FORT WORTH, Texas — When Sainty Nelsen moved away from Fort Worth, she never expected to move back. The Arlington Heights High School graduate had high hopes of a career on Broadway or a future in Hollywood. But sometimes life has a funny way of making those dreams come true.
“I just thought I’d be this Broadway girl,” Nelsen says.
And she was.
Originally Sainty Reid, she studied musical theater at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio before making the move to New York City. It was there she met and married fellow actor Eric Nelsen, a Florida native pursuing his own entertainment dreams.
Eventually their careers took them west to Los Angeles and the accolades soon followed. Two Tony Awards. Seven Emmys, including Eric becoming the youngest producer ever to take home the coveted award.
But despite their success on Broadway and in Hollywood, Eric had always enjoyed visits back to Sainty’s hometown and thought the two might someday consider a move to Texas. So when they found out they were about to become parents, the decision was made.
“I knew one day I wanted to live here,” Eric says. “I just didn't know when I was going to be possible. So we had our daughter and I was finally like, okay, maybe this is the time. Let's take her out of LA, let's go be around family. Let's have her in a normal, amazing upbringing with good foundations. So we made the move!”
The timing couldn’t have been better. Not long after relocating, Eric got a call to audition for “1883”, the new western from “Yellowstone” creator and fellow Fort Worthian Taylor Sheridan.
“Taylor Sheridan calls me to tell me I got the role and he said it's going to be filming in Fort Worth, Texas,” Eric says. “I was like, wait a minute, we're living in Fort Worth, Texas!”
“1883” took over Cowtown, shooting in the Stockyards, amidst a boom in film and television production in Fort Worth. It served as Texas-sized welcome home for the Nelsens, who haven’t looked back since.
“We have really embraced the whole cowboy/cowgirl culture now,” Sainty says. “We’re fully immersed in this world.”
Fully immersed, indeed. They both play an active role in the community, supporting philanthropic events and local charities. Eric’s work on “1883” helped foster an award-winning love of cutting horses. Sainty’s been recognized by the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Eric is partnered with Bucking Bull Bourbon, and the couple even recently launched a new podcast highlighting their unique personalities, “Glamour and Grit.”
And it’s all happening while they continue their professional producing and acting careers. Eric travels often for film and TV projects around the country. Sainty is able to perform voice-overs in her in-house studio for shows like Netflix’s hit, “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” “The Trolls,” “Minions,” and more.
The two have enjoyed their Fort Worth move so much, they’re actively recruiting their entertainment industry friends to join them.
“They meet the people, they just see how it's just like this camaraderie that you don't get other places,” Eric says. “The minute they get here, they all don't want to leave.”
It appears Eric and Sainty Nelsen are living their Hollywood dreams, but with a Texas twist. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“For me, honestly, it’s just staying busy down here around the people I love,” Eric says. “If I could ride that wave forever, I’d be the happiest person.”
“I’ve never been just so content and so happy in my entire life,” Sainty says. “This community has been so good to us and we want to do as much as we can for this community as well because it has changed our lives.”