Who do you look up to?
I’d have to say my mom. She’s the strongest woman I know. She’s been independent all her life, and has raised me as a single parent since I was 15. She’s worked hard to make my life the best it can be and I owe her the world for that. She’s always believed in me and told me I can do whatever I want in life and I can’t thank her enough. She’s believed in me even when I haven’t and I wouldn’t be where I am in my career or life today without her. I can only hope to be as amazing of a mother to my children as she is to me.
When did you first realize that modeling could be a possibility?
I never even thought about modeling as a career, my mom pushed me into it when I was nine years old. She heard an agency in Georgia (where I grew up) on the radio requesting child models to come in and meet me with them. So she brought me in and the rest is history!
How long have you been modeling and who are you with?
I’ve been modeling on and off for ten years. My first agency in GA was Arlene Wilson. I was with them for 3 years and then I moved to Costa Rica where I lived for 3 years, I didn’t model at all while I was there. Then I moved to California when I was 15 and signed with Brand in Orange County, and then when I was 18, I signed with Elite in LA and have been with them ever since.
Are there other models, artists or musicians that make you feel alive?
Kate Moss is a big inspiration for me because she is only 5’ 7” and I myself am only 5’ 8”. Whenever I get down about not getting a job because of my height I think of her and all she’s accomplished and all of the beautiful work she’s created. As far as musicians I’m really into the band Phoenix. Their music has kind of been the sound track of my life for the past year. This year has been important to me because I’ve been putting all I’ve got into modeling and trying to make it a full time job, and now that I’ve gotten the opportunity to go to Paris it seems like it’s finally paying off!
Paris! Congrats, that's pretty exciting! How did that come about?
It was really random, Elite called me and told me that Major from Paris wants to meet with me. So I came into the agency a week later, and found out they only wanted to meet me and two other girls from the whole agency. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because I am on the short side and I know Paris loves em’ tall! But I met with Major’s representative and it was just like a casting. He videotaped me, asking to see my profiles, smile, no smile, bangs pulled back, and then he asked at the end “If I’d rather be rich or famous.” I replied, “Famous, because you get a lot of unique opportunities that normal people might not get to experience.” And that was it. I had almost forgotten about the whole thing and then about 2-3 weeks later my agent called and said Major wants me to go to Paris ASAP, he said they really loved me and I was the only girl they ended up signing. I was ecstatic but very nervous, as they wanted me to leave in 2 weeks and stay for over a month, but by the time you read this it’ll be only a few days before I’m off!
What do you love best about running a blog?
Probably editing the videos I shoot, or just writing. I love writing, it’s such a great way to express yourself. Writing has become an crucial part of my life, even if it’s something as small as a status update on facebook. I like texting more than talking on the phone because I don’t feel pressured. I just write, and that’s how I feel about my blog. I like being able to tell my stories about my modeling adventures, or just crazy times with friends. Occasionally I use it like a diary and just talk about what is going on in my head. My blog lets me do all those things, and unlike a diary everyone can read it. I hope to inspire people to express themselves either through a blog or a video and to go after their dreams like I am with my modeling. Some of my favorite blogs are fashion blogs that have no writing, just images from different magazine editorials. Those blogs inspire me as a model. A blog can be whatever you want it to be.
What are your goals in fashion? Any specific clients or photographers you want to work with?
The dream has always been to on the cover of Vogue as well as to be a Victorias’s Secret Angel but I’ll take whatever I can get. I’d love to work with photographers Annie Leibovitz and David LaChapelle. I know I’m not a “supermodel” by any means but I’ve already gotten amazing opportunities like working in Paris and I’m so grateful for that. Even if I never make a huge mark in the fashion industry I know I’ll have had incredible experiences nonetheless. I want to be able to tell my kids I went after my dreams, regardless of the outcome. I’m a very creative person so even if I don’t make it as a model I will still be involved in fashion some how, either as a photographer, a designer or a stylist I’m sure.
Any cool shoots or jobs you've done?
I really like doing editorial shoots. They are always the most fun, which is unfortunate because they pay the least. But I’ve shot for Teen Magazine, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, WAD Magazine, Coast Magazine, Cosmopolitan and Nylon and all of those shoots have been super fun! They always start super early in the morning and go late into the day but it’s worth it because you get amazing pictures from it. The people are usually always really nice because you have to spend all day with them. I have made some really great friends that I’ve met at editorial shoots. Also because the images are being published, the wardrobe and styling is usually amazing and everything is really detailed, girls sometime even get their nails painted and hair cut just to have the right look for the shot.
What do you feel like when you walk runways?
I just started doing runway this past season. I walked for Fremont at Concept Fashion Week and Pleasure Doing Business. It was exhilarating. Pleasure Doing Business was my very first show and I got to open and close it. I had five changes and back stage was a whirlwind of clothes and people. You walk back stage to change and people are just tearing things off you and throwing more things on and then you’re out again, it’s really crazy! All organization went out the window the second the show started. For the Fremont show I only had one look but I sat in hair and makeup for two hours. That’s the funny party about runway, hours of preparation all to walk for 45 seconds to a minute depending on the length of the runway. But it was an incredible feeling of adrenaline and I really hope I get to do more runway in the future.
Do you see yourself modeling forever? If not, do you have a vision of your future?
I think Kate Moss and Heidi Klum are the only women alive that could model forever but that’s what I’m trying to figure out right now. I’m seeing how Paris goes to see my real potential in this industry. I will definitely continue modeling in to my mid-late twenties if I can turn it into a full time career. I’ve always wanted to get into acting so that’s a whole other option I haven’t even begun to explore. But right now I’m going to school part time as a psychology major. It’s a very interesting major and I’m not sure if I want to be a psychologist in the future but for now I’m having fun learning more about it.
I get called too skinny, anorexic, or bulimic on a daily basis. It used to bother me a lot but I've come to the conclusion that I'm this way naturally. I was born skinny and I'm not this way because people told me to be or because I feel I need to be this way, I just am. In LA the average model is a size 4 but size 0s and 2s are still alive and well in Paris, it's all about finding the right niche or market for you but even above that it's about being comfortable with your body and not changing who you are to fit into the industry. Everyone will ask you to change, whether it's your weight, your hair ect, but don't ever change something your not comfortable changing. The real super models out there are loved for their personalities and showing them in their work, that’s what all models should strive for.
What is your personal SECRET to take on this modeling world?
You have to passionate and dedicated to make it in this industry, that’s so important, you have to push yourself mentally and physically and take yourself places that you’ve never imagined. It’s an incredibly tough industry and every market out there will have something negative to say about your look. That’s why my motto is “take everything with a grain of salt.” Take every comment or critique whether negative or positive and use it but don’t trust everything your people tell you. Know your own worth and strive for what you want. Modeling is my dream and I’m going to push for it until I make it or I have another dream.
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