What are the first steps to become an actress?

Not to answer a question with a question, but what do you consider "Successful"?

Is success monetary success? Accolades? Steady work? The cover of People Magazine?

You need to answer that question for yourself, as it is different for all of us. I know many actors I would consider successful that you will have never heard of. They work enough to support themselves. They are talented and versatile. They love their work.

Acting is a profession where education and endurance do not guarantee success. You can lose a role for so many reasons that have nothing to do with ability. You need to be able to emotionally take thousands of rejections, bad notices (even Oscar winners have bad reviews), and extremely personal comments without taking a hit on your self-esteem.

When speaking with a very commercially successful director about a class he was teaching, he told me that he had one actress "Who is ugly enough and can act well enough that she might make it." Know what you have going for you, even if it's not flattering, and use it.

Training does not guarantee you will work, but it guarantees you will know how to work when a job is offered. The is no point in working really hard to land a job and then falling flat. You need to build on successes.

If you love it, don't mind long hours, disproportionate pay, and have a strong ego to protect you, successes will come. But your idea of what "success" is may change by then.

I second everything Nicole said. It is a challenging and competitive industry that offers many varieties of "success." Grounding yourself and being open to change are a necessary part in building a career. I also agree that training is helpful. I wouldn't have traded my school experience for anything. It's also a way to meet other people who love what you love, which can help lead you to work as well.

My philosophy is, "work begets work." I love what I do, so I go out and find opportunities to do it. I'm fairly new to Los Angeles (3 years) and, right now, a lot of the work I'm doing I do for free, but I see it paying off-- leading to the next project, developing relationships with other people in the business, doing work I'm proud of, etc. The most important thing to me is that I love what I'm doing, and this is definitely true. I love film and chose LA because I want to make movies... and I'm making movies. To me, this is successful. As far as hitting the big time, that's equal parts talent, luck, and hard work. Check out the book "Self-Management for Actors," if you'd like a little more insight into the business side of the art, or read a biography on a star to see what they did. I, personally, love to watch Inside the Actor's Studio for inspiration.

I see you're in San Jose. There is a ton of theatre and film in the Bay Area. Try looking for auditions by approaching a local theatre company or auditioning for the school play. Research agencies in your area, send them a picture and see if you can get an audition. Castingnetworks.com has an SF branch and is a great way to find work, but it is a service that requires a monthly fee. I have found a TON of work from it, but it's something to be aware of going in and to decide whether paying for a service like that is something you want. Mandy.com is similar and free if you want to try that.

Hope this helps!