With both parents having immigrated from Serbia, Jelena grew up in a habitually loud and foreign household where lamb rotated on a spit in the front yard and guests were greeted at the door with a shot of slivovitz. Cultural traditions and community mattered. There was the Serbian Orthodox church. The folklore performance group. And Christmas was in January. Yes, they were the weirdos on the block.

After Jelena began her career as an actress, appearing on shows like Modern Family, she quickly realized that with her not-so-modern family, she had a lot of unique stories to tell. Since graduating from USC with a degree in Film and Television Production, Jelena has channeled her past of otherness into projects that highlight and explore themes such as family and embracing who you are.

Jelena wrote, directed, and produced her upcoming film “Daisy,” which led her to become a candidate for Ryan Murphy’s Half-Initiative. She has worked in production on the Oscar contender “The Wind Phone” and the Warner Bros. Television series, “All American: Homecoming.” Recently, she has produced the award-winning films “Raine” and “Convergence” and is currently attached to produce several other independent projects.