What Happened To Masiela Lusha After The George Lopez Show?
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The "George Lopez" show may have aired its last episode over a decade ago, but most of us are still into watching the reruns on TV. The sitcom, which aired on ABC from 2002 to 2007, centered on comedian George Lopez and his life with his fictional family. While Lopez was already a well-known actor and comedian, the show helped make a name for actress Masiela Lusha, who starred as his teen daughter Carmen for five seasons.
She reflected on her time on the set to Sitcoms Online in 2013, saying, "George and [costar] Constance Marie taught me so much about work ethic and valuing one's craft, that to this day, I still refer back to their lessons." While Lusha spoke highly of her time on the show, she decided to not return for the show's final season. She claimed that the decision was best for her character Carmen who had gone off to college in the show.
Despite missing the last season, there's no doubt Lusha appreciated playing the passionate and sensitive Carmen – and it appears that Lusha has something special in common with her beloved character. Let's take a look at what Masiela Lusha has done since then.
Masiela Lusha continues to act and writes poetry
"George Lopez" star Masiela Lusha has managed to stay busy in the years after the sitcom got canceled by ABC. For one, like her character Carmen on "George Lopez," Lusha is a poet and even released a collection of her work in a book called "The Living Air."
She is also still a working actor, having appeared in several films including Showtime's "Fatal Instinct," opposite "Laguna Beach" alum Stephen Colletti in the horror film "Kill Katie Malone," and in three of the popular "Sharknado" movies. She spoke to Tell-Tale TV in 2017 about the success of the TV movie series, saying, "I think the lifeline of 'Sharknado' is social media. It felt like we were watching it together, globally. It was really nice."
Lusha also pleased fans when she appeared on former co-star George Lopez's TV Land sitcom 'Lopez,' where she played a fictional version of herself, a reunion that she said left fans wanting more of the former 'George Lopez' show. "It wasn't enough for fans. They immediately started asking when the show was coming back."
While there are no plans for a 'George Lopez' reboot just yet, the show will always be special for Lusha. She told Sitcoms Online in 2013, "I feel fortunate to have learned from such incredibly talented actors, to evolve and grow under their influence. We shared such an important part of our lives together, so I will always consider the cast family."
George Lopez meant a lot to Masiela Lusha
Masiela Lusha's time on the "George Lopez" show will evidently always be very special to the actor. She revealed to We Blab Entertainment Magazine, "The 'George Lopez' show was my first sitcom audition, my first Network test, and my first major offer." It appears that Lusha was destined to land the role, too, since she added, "The series of auditions and tests felt easy, natural, and for the first time in my early career, I felt that this was where I needed to be." It also probably helped that the Albanian-born actor really connected with her character, Carmen Lopez. Lusha dished, "She was an amalgamation of nearly every friend I had known and adored in school, and the most authentic pieces of me."
While the show was very much a comedy, it also touched on important issues, with Lusha's character specifically dealing with teen bullying. The "Sharknado" star recalled to Sitcoms Online how it helped one fan, in particular, saying, "To watch a beautiful young girl tear up before my eyes because she had lived through Carmen's torments of bullying was an experience I will never forget."
It's clear Lusha is proud to have been part of the series as a whole. She gushed, "What made the 'George Lopez' show magical is the authenticity injected by the producers and our incredibly dedicated staff of writers." She added, "The producers weren't afraid to let the characters scream, cry, feel genuine heartbreak, and simply live."
She took risks with roles
Masiela Lusha continued to find steady work as an actor in both TV and films after leaving the sitcom 'George Lopez' in 2007. She didn't seem to have any interest in taking a break from Hollywood at the time, since she told Sitcoms Online, "I knew that I fell in love with acting, and that any opportunity ... where I could perform, felt like a dream come true."
While Lusha's next most recognizable project was probably her role in the "Sharknado" franchise, the poet did notably branch out and take risks as an actor as well. For example, in 2007, Lusha starred in the short film "Muertas" about murders in Mexico. She wrote on her website, "To portray one of these girls victimized in Juarez was an experience I'll never forget." That following year, Lusha played a nun in the Albanian film, "Times of Comet," where she revealed, "Being a part of the film gave me the opportunity to visit my homeland of Albania for the first time in 17 years."
From there, Lusha continued to purposely switch up the kind of roles she was taking. She explained that she did the 2009 film, "Blood: The Last Vampire" specifically because she "craved for a role that would push me to see how far I could take a role," and that the "martial arts action film allowed me to experience something truly exhilarating." It appears Lusha was adamant to not be known as only a teen sitcom star.
Lusha married a non-celebrity
Her character, Carmen Lopez, may have had bad luck with boyfriends on the TV series "George Lopez," but it seems Masiela Lusha found her real life Prince Charming in her husband, Ramzi Habibi. According to LinkedIn, Habibi works in finance and has served as the Managing Director at Oaktree Capital Management since 2008.
While it's unclear how they met since he doesn't work in the entertainment industry, Lusha gushed to Call Me Adam, "I knew from the day I met him we would marry." And they did just that on December 28, 2013. According to Larsson Weddings, they traveled to New Zealand to tie the knot on Coromandel Peak, where they held the ceremony amongst breathtaking mountains.
