Perlizbeth De Leon shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Perlizbeth, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m pursuing my painting career full steam ahead this year. For seven years, I put painting on the back burner while focusing on dance. I was too afraid to put myself out there as a visual artist. Unlike dance—where performing felt natural—I struggled to finish paintings and share them publicly. But as I grew more confident in my body as a mover, I started to find my voice as a visual artist too. I realized so much of my fear was rooted in insecurity—a feeling that never truly had a place in my work to begin with.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Perlizbeth De Leon — a choreographer, painter, singer, actress, model, and educator. I create for a living. My work is rooted in love, care, and honesty, and I strive to express from an unfiltered place — always aware of how my friends, family, peers, and the world shape my perspective.
I grew up in Youngsville, North Carolina — a tiny town that gave me a deep appreciation for big cities and the vastness of possibility. Leaving my roots to explore new creative ground often feels like walking in my purpose.
Right now, I’m focused on developing new paintings and working on a dance concept video — continuing to blend movement and visual storytelling in the way that feels most true to me.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My daughter: Izzy.
She has always been — and will always be — my greatest inspiration. She sees me in a way I wish everyone could see themselves: with pure love, unwavering belief, and joy. She’s my loudest cheerleader. More than anything, I want her to outgrow me in all the ways that matter most.
If you know Izzy then you know what it’s like to be truly seen, fully loved, and endlessly entertained.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
When I decided to divorce my ex-husband of a decade.
I began to see how many toxic patterns we had accepted as normal. Whether rooted in childhood trauma, unhealed experiences, or our shared inability to grow together — we had built a relationship around habits that quietly eroded us.
My ex had mentioned divorce during arguments before, but the shift happened one night at a friend’s birthday party. I asked him to go to the gas station to get me gummy worms. While he was gone, everyone joked about how sweet he was to run out just for candy. When he returned, he tossed the bag on the table and said, “What did I miss?” And something clicked. I saw clearly how far we were from love — how much I’d been pretending we were okay.
That night, in the parking lot before walking into our apartment, I said, “I think we need to get divorced.”
We don’t realize how much energy it takes to survive in negativity — how draining it is to keep hurting each other, ourselves, and everyone in our orbit.
But once I named it, once I released it, I felt my power returning. What used to exhaust me became fuel. I could finally use my energy — for healing, for joy, for myself, my daughter, and the people I love.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no.
The public version of me is part of the real me — but never the whole me. We all share versions of ourselves that the world can view, interpret, and accept… or not. That doesn’t make them fake, just incomplete.
Everything I put into the public eye is genuinely me — but they’re just pieces of a much bigger puzzle. The real me lives in the in-betweens: in private thoughts, quiet moments, and the spaces that don’t always make it to the surface.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
A lot of heart and soul.
The memories of everyone I’ve ever loved and who ever loved me back.
The dreams I carry for a sweeter, softer world — held close like whispers from the stars.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://perlizbeth-paints.square.site
- Instagram: @perlizbeth_ and @perlizbeth.paints
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/puretsu/
Image Credits
Brian Lafuente, Christina Massad, Casey Gardner Ford
