Carolyn Connolly is a deadly combination—beautiful, talented and smart.

“I went to college when I was 16, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. It was a four-year engineering program, and I graduated in 1997 with a BEEE (Bachelors of Engineering in Electrical Engineering),” Connolly wrote in a recent interview with The Wire.

“Want to know what led me to acting? ‘Stargate SG-1,’ the TV show. And ‘Battlestar Gallactica,’ ‘Law & Order,’ ‘ER’ and a couple of other sci-fi series on TV,” she continued.

“I started going to conventions,” Connolly said. “I met the actors, met other fans. But, what happened is that I started to see the actors rather than the characters. And, as I started to see the real people behind the scenes, I started to see myself in their shoes.”

Still, it’s a pretty big leap from attending conventions to hopping onstage or in front of the camera.

“I used to make movies in high school. I was in the AV club,” she explained. “But, I lost sight of that. And, I was never encouraged to pursue filmmaking as a legitimate ‘adult’ activity.”

But then, something very exciting and unexpected happened.

“I saw one of my former actors, Jen Drohan, from one of my silly high school movies, on TV! In an episode of ‘Law and Order!’” Connolly wrote.

It was a trigger that snapped her awake and pushed her into her first acting class. She was married, getting ready to have children and BOOM!

“Here was someone from my past, someone I’d directed, doing it for real, as an adult,” she said.

Connolly enrolled in her first acting class at age 29 and auditioned for a role in “Proof,” by David Auburn. She auditioned hoping to gain any role she could. Much to her surprise, she won the lead role of Catherine, beating out a number of much more seasoned actresses.

“It was horrible!” she says now. “It was almost the first and last show that I ever did!” Growing more serious, she admits, “One thing that kept me going was the director, Norm Smith, who, to this day, I consider a very good friend. Once we were done ‘working,’ he’d switch modes from director to emotional support buddy. He saw a lot of tears, gave a lot of hugs and still didn’t ease up on me in rehearsal.”

It wasn’t long after her acting debut that she made the jump into a successful film, “Sharp Dressed Men,” by Laurelin Productions, which debuts at the SNOB (Slightly North of Boston) film festival Nov. 9, in Concord. Although she was not entirely satisfied with her performance or how the film was shot, she enjoyed the experience.

“I thought it was a phenomenal, hilarious script,” Connolly wrote. “I was terrified my first few days on that set. I thought I was out of my league with all the ‘real actors’ milling about. I think it was a fun, fun learning experience, and I came away with some pretty cool friends from it.”

Connolly also worked on “Stricken,” an upcoming Laurelin Films production, in which she was both in front of and behind the camera. She relished the experience of working with such a professional cast and crew. “I’ve already told Ti (Chase, CEO of Laurelin) that if he makes another movie, I’d gladly come back and work on it with him and this group again.”

When asked who has been among her biggest influences since getting into this whirlwind experience, she responded, “Everyone. Every single person I’ve worked with. I am a sponge. Every person I meet, I learn from them—from their talent, their methods, their styles, their outlook on life and art, their attitude.”

Finally, I had to ask this amazing artist why we’re losing her to the opposite coast.

“I’m going to do theater and film out (in California). I’ve already got a couple leads for theater companies out there. I’m going to get involved with Roller Derby (another hobby of hers) out there. I don’t want to be famous. I don’t need fortune. If I wanted that, I’d stay in New England and work as an electrical engineer. I made plenty of money doing that. But it didn’t make me happy. I’m looking for peace, happiness, self and good friends. It’s a tall order for L.A.!”

But, if anyone can do it, I’m betting this lady can.