Interview with Robert Lee

Born: Seoul, Korea

Robert was discovered when he was 17 ½ years old in a shopping mall in Virginia by an agent with one of the most important modeling agencies in New York, Mc.Donald Richards – "Little Max For Kids".  He was asked to go to N.Y. to do some test shots and see clients.  After two weeks he returned to Virginia.  Robert got great responses from clients and was asked to return to N.Y. to do a Levi’s campaign.  He also worked in Miami for a while then decided to move to Los Angeles and has been living in LA for the past 3-½ years.   He is currently working with "Otto Models" in LA and "Look Agency" in San Francisco.

Advice - You might not be the type for a certain job but your time will come.  I remember seeing a guy cry after being told he wasn’t the type they were looking for.  You just have to learn to take rejection.

Getting Started - It takes years to realize what type every agency is looking for.  Also do research before you join an agency.  Be careful about joining contest even after being in the business for 2 years, Robert was tricked into a contest that promised $25,000 to the winner. They flew him and other contestants to Korea where they told them the sponsors pulled out and there was no money.  Fortunately, Robert has family he could stay with but not everyone is that lucky.

Interview with Michelle Nash
Born: Calgary, Canada

Michelle started modeling at 16 years old after being scouted by an agent in a shopping mall in Edmonton, Canada, from a modeling agency in Vancouver. She traveled to Vancouver for test shots, and a week later, she was off to Tokyo, Japan, where she worked for three months. During her time in Japan, she did ads for Shiseido, Nissan, and other major brands. When Michelle returned home, she decided to finish school. At 19, she moved to Toronto to resume her modeling career and began modeling internationally. Michelle received direct bookings for countries around the world, including Cuba, Israel, Thailand, Jamaica, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, France, and the Netherlands. She has worked on assignments for photo shoots, commercials, and runway fashion shows for famous international designers. Michelle also appeared in a film with well-known designers, models, and actors called Prêt-à-Porter.

Advice: Stay away from people who make grand, false promises. Trust your instincts, and don’t do things that don’t feel right. Research the agency before you join, and contact the Better Business Bureau to ask for references.

Pitfalls: Be cautious of people who want you to pay a lot of money out of your own pocket—most of the time, they’re not legitimate. Also, be careful of those who want to create your portfolio for a large upfront sum.

Interview with Diane Long
Born: Philadelphia

Diane started modeling at 18 years old. She was discovered in a restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut, by a scout from John Casablancas' Agency. Diane did her first test shots and was then entered into John Casablancas’ “Look of the Year” contest in Connecticut, where she won the regional competition. After that, she was chosen to compete in the international contest in Japan, which was broadcast on national TV. Diane became one of the 10 finalists and won a $50,000 contract with "Elite" in New York, launching her modeling career. She was sent to Paris to shoot magazine covers. Diane feels very fortunate to have won the “Look of the Year” contest in 1988, as it allowed her to be represented by one of the most reputable agencies. She has traveled to every continent except South America on modeling assignments, including catalogs, magazines, editorials, and commercials, with all expenses paid by the clients. Diane has also ventured into the movie industry, feeling lucky to have auditioned for famous directors for roles in upcoming films.

Advice: Listen to the people who handle your career—they know this business better than you do. Personally, I feel that I threw my career away just to stay with my boyfriend. I didn’t take my career to its full potential, despite being in the right place at the right time. Ninety-nine percent of our job is rejection. You have to be strong and have self-confidence.

Pitfalls: You have to sacrifice leaving your friends and family behind. You miss out on the typical American life and frat parties. A model's life is short-term, so you must sacrifice some of your teenage years.

Interview with Isabelle Bailey
Born: California

When Jean called me and asked if I would like to do an interview for her book, I was really happy. I modeled for about 10 years, but it took me, I would say, about three years to really start making money. My first year was in Paris, then I moved to England, and after a year, I moved to Italy. I didn’t start working regularly until I got to Italy. I had just finished university and had never thought about getting into modeling. A friend of mine worked in a hair salon, and her boss asked me to do some pictures for them. The pictures came out well, and they suggested I go to the local agency (affiliated with Elite). The agency suggested I go to New York. So, I combined my trip to interview for graduate school with visits to a list of agencies. Elite was the first on the list, and fortunately, they liked my pictures and said I should come back as soon as possible to New York to do a few test shots and prepare to go to Paris. It pretty much went like that. I paid for the ticket, and Elite put me in a model's apartment, taking the rent out of the money I made. I was 23 when I started. The local agency told me to lie about my age, so I kept taking off those four years until I quit. I was featured in magazines fairly regularly and did a few big commercials. At first, I did mostly beauty jobs, but after a while, I started doing more fashion work. I began doing some freelance fitting work and eventually became the house model for Gucci. I did fittings, showroom, and in-house presentations. It was very hard work and not very glamorous, but it was steady money and paid well. In my spare time, I attended a university in Milan and earned my master's degree in psychology.

