Hi, everyone! I’m here at Animal Acres for my birthday celebration, and I’m really excited because I have my friends and family with me, and I’m just so excited to show them how amazing and sweet and smart all the different farm animals are. We have cows, pigs, a bunch of stuff, and I really cannot think of a better place or a better way to spend my birthday than with my furry animal friends.

Thanks for coming!

With amazing beauty and a sparkling personality, 22-year-old Hayley Marie Norman is an acclaimed actress and lovable vegan from California, USA. She’s appeared on popular TV series like “Crash,” produced by Don Cheadle and starring Dennis Hopper, “Boston Public” and “The Young and the Restless,” and in films such as “Fired Up,” “Norbit” with Eddie Murphy, and “Hancock” alongside Will Smith and Charlize Theron.

She was also one of the most favorite models featured on the NBC game show titled “Deal or No Deal.” The lovely Hayley Marie Norman was both determined and destined in her successful career early on. Her unique beauty, to start with, features an abundance of curls everyone loves, and pays tribute to her combined Russian, German and African American heritage.

When I was a little girl, I was at a restaurant and I was with my family, and Cindy Crawford was there. And I guess she came over to my dad and was like, “This is my agent’s card. Your daughter should be a model. So my parents took me to her agent, and her agent, he was obviously one of the top agencies. And they didn’t represent children as young as I was, but they referred me to a woman who did. So I started off doing a lot of print work, and then commercials, and a little bit of TV work.

Signing with her first agency at age seven, Hayley Marie also became a member of the Screen Actors Guild the same year. Notably, she appeared in a series of ads for toy giant Mattel’s African American Barbie doll.

It’s cool because my family still has a lot of the boxes and the toys and stuff that I used to be on. When I was younger, I just was excited that I would get a toy, because we had to buy the box so that I could put it in my portfolio. But I didn’t even care that I was on it, I just wanted a new Barbie.

That’s so cute.

By age seven, Hayley knew she wanted to be an actress. The dream hasn’t changed since, and she has worked diligently towards it, with her early professional modeling work and dance training. Her parents supported her own decision to move to a performing arts high school, where she spent summers in extra studies at prestigious universities. Hayley then graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, a respected full-time theater conservatory.

I’ve also made it a point to continue my studies. I think it’s important to continue to hone your craft, because things are always changing.

Hayley’s dedicated efforts paid off, as role after role were offered, ranging from big-time movies to a recurring role on a top soap opera. Many people first fell in love with Hayley when she stood out as the enthusiastic, outgoing briefcase model #25 on NBC’s nationally broadcast game show, “Deal or No Deal.”

My favorite part of being on the show, generally, was to be a part of someone’s dreams coming true and making their lives better. I would feel like, really, rooting for people and really wanting them to do well. And then, we did a whole episode around my hair, because a contestant had hair like mine. That was probably my favorite episode.

You’ve worked with some quite reputable actors such as Will Smith, Dennis Hopper, Forest Whitaker, America Ferrara and Taye Diggs. Can you share with us some of your fondest memories of these?

Yes, well, Will Smith, I’ll start with him. He is so sweet. He is like one of the nicest people that you’ll ever meet, and really funny and really down-to-earth. Dennis Hopper is – he was someone that I really respected before I got to work with him, and that my respect for him grew even more after working with him.

And Forest Whitaker was also really sweet, and that was a really special experience for me, because Forest Whitaker is my dad’s favorite actor. My dad actually drove me to set the day that I was working and I knew how proud he was. And being able to make him that proud meant a lot to me. And the same with “Deal or No Deal.” It was my grandma’s show. Being able to do something that she could watch on TV that already she loved was really, really awesome.

For her family’s love and support, Hayley is grateful. In fact, no matter how high and fast she soars, the gifted actress always counts her blessing.

Every time I get a part, I can’t believe that it’s me, you know what I mean? I just feel so lucky.

What are your most memorable experiences as a star?

As a star, that’s funny. I love when I’m out at an event or doing a red carpet event or something, and somebody comes up to me and they mention something that I did or said that impacted their life. Somebody came up to me and it was like, “Oh, I follow you on Twitter and you’re always tweeting about that veganism and stuff, right, yes?” And I say, “Yes, I am.” A couple of weeks later he was like, “So, now I’m vegan.” I think that I feel so lucky that we’ve all been given a voice.

A committed vegan for over two years, the vivacious Hayley Marie Norman has also been, for the same time, a dedicated advocate for her fans and others to find out about the lifestyle.

You are an avid animal activist. (Yes.)

And a vegan. And a guest contributor on the vegetarian, eco-friendly and animal rights website, ThisDishIsVegetarian.com. (Yes.) Tell us how this came about. ?

