Kaya Ugorji (b. 2002) is a Los Angeles-based actor, producer, and filmmaker. With a background in fashion design and visual art, Kaya brings a unique and imaginative perspective to the world of film. 

Growing up, Kaya was heavily into fashion design, painting, and illustration. She discovered a love of acting through a high school improvisation class, but stayed on the fashion track for many years. She went on to pursue higher education at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. After earning an associate degree in Fashion Design at FIT, Kaya realized she loved examining how fashion fit within the worlds of music, photography, and film to tell a bigger story. She found herself to be more intrigued by the storytelling involved in a fashion show than the construction of the garments themselves. Feeling called to integrated storytelling on large scale productions, she pivoted from fashion design to styling and fashion photography. She worked on multiple student projects as a stylist, photographer, and creative director, and earned a bachelor’s degree from FIT in Fabric Styling. Her interest in multiple art disciplines and production would spark her transition from a focus in the fashion industry to the entertainment industry.

After graduating from FIT, Kaya moved to Los Angeles to work as a wardrobe assistant at Parkwood Entertainment. Being in LA motivated her to pour back into her passion for the performing arts, and she very quickly got back into acting. It wasn't long before Kaya decided that acting was not something she wanted to walk away from again. As Kaya balanced freelance wardrobe assisting with acting classes, she found herself wanting to find a way to highlight the synergy between the worlds of fashion and film. She decided to launch a production studio (Von Ugo) with a mission to spotlight the work of costume designers in film by shining a light on their craft through socially innovative media and event production. She is currently developing this studio at the University of Southern California in the Arts Leadership (MS) program. 

Kaya’s work today primarily consists of acting, and producing media and events through Von Ugo. Outside of this work, she occasionally works as a writer (screenwriting, essay writing) and director as well. Kaya considers herself to be a storyteller at her core.  She finds fulfillment in creating bodies of work that were made as a result of a creative team’s shared vision. When she is acting, she finds herself getting swept up into new worlds, deeply moved by art and creativity for the sake of storytelling. As a filmmaker and producer, it is her goal to craft worlds that allow everyone to experience being moved and swept up by art as well. Her objective as an artist is to highlight the symbiotic relationship between costume and film, and to celebrate beauty and drama in the mundane through captivating storytelling, production, and performance.