Very few have shown the power of networking across the way Rae has — meaning, working with the people around you, not above. In an industry where everyone’s vying to get the same big — and, often, white — names to star in, direct or write for their projects, Rae has proven that you don’t need a cast of preapproved Hollywood A-list names to push a product. In fact, she managed to build her own table instead of begging for a seat at someone else’s. 

Take Yvonne Orji, for example. In 2015, for the role of “Insecure” main character Issa Dee’s best friend, Molly, Rae cast Orji, then an aspiring comedian with no real acting experience. “Issa changed my life — she gave me an opportunity!” Orji says. “She has an inspiring ability to see new talent and give the underdogs a chance.” 

Since making her small screen debut on “Insecure,” Orji has appeared in projects like “Jane the Virgin,” and the film “Vacation Friends,” and headlined two comedy specials. Orji points out that, similarly, the showrunner of “Rap Sh!t,” Syreeta Singleton, was a writing assistant on “Insecure” just five years ago.

“Issa provides opportunities and space to thrive, whereas the old gatekeepers of Hollywood make us jump through hoops, and then determine we are still not ready. She’s kind of like the new gatekeeper, but in a way that she actually does the work and opens the gate for multiple people to come through. She cultivates talent in a way that’s just beautiful.” 

Sarunas J. Jackson, the actor who played Molly’s love interest Dro, echoes Orji’s sentiment. “It is such an honor to be a small part of Issa’s journey, and to see her dropkick down doors in this business” he says. Post “Insecure,” Jackson went on to appear in Hulu’s “Good Trouble” and HBO Max’s “Made for Love,” as well as the recent horror-comedy film “Gatlopp.”

“To see more and more Black women get opportunities to create, lead and produce — and to know that Issa is one of the reasons for that shift — is so beautiful,” Jackson says. “She’s already a legend in my eyes, and this is only the beginning.”

The thing about building your own table, though? It’s exhausting, and the burnout that can come with it is something Rae knows well. Over the course of 2021, the now 37-year-old found herself finishing the last season of “Insecure,” executive producing the first season of the upcoming HBO Max series “Rap Sh!t,” filming an episode of Apple TV’s anthology series “Roar,” and running her growing media production company, HOORAE — all while planning a wedding with her longtime partner, Louis Diame, that she somehow managed to keep secret from the world until she shared the stunning photos on Instagram.

“Last year taught me that the balance needs to be planned in advance for me, because, otherwise, I would just work, work, work, work, work,” Rae said. “Even after ‘Insecure,’ like a dummy, I did an episode of ‘Roar.’ Then I flew to France, and I was like, ‘Why did I need to do that? I could have taken that two weeks in between to chill and prepare and do all these things?’ But I chose to do this episode. It was a great experience … but I know myself. I know how frustrated and/or tired I can get in some cases, and I’m not doing my best when I’m like that.”