I truly think it’s the thing that I’m most proud and excited about, and that I feel so passionate about. It just happened one day. And it’s changed my life for the better. It’s not just about the diet for me, that’s like the last part of it. It’s about the world and making the world such a better place. People who don’t know, they’re so shocked to hear that meat is ruining the environment, that eating dairy is destroying our ecosystem. And even if it wasn’t factory farming, if I just like owned like my own farm and had a pig, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t ask that pig to give its life for me.

I don’t think that it’s right. I don’t want to put any creature through that. And I don’t want to then ingest their pain and their suffering.

They actually say pigs have the intelligence of a three-year-old child.

Yes, I know. And 3-year-old kids are smart, you know? And people love their 3-year-old kids, people love their 3-month-old kids, they know stuff. We don’t give animals the credit that they deserve, you know?

I have two dogs, Lucy and Miagi. Lucy is a French bulldog and Miagi is part Chow, part German Shepherd, and he is a rescue. And I love them so much. I actually have dog print tattoos here, just to symbolize my love for them and everything that they've done for me in my life. They bring me so much happiness.

How did you feel after you became vegan? What changes have you noticed?

I honestly feel so much better, in every way possible. I just feel happier and calm and less anxious. Nothing else has changed in my life. It’s a direct attribute to what I’m putting in my body. I shouldn’t have to eat ammonia and chemicals and hormones because it saves them money. My life is more important than that, and everybody on this planet’s life is a lot more important than that. So I eat out at vegan places. I’m not giving my money to someone who’s going to tear down a rainforest, I’m giving my money to somebody who’s going to help make this world a better place. And being part of that cycle I think is so awesome.

My favorite vegan dishes… I love fresh vegetables and fruits in a way that I never thought before. I have a sweet tooth. I could eat vegan ice cream, I eat it all the time, probably way too much I love vegan pizza.

You’re making me hungry the more you talk about it.

I know, I know. I’m making myself hungry. I’m like wanting to eat all those things now!

After the interview, we invited Hayley and her wonderful vegan boyfriend to a fun and tasty dinner at One Veg World Vegan Cuisine restaurant.

Oh my gosh, there’s so much food here, I love it, and it’s all delicious! I thought the phở (Aulacese/Vietnamese noodle soup) was “phở-nomenal!

These are the vegan drumsticks.

Oh my God. (Wow.) These look so good. Look at these! Oh my gosh, vegan food is so delicious. Like you can still have all your favorite food and make it vegan. It’s so easy. I’m so excited to dig in! Hi, I’m Hayley Marie Norman and I’m here at One Veg World finishing off my divine chocolate ice cream. It is so good. I keep putting all the pictures online right now.

I don’t care how busy my schedule is or what I have going on, if somebody asks me about veganism, I will answer. I don’t care what I’m doing, like that will become my most important thing. Like “You want to know about veganism? Check this out, check this out,” like giving people the information.

I think that the majority of people, if they were presented with the information, they would become vegan.

Do you have a message for our viewers ?

I wanted to say thank you for watching, and not thank you for watching me, but thank you for being open to this channel and to what this channel stands for and being a part of it.

And I think the message would just be to stay true to who you are, and you have to do what’s right for you, you have to know what’s right for you, and you can’t be scared to not take the other opportunity.

Recently, we were delighted and honored to be invited to Hayley’s birthday celebration at Animal Acres, a vegan rescue and refuge for farmed animals.

So I’m here at Animal Acres for my birthday, and I’m really excited because this past Thanksgiving, instead of eating a turkey, I adopted one. Instead of Thanksgiving, I named him Hank S. Giving. So, we adopted him from Animal Acres, which is where we are. So, my mission today is to find my turkey, Hank S. Giving. He’s one of the ones over there.

Let’s see if we can find him. That’s him! (Where?) Look. (Oh my gosh, he’s so handsome.) Look at right there. Look it, that’s him because he’s got the thing. (This guy right here, the first one?) Oh, the second one… Well, the mark that we thought was the defining mark, we just realized it’s on four of the turkeys. But I… I still think… (Let me see.)

You think it’s the shorter one? I think it’s the shorter one.

Hank.

Oh, it’s that one! It’s that one, guys, the small one.

Yes, I think so, too.

Mission accomplished. We found my Hank.

You are beautiful inside and out, Hayley! With best belated birthday wishes for your continued success, we thank you and love you for being a vibrant vegan inspiration as you shine in all your endeavors. May you and the cherished ones in your life be blessed evermore!

Happy viewers, thank you for joining us today on Vegetarian Elite. Coming up next is Between Master and Disciples. May joy and kindness be with you at every moment.

Hi, I’m Hayley Marie Norman and I’m proud to say I’m a vegan. You are watching Supreme Master Television. Please, Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!

To find out more about Hayley Marie Norman, visit Twitter.com/xoHayleyMarie