(AllHipHop News) Vanessa Simmons has transformed from a reality show star in Run’s House to a leading lady in My First Loves, an upcoming film that highlights her skills as an actress. The spotlight in nothing new to Vanessa, but she admitted that this feeling was quite different from her other ventures in TV and fashion. “I’m very excited, I’ve definitely had a chance through these couple of years to experiment and do some indies and some TV work and I’m excited that I was cast to be the lead in this role. I think that it definitely is broadening my horizons and I think it has taken me out of my comfort zone, but I’m excited to tell this story.” Published author and accomplished filmmaker Dominga Martin chose Simmons as the leading lady in her new film that Vanessa describes as “honest.” “It gets real honest from a female’s point of view. Its just real honest, I’m just excited to be working with Dominga, and not only did she write it but she also is directing it as well,” Vanessa told AllHipHop.com. “I think that its bold and courageous and definitely inspiring” Vanessa says that the character that she plays in the film is a woman that many women in today’s world will be able to relate to. “I think that Starla is just really relatable, she is a hard working, young lady, who I feel like is looking for love. It sounds sort of chick-flickish, but that’s our story aside from our contributions back to the world, I think we are here to find love and to share that with somebody else, and I think that her story is very relatable to other people in what we go through as women in finding that one person we can share our life with.” Dominga Martin said she was instantly impressed with Vanessa. “She had [the right] demeanor, voice, characteristics…we hit it off and she loved the script,” she said. “I met Vanessa Simmons about two years ago and she looked just like the character in my head” The movie is gaining funding from Martin’s production company, House Of Ming’s crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo.com started in February of 2013 and plans to begin filming this summer.