Bio
A modern renaissance woman - actress, creature performer, alt model, MUA, scientist and a multi-faceted neurodiverse creative with a linguist and STEM background. Born-and-raised in Croatia (ex-Yugoslavia), Néa Dune is splitting her time between Europe and USA (Los Angeles). She first moved overseas as an extraordinary abilities alien in the fall of 2015. After arriving in Hollywood, it took less than 2 weeks to land her first feature film role and hair modeling campaigns, ultimately earning her a greencard in record time.
Néa speaks 8 languages, with an ear for dialect/accents and nurtures a rich skillset, breaking glass ceilings and reaping awards in every field she immerses herself into. The model-turned-actress worked with renowned directors and creators over the years, on both mainstream and indie projects; modeled for over 150+ brands and graced 45+ magazine covers worldwide. Néa first gained recognition through international editorials and vixen roles, signing with her first foreign model agency in 2012 in London, UK.
Before her move overseas, Néa studied acting at the only English-language acting school in Zagreb - International Arts Center, and continued honing her craft through L.A. workshops with respected teachers and industry coaches. Before starting her on-camera career, she earned two Master degrees in linguistics and STEM fields, won a Rector's Award for her work and continued with a ph.D, later escaping to pursue her entertainment career full-time. She's been implementing her linguist skills as a Voice-Over actress and Translator for over a decade, specializing in Balkan languages (her native Croatian, as well as Yugoslav languages), English and Spanish. Now SAG-Core, Néa directed, wrote, cast and produced 2 film projects in festival circuit gathering over a dozen laurels, including winning a Best International Short Film award for her debut "SlavInLA" that she is developing into a full project. When not in front of the camera, she creates looks behind the lens as a certified Make-Up/Hair/SFX celebrity artist.
Néa has been a dedicated volunteer and humanitarian for the majority of her life, both directly hands-on (from environmental work in Croatia and Iceland, or training low-income dancers competitions in Croatia, to US ambassadorships and supporting events with a cause) and online to bring awareness to various causes she advocates for: invisible illnesses, conservation and innovation, equality, alt subcultures and her native culture to help remove stigmas.
She served in the European Youth Parliament for a full decade, which enabled her to master fluency in English language, and even brought back the world's biggest hackathon by NASA to Croatia with her ph.D bestie. Néa offers her expertise to fellow foreigners to the USA as a certified life/career coach specializing in O1 and EB1 visas, with all success stories - pulling from her rich teacher experiences (university in STEM and linguistics, languages, dance/cirque and makeup).
Ever since early childhood she has been exceptionally creative, always crafting and bringing her ideas to life as a true neurodivergent polymath. As such, Néa achieved a lot of firsts - including recognition as the first successful Croatian alt model & covergirl (while also being crowned Top5 US Alt Models in 2018); the first Croatian mermaid SireNea and creator of MerAdria (Croatia's and Balkan region's first and only mermaid eco-events benefitting Adriatic Sea); the youngest academic researcher at the time, as well the first regional alternative aerialist at the time.
Néa is always on the hunt for new skills and abilities, thriving on intertwining them: she enjoys producing meaningful content; as a trained ballroom dancer and aerialist with 20+ years of experience she specializes in stunts of such nature; a professional mermaid and a certified PSS freediver; a creature performer and stilt-walker, archer, lover of extreme sports, well-traveled linguistic aficionada (native Croatian; native level in Balkan languages Serbian and Bosnian; fluent English and Master degree in Spanish; proficient in German, French, Slovenian and Latin etc.).