Daniela Sea (born 1977) is an American filmmaker, actress and musician. She rose to prominence through her role as Max Sweeney on Showtime's drama series The L Word.

Biography

She grew up in Malibu, California, raised by her hippie parents. When she was a child, her father came out as gay. Her stepfather taught her to surf and moved the family to Hawaii so they could enjoy better surfing. Her earliest memories are of the ocean, later inspiring her pseudonym.




“

ran away when I was 16 from L.A. and I moved to the Bay area, like a good gay kid would." While there in Berkeley, she joined the DIY/punk/feminist/artist space Gilman Street Project, studied improv acting in Laney College, and played in several punk rock bands, including The Gr'ups and Cypher in the Snow.

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Sea traveled all over Europe and Asia. She hitchhiked through Turkey, did some street theatre, and performed as a fire juggler with a traveling circus in Poland. As a punk rocker, she and her band cross-dressed. At one point in her world travels, she lived in India for eight months as a man.

She said about her sexuality:




“

But I…don't believe that gender is just binary, and I never have, so that's what pulls me to sometimes politically identify as a lesbian, because I'm a feminist, and I feel like women are still so suppressed. I don't feel like we've come that far. But I also feel like there are people all along the spectrum, so in that sense, I feel like I would be more bisexual or just, you know, open-ended.

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Sea is a longtime vegan and has made a PSA video for PETA.