When she was diagnosed with cancer at 12, her dream was to meet actress Kristen Bell. She got her wish.

When Brookfield teen Amara Lehman was in the hospital with Hodgkin's lymphoma stage 4, she came up with a life philosophy that is somewhat rare for such a young person.

"Do what makes you happy," said Amara. And for her, that was acting. Living with cancer as a child, she dreamed of one day being able to meet her favorite actress Kristen Bell, she said.

Her beloved role model was the voice actor of Anna in "Frozen" and the star of "The Good Place" and "Veronica Mars."

"I was so excited and in shock," she said when she got the phone call that her wish would come true with the help of Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin. In January, she flew to Los Angeles and stayed for three days at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. She had a three-hour lunch at an oyster bar there with Bell, and she went, with her parents, Amy and Nick, to Universal Studios and rode rollercoasters, saw shows and attended the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

She also got an autograph T-shirt from Bell.

"It was amazing," Amara said of meeting Bell. "It felt so natural and super real." She said before meeting Bell, she was a little nervous about being able to hold a conversation with her for three hours. But when she actually met her, all her nervousness melted away.

"She was down to earth," Amara said. "We talked so much. I like that she is not just an amazing actress, but she wants to help others."

Kristen Bell's acting advice: 'Don't get too attached to your character'

Bell gave Amara acting advice that Amara said she will always remember and use.

"She said to not get too attached to your character," she said, because that can be bad for your mental health.

Forrest Doolen, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at Make a Wish Wisconsin, said that the nonprofit grants about 25 to 30 celebrity wishes a year. Sometimes that means meeting Green Bay Packers or Milwaukee Brewers players.

Patti Gorsky, executive director of Make-A-Wish Wisconsin, added that most celebrities want to be anonymous about their wish, but Bell was fine having people know about meeting Amara.

Amara will be acting in a Brio Studios play in May

Amara was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when she was 12 in May 2021. Prior to that, she said, she attended acting camps and had some exposure to acting. She, however, never acted in a professional stage production. Once she was in remission in September 2021, she changed that.

She will be playing Megan Jones in "Puffs!" through Brio Studios in Brookfield on May 6-7. She's also starred "The Day The Woods Came to Dunsinane" at Brio Studios and Pilgrim Park Middle School's production of "Frozen Jr." She said she wants to keep pursuing acting and audition for roles in high school and find a way to continue theater in college.

"(Having cancer) has really changed me in taking more chances. Why not take a chance? ... Why not go for it?" Amara said.

Amara and her parents, Amy and Nick, all say that her personality is a great fit for her acting goals. Her mother said she is "especially good at improvisation" and can "be any character at any moment."

And some of it is due to her cancer journey, Amara said. "I had a lot of emotions I had to feel before...such a big range, and it helps with acting," she said.

She also said that she really has no fear of getting up on stage. "My worst fears already happened. If I make a mistake, it happens. I don't see a reason to be embarrassed," she said.

Amara wants to increase awareness of Hodgkin's lymphoma, especially how it affects children

Now that Amara is an active 14-year-old, she wants to share her story and create awareness of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

She was not initially diagnosed with the disease because she did not know why she was feeling unwell. She said she was coughing a lot but said some of her symptoms could have been attributed to routine child illnesses. When her appetite or energy was not there, her parents thought it could have been depression.

When she was diagnosed and was receiving treatment, she was almost relieved she knew what was wrong. She went through five rounds of chemotherapy but did not experience much of the aversive effects of it.

"When I was going through treatment, I was shockingly optimistic," she said. "At least I knew I had cancer and that was the answer (to not feeling well)."

"I would love for people to know that cancer can happen to them. Cancer can and does happen. If something is not right, go to the doctor as soon as possible," she said.

For more information

To support Make-A-Wish Wisconsin, visit www.wish.org/wisconsin/give or call 262 -781-4445.

To see Puffs! visit www.brookfieldbrio.com/spring-productions.

Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brookfield teen meets Kristen Bell through Make-A-Wish Wisconsin