There’s No Handbook on Life, I Follow My Heart Says Lauren Gottlieb on Leaving Hollywood for Bollywood

Lauren Gottlieb’s journey from the glitz of Hollywood to the vibrant heart of Bollywood is nothing short of cinematic. Known today for her breakout role in ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, the dancer-turned-actress recently opened up about the pivotal moment she made the bold decision to leave behind a thriving career in Los Angeles to chase a dream in India — a move many questioned, but one that ultimately transformed her life.

“Being in Hollywood, where I started my career, it was quite odd for everyone over there to think I’d just leave,” Lauren shared during a recent interaction. And she had a point — her career in the U.S. was on a meteoric rise. From making a mark on the global dance reality show So You Think You Can Dance, to performing with icons like Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Shakira, Britney Spears, and even giving Tom Cruise private dance lessons — Lauren was, in her own words, “slaying.”

“If there was any dance movie being made in Hollywood during those six years, I was in it,” she said with pride. Her resume read like a dream, but when an unexpected email from UTV Motion Pictures landed in her inbox — inviting her to play the lead in Remo D’Souza’s ABCD — her heart spoke louder than logic. “I always moved with my heart,” Lauren said. “People around me were like, ‘What are you doing? Why would you just leave?’ But I said, there’s no handbook on life to tell you what to do. I follow my intuition.”

And follow it she did. Moving across the world to a new country, culture, and language was no easy feat, but Lauren threw herself into the challenge. “ABCD came and I tried my best to get my name out. There was no star cast in the movie,” she recalled. “I had just a little left on my visa. I remember calling my parents and telling them, ‘I will make it.’ I went to a visa agency and they told me, ‘No, your visa is expiring.’ And I said, ‘You need to let me stay.’”

Lauren’s leap of faith paid off. ABCD became a sleeper hit, launching her into the spotlight in India. But more than the fame or recognition, what mattered to her most was that she had carved her path, unapologetically, and on her own terms. “People thought it was wild,” she admitted. “But it opened up the most beautiful life.”

Her story is a powerful reminder that success doesn’t always follow a script — sometimes, it follows the heart.