“What are you?” is a question Saroya Whatley gets asked constantly since she’s ethnically ambiguous and likes to wear the occasional wig, whether it be black, gray, or mermaid green. She is a biracial, bisexual feminist born and bred in the golden state of California who believes anything below 75 degrees is cold and dreams about adapting her favorite anime Sailor Moon into a live-action fantasy drama.

As a native Angeleno, Saroya grew up in the business as a child actor. Fifteen years later, after a stint working in tech in San Francisco, she decided to return to the entertainment industry (something she knew she’d always do), but this time as a writer. After receiving her MFA in Writing for Screen & Television from USC, Saroya worked as an assistant on multiple television shows, most notably as a writers’ assistant on Grey’s Anatomy. Saroya’s focus on female-centric narratives about the struggle of identity told through a genre lens led to her becoming repped by APA and to her acceptance into the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop.