Above: Taylor Pezza, front center, with her ‘Letters to Santa’ family. 

Taylor Pezza plays one of the children in ‘Letters to Santa.’

By Rachel Quigg, student reporter

In the halls of Eldredge elementary school, there are of course hundreds of stars. Each with a unique talent and gift, but one star/student – Taylor Pezza – shined especially bright Dec. 2, when Letters to Santa, a new holiday movie, premiered on the Hallmark Channel. 

Most of the time, Pezza is a regular 4th grade girl from East Greenwich. She enjoys playing with her friends, dancing gymnastics, and learning in school. But once the school bells ring, she goes from your-run-of-the-mill student to an up-and-coming actor. Starting two years ago with an Amica commercial – she’s done eight commercials since – Taylor has flourished. 

According to Taylor’s dad, Greg Pezza, Taylor is easy to work with and a pro on set. He may be just the tiniest bit biased, but he insists Taylor’s sweet personality and patience make her the perfect kid for the job. 

As for the movie, Letters to Santa is the story of two kids, Sam and Izzy, who write a letter to Santa asking for their parents to get back together. Taylor plays Izzy, her biggest role to date. 

The job did bring about some challenges for Taylor. The movie was filmed in Worcester so Taylor had to miss three weeks of school. Luckily, Taylor likes school work and, thanks to good communications with her teachers, she was able to stay caught up. 

The movie can be found on the Hallmark Channel or you can stream it on Hulu or Peacock! The feedback, says Mom Melissa Pezza, has been terrific.

Rachel Quigg is a sophomore at East Greenwich High School.