This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Hitting a career high. 

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

At the age of 46, Constance Zimmer, actress/mom/director/wife/advocate, is just now hitting her stride. Many of us first fell for Zimmer as ruthless, skirt-suited studio exec Dana Gordon on "Entourage." The cutthroat character was an instant fan favorite, in part because she served up some seriously strong female vibes in an otherwise testosterone-drenched plotline. After a six year run with HBO complete with a spin-off movie, Zimmer reprises her not-to-be-f*cked alter-ego as power producer Quinn King on Lifetime’s Peabody-winning, Bachelor-inspired "unREAL." In an industry as notoriously sexist and ageist as Hollywood, Zimmer is changing the game, defying stereotypes and shining in her first leading role as a woman in her 40s.

“I wish I could take credit, but it's the amazing women like Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Shonda Rhimes, Sharon Horgan, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham and the list goes on, who are changing the roles written for women,” says Zimmer, on overcoming the the industry’s well-documented women problem. “The audiences are changing. We want to see more characters we can relate to… the landscape of television is changing, too. There's more room now for actors to find their voice.”

In an episode of the female-fronted “Better Things,” co-created by the hilarious Louis CK and Pamela Adlon, Zimmer and Adlon’s characters play rival actresses often vying for the same audition. But if you’re looking for a catfight, don’t hold your breath. The competition is nothing more than fiction. “I've never felt competitive with my friends. I have gotten through the ups and downs of this business by believing that we all get the roles we are meant to get. I only have love and support for my friends whether we are up for the same part or not.” For this cool-headed approach, Zimmer thanks her acting coach. "20 years ago, she told me ‘You are enough.’ I still use it to this day, it's something I work on all the time.”

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

A lot has gone well for Zimmer in the last five years, personally as well as professionally. “I have always been incredibly grateful for my career, but definitely since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin,” says the "unREAL" leading lady, who jokes that playing fierce matriarchs on TV has allowed her to express her inner voice without getting in trouble for it. “Because of that, the roles I've been lucky enough to play in the last five years feel like I'm using a different muscle. I also feel a little more responsible in how I portray these strong women, I want them to be relatable.”

"Since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin."

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In real life, Zimmer is fiercely devoted to family. While many of her shows aren’t exactly child-safe, she recently procured her old sitcom “Good Morning, Miami” on DVD and looks forward to a moment of calm to sit down and watch it with her daughter.

This year, Zimmer will celebrate yet another first — her directorial debut with an episode of "unREAL," already renewed for a third season. “I look forward to directing more. I have directors I dream about working with like the Coen Brothers, Jeff Nichols, or Wes Anderson, and of course some favorite actors to work alongside would be Meryl Streep, Tina Fey and Mark Ruffalo.”

Zimmer is is leading the way for a new era of leading ladies, and that means using her status for advocacy. “I find it unbelievable that a woman doing the same job as a man is not making the same amount of money. That's mind boggling to me.” On a personal level, she’s a firm believer in amplifying female voices. “I make sure that all women in my life know they are special and that their voice is unique to them and not focus on trying to being someone else.” While her favorite piece of life advice may not be what you’d expect: “Don't wait for a special occasion to wear that fancy dress, wear it now!”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.