Emmanuella Hristova was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. She is the third daughter to Bulgarian parents who immigrated to California shortly before she was born. She began drawing at the ripe age of four, and continued to study the fine arts through high school. In 2009, she received a Congressional award for her colored pencil portrait titled Boy in Red. Trained as a realist with a penchant for strong lines and bold colors, Emmanuella easily transitioned into acrylic painting during her studies at UC Berkeley. Her representational abstract portraits explore the objectification of the subject, whether it's herself or famous figures. She is currently focusing on solely abstract acrylic paintings that represent the drama of human emotions as storms and other acts of God.

Photo © Angelica Brewis

First an artist; second, a poet. Emmanuella continued to explore her creativity through poetry, which she began writing at twenty-four. She spent two years as an English teacher in Richmond, California. During that time, she self-published her first poetry collection: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder. Her poems have been published in For Women Who Roar Issue 2: Power, 365 Days of Covid, and She Rose Issue 3: The Goddess. The Other Crown is her second self-published poetry book. Currently, she is working on two more poetry manuscripts and seeking literary representation for her first novel.