Winter Ave Zoli is making a major career move. The Sons of Anarchy actress, who recurred as Lyla Dvorak-Winston for Season 2 onward of the FX crime drama, shared a lengthy three-part message to her Instagram looking back at her life and career. Long story short, Zoli announced that she would be stepping away from acting in order to focus on her other full-time job: being a mother.
The mother of three shared that while she was elated to book Sons of Anarchy even despite some heartbreaks she experienced throughout the series, it was after “the birth of my third baby that I could feel what had gradually been shifting in me, becoming unavoidable. I was physically and mentally exhausted, having two very young children plus an infant. I was exhausted by the entertainment industry. It was changing and shifting with the times, as industries do, with new platforms (streaming services) and catering to the world of social media, something I really never cared for.”
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“It wasn’t until this last February that I confronted a huge decision that needed to be made,” Zoli continued. “It was a tearful, painful admittance: it was time to pull away. And when I made it official, a huge weight was lifted. I knew I had made the right decision. I don’t know what will be in the future, but for now I know that I am happier and more self-confident than ever. My role as a mother has taken precedence, and for the moment, I don’t want it any other way. I am taking the time to raise good humans while concurrently being made into a better version of myself.”
While Winter Ave Zoli will be retiring from acting, she will remain fairly active on social media. She admitted that she cannot pull away from her “innate artistic nature,” whether design, fashion, writer, or photography. She shared she was making “this space my creative outlet,” likely posting plenty of her art on Instagram so she can express herself. “I hope you all continue to follow me on this journey, and consequently, I hope I can be of some inspiration as I discover and fumble down this unexplored path,” Zoli said.
Zoli has been in the entertainment industry for three decades, and it couldn’t have been an easy decision to walk away, no matter how great of an excuse it is. It sounds like she’s thought long and hard about it, and even though she made some lifelong friends and memories, she felt that being a mother trumped it all. And I can’t say I blame her. It will be exciting to see what Zoli has going on next and how she expresses her artistic nature. At the very least, fans will be able to continue watching Zoli on Sons of Anarchy, Bosch, or anything else she’s in, thanks to streaming.
