Betsy’s life prior to LA was in the East; well, east of California, at least. She was born in Kansas, and enjoyed a childhood of moving with her family all over the Midwest and the South. The Cramer family lived in Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota, Nebraska and Missouri while Betsy and her younger sister were in their grade school years. They settled in the small town of Weston, Missouri, north of Kansas City, where Betsy began the sixth grade. The family made their home there, and both girls graduated from West Platte High School in Weston. After finishing high school, Betsy continued her education at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Upon her college graduation with a Bachelors of Journalism focused in Advertising, Betsy accepted her first job as an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Hotdogger, working for Kraft Foods.

Being a Hotdogger sounds like a crazy and unique job - and it certainly was. This one year position had Betsy traveling all over the US driving the famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and promoting their products of hotdogs, bologna and lunchmeats to consumers across the country. Betsy traveled to 31 states in a rolling hotdog, experiencing literally all the adventures you can imagine along the way. Hotdogging taught her more and broadened her horizons further than four years of college did, and at the end of her year, Betsy found herself at a crossroads in what was to come next.

For as far back as she could remember, Betsy had felt the desire to perform, and even secretly admitted to herself that her one wild, ridiculous, silly, completely impossible dream was to be an actress. She had been active in theater throughout her growing up years and with her sorority in college, but living in the Midwest had always encouraged her that this was just a “nice hobby”. The idea of actually pursuing the dramatic arts as a career was ludicrous…no one actually did that…it was something for lazy dreamers, talkers, or people who couldn’t get a “real job”. At least that was what she’d always been told. But her experience with the Wienermobile had given her a new belief that nothing was impossible, and that everything was worth a shot. She knew that if she didn’t give a career in entertainment an honest chance, she would always wonder, “what if….”

After her first six months in LA working as a production assistant on a daily TV show, Betsy has now been pursuing acting as a career full time for nearly four years. In that time, she has secured agent representation across the board in print, commercial, and theatrical. She has done theater in Los Angeles, several national print jobs, commercials and infomercials, independent film, an internet series, hosted a pilot, co-stared in another pilot, was featured in bonus DVD material, and earned eligibility to join the Screen Actor’s Guild. She has also been training in improv, scene study, camera and audition technique with several respected teaches in the Los Angeles area. Betsy has learned that going after a career in acting is a definite lifestyle, and one that she is fully committed to. Happy to be able to enjoy the process, excited and optimistic for what her career holds, Betsy is enthusiastically heading into the “…West of her future”.

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Q.) What’s your favorite color?
A.) It really depends on my mood - but I seem to always switch back and forth between blue and green. I think they’re both happy and soothing.

Q.) Dogs or cats?
A.) I really hate cats. They’re self-absorbed, bitchy, shed everywhere, and poo in the house. I’ve had bad experiences with roommates and ex-boyfriends cats, which left me loathing felines. Dogs -- now doggies are another story. Love them! They’re happy, active, affectionate, and poo outside. If I could get a dog, it’d be a wiener dog, and I’d name him Yummy. J

Q.) Hobbies?
A.) Okay, well, if I find time for something like hobbies between waiting tables and sitting in traffic and auditioning and preparing to audition and working promo gigs and being in class and actually working on set here and there and attending casting director workshops and doing mailings and basic life maintenance stuff like laundry and balancing the checkbook and leading a small group at my church and hanging with friends and working out and nursing a myspace.com addiction….they would probably be surfing, doing crafty things, shopping, and reading.

Q.) What’s one of the biggest differences you notice between LA and where you grew up?
A.) One of the first things I remember noticing when I got here was the vast diversity in the kinds of people. Every ethnic background and nationality is represented some where in LA, and I love that! Everyone was pretty much the same were I came from -- we were all just white kids. I also sometime miss wide open spaces - but one of the best things about Southern California is that those are easily found. The beach isn’t exactly acres of farmland, but it works. People here also seem to have much shorter attention spans.

Q.) Why acting? What draws you to it?
A.) Well, I think I hit on this in my bio as well, but I feel it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, just that I didn’t give myself permission to pursue it seriously until I was 24 years old. When you get a hold of what your passion is, you just want to go make it happen! I am so fascinated by human relationship and stories, and the retelling of one’s experience. I believe that story is the language that the human heart speaks in and understands - and perhaps the art form that most shapes our culture. It captivates me to be apart of that. I love exploring other’s experience and better understanding my own through the work of acting. I find in such a challenging and unconquerable craft, and those stakes draw me to it all the more.

Q.) What would you be doing if you weren’t an actress?
A.) Probably using my degree more directly! Haha - I think I’d be working at an event and experiential marketing company, planning and staffing Wienermobile-esque promotions. But as of right now, I’m SOOO GLAD that’s NOT what I’m doing!