I associate my strongest and most insistent feelings with words lyrically organized on a page." In 2016, Lusha released her fourth book of poetry, The Living Air. In an interview, Lusha revealed that she completed her novel, The Besa, in one month, writing from 6 am until 8 pm every day while forgetting to eat. For her writing, Lusha also says, "In any art form, we have a responsibility to infuse a little color, compassion, movement into our society. Art cannot live in a void. It must impact, animate a little tug and pull in our world to stay alive and relevant."
Lusha launched her career as a model and theater actress in Michigan. While residing in her hometown, Lusha's first theatrical role was a nonspeaking, background character in her school's production of Up and Away. Upon entering the drama department, Lusha then portrayed the role of Cinderella in the play, The Last Dress Rehearsal and Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She also portrayed an Oompa Loompa and a Tap-Dancing Box in the play, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Soon after moving to California, Lusha was selected as the principle fashion model in a multinational Back-to-School J. C. Penney television campaign which aired in America and South America, and was cast in the Alanis Morissette music video "Hands Clean".
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