The two appear to still be very in love with Lusha frequently sharing photos of Habibi on her Instagram. In one photo of them hand-in-hand, she called him, "My sunshine" in the caption, and in another referred to him as her "hunk of a husband." In another photo caption, Lusha wrote that she was "Happy to have met this bit of magic” and in another 2020 post, she commemorated their 7th wedding anniversary. For Lusha, when it comes to their marriage, she explained, "Our connection as a couple is living the same reality together, with an innate understanding of each other's inner process," adding, "We both try to fully immerse ourselves in each other's lives." It seems the couple knows how to make their relationship a priority.
Masiela Lusha became a mother-of-two
It may be hard for fans of "George Lopez" to picture Masiela Lusha as anything other than a rebellious teen, but these days the actor is a parent herself of two young children. In 2017, Lusha opened up about her experience with pregnancy to The Bump, saying, "We should embrace this change in our bodies thoughtfully and without guilt." She also shared a letter she penned to her son before he was born, where she wrote, "I want nothing more than for you to be happy, content and courageous," adding, "I hope to experience with you the same level of unshakable friendship my mother gifted me."
On February 13, 2018, she announced her son's birth in an Instagram post, writing, "Welcome to our dot of a world, Landon. We hope you learn the poetry of striving for the impossible." On October 12, 2020, she shared the birth of her daughter in a similar way by posting a photo with the caption, "Welcome home, Sweet Arabella LeMont! Our little light has finally arrived."
From the looks of Lusha's Instagram, it appears the "Anger Management" actor has really taken to motherhood. In a 2021 post of her children together, she revealed, "I now wholly understand that love is a tangible muscle that grows. And once it expands, it can never return to a lesser form." In another post of her reading to her children, Lusha refers to them as "My whole and complete universe."
She spent time doing humanitarian work
It's clear that since leaving "George Lopez," Masiela Lusha has taken a lot of time to give back. In fact, throughout the years, Lusha has been an active humanitarian, involved in several organizations aimed at helping others. She explained why it's important for her to do so to Sitcoms Online, noting, "I've personally witnessed what we as a society are capable of when we commit to a cause." She added, "On a personal level ... I strive to repay all the blessings I've received, and it's never enough."
One way Lusha repaid her blessings was through the Masiela Lusha Foundation, which aims to help children and families. She revealed that she came up with the charity after visiting orphans while on a movie set in the Balkans. She recalled, "These children were begging for food, homeless, and deprived of decent clothing." By 2017, Lusha had also gone to Africa to visit with orphans there, as an Ambassador for Sentebale, per the Los Angeles Times High School Insider. When it came to that experience with Prince Harry's charity, Lusha gushed, "That was life-changing."
Additionally, the mother-of-two was involved in a non-profit organization called "Uncommon Good." Lusha explained to We Blab Entertainment Magazine that the charity "helps families rewrite their stories ... through our mentorship program." For Lusha, the need to give back is simple. "I feel my experience as a refugee galvanizes my passion for humanitarian work. I simply to need to support any way that I can," she said.
Masiela Lusha pursued talents outside of acting
It seems that acting isn't Masiela Lusha's only passion since the "Branded" star has pursued several other endeavors following her time on "George Lopez." Lusha is a poet and a writer, having authored eight books that have consisted of poetry and prose. She revealed to Sitcoms Online that when it comes to her writing, "I focus on the positive elements of our society, on the traditions and customs that enhance our world." Six of Lusha's books were written after her time on the sitcom, with two of them being children's books that she happened to write before having children. Yet the mother-of-two gushed in a 2020 Instagram post, "When writing a children's book in my twenties, I never quite imagined I'd have a sweet son who would request that I read it before nearly every nap and bedtime."
Lusha has also tried her hand at the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood. She did this in 2010 by serving as co-producer of a horror movie she also starred in called, "Kill Katie Malone," per IMDb. Additionally, from the looks of her Instagram, it appears the beauty has done some modeling over the years, considering she's shared several photos of herself looking very glamorous from what appear to be professional photoshoots.
In a 2021 post, Lusha revealed that she's even a musician too, by sharing a video of her very impressive piano playing skills. It's obvious that Lusha's many talents kept her busy even when not on TV.
What is Masiela Lusha up to now?
As of January 2022, Masiela Lusha is pretty active on Instagram, often sharing photos from what appear to be photoshoots and from her everyday life with her family. It looks like these days, Lusha spends a lot of her time being a hands-on mom to her two small children and still doing charity work. She also continues to express her creative side, seemingly through painting and sharing her poetry. In terms of acting though, it's unclear if Lusha has anything in the works.
According to her IMDb, Lusha's last gig was in 2019, when she appeared in the TV movie, "My Best Friend's Christmas." A year before that was the last time she appeared in the "Sharknado" TV movie franchise. Lusha told the Los Angeles Times High School Insider why she returned for the film despite heavy criticism, saying, "What compelled me to accept this, is that it's a family unit and ... encourages certain dynamics within family." She also explained to Tell Tale TV, "Art is messy ... So for that, we just embrace whatever reaction as part of the messiness of art."
Although fans haven't seen Lusha on screen in a while, she's still very much part of Hollywood, attending premieres and promoting the work of fellow actors through social media. Yet, perhaps Lusha won't be away from our TVs forever, since she once told Sitcoms Online, "I love sitcom — it's in my blood, and it would be an honor to live that world again!"