Advice: Jean and I did a few jobs together, but if we ever went to a casting together, we were never in competition. We were two different types. If they wanted Jean’s look, then they wouldn’t like me, and vice versa. It’s not about who’s prettiest but who fits the type they are looking for, and it’s not just your face; it’s the way you come across. They have an image they want, and if you fit, you’re in. Every client has a different idea of beauty, and no one person will be it all the time. There are as many different ways to model as there are reasons for doing it. I wanted to travel, and I did. Other friends of mine wanted to buy a house, and they did. Others wanted to “hang out with beautiful people,” and they do. One thing doesn’t exclude the other, but the priorities you set will affect the decisions you make.

Pitfalls: Letting the agency do things for you is convenient, but don’t ever think it’s free. They make money on everything they do for you—from photocopies to plane tickets. They take away too much money for agency apartments, and if they’re not charging you, they’re getting a percentage from somebody somewhere. Lesson 1: Learn how to look after your own business because the agency looks after theirs. Lesson 2: Other models are one of the most valuable resources you have—learn from them and listen. There is so much to learn. I could have done a lot more, a lot faster, if someone had taken the time to help me out.

Suggestions: I don't know what else to say. Have fun with it. Don’t ever take it too seriously. A photo or two minutes on a runway reveals so little about yourself. People may look at you and only see the color of your eyes or the way you walk. Let them take in the surface, but don’t ever forget that you are so much more than that. Good luck.

Michael Gunn
Born: London

At around 15 years old, I took a foundation course in dance. This course helps students determine if they want to pursue dance as a career. My training took off from there, covering the next two years, and included jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance. Upon completion, I received a certificate. At that point, I was sure I wanted to pursue dance, so I started a diploma course at "The Laban Center" in London, a professional dance school. However, I attended for only one year before transferring to another school called "Arts Education," which is like an academy but focuses more on theater arts. There, I completed a three-year course that gave me more options and possibilities to explore my talents in acting and singing while focusing on dance. It also offered me insight into the behind-the-scenes aspects, such as lighting, stage management, etc.

While performing in The King and I, I met an Italian named Alberto, who asked me about coming to Italy when I finished school. He told me about the many dance opportunities on Italian television and theater, as well as modeling in Milan, the fashion capital. When he mentioned that, things started to become clearer, and my direction began to take shape.

After graduating from "Arts Education," I auditioned to be a dancer on a Caribbean cruise. I was a strong favorite, but unfortunately, my height worked against me—I didn’t get the job. The suits were fitted for guys of 5'10", and I am 6'2". Another classic example of “never count your chickens before they hatch.” What was option 2? Alberto? Before long, I found myself in Milan with 120 Lire and nowhere to live. And so, my journey began. I went to Pensione Sirtore, the house for models at the time. Although it wasn’t my intention, I was fortunate that Alberto offered me a job right away in a fitness studio, teaching dance classes. Speaking no Italian, I quickly learned the necessary words like up, down, forward, backward, etc.

Continuing on my journey, I was told that my original portfolio wasn’t sufficient. So, I went to a professional photographer in Milan who specialized in test model photography. This specialized area of photography also supports their success. After the photographer and I approved the shots, I put together another portfolio and went to Fashion Model Management, which was one of the biggest agencies at the time. I found out about this agency by going to where the models hang out—hotels, bars, etc. Generally, all the models were very supportive of each other because we all shared the same situation—being away from home, trying to make it as a model, and living the realities of the process together. There seems to be a stigma attached to the idea of competition or rivalry among models, but that was not my experience.

The first time I went to Fashion, they wouldn’t accept my portfolio, so I tried a few more agencies on my own without any success. Then I ran into a fellow model, Robert, at the hotel, and he told me he was with Fashion. He suggested we go together the next morning because he knew the booker, and they would take an "actual" look. Although they were initially discouraging and told me that black models don’t work often and that it’s difficult to book jobs, I didn’t find that to be the case once they finally took me on. In fact, it turned out to be an advantage. There were so few black models in Milan that I saw it as an opportunity to build a very solid career. The irony is that I worked with many top models, including Naomi Campbell for Martini, Yasmin Ghauri for Swish Jeans, a big national campaign for the Yellow Pages in both print and television, and I was an actor in a video for a Black and Beautiful compilation CD that was televised in Germany, to name a few.

In terms of being seen or discovered, either you are noticed by a model scout—although not often, which could happen in public, on the street, or anywhere they scout new faces—or you are recommended by your respective country to Milan. A photographer can also be a good contact, as they can be very influential based on their standing and reputation. It’s not uncommon for people to just come to Milan cold, with no recommendations or contacts, and find their own way. That’s how it worked out for me.

There are many different kinds of looks, especially as modeling evolves with the times. So for one, don’t be disheartened by first-time rejections or try not to focus on one type of style. You have to be open. There is a world of opportunities as long as you are open to what the market demands. Be willing to compromise, but never trade your identity or what you stand for. For example, I had to go to the gym and work on my abs to build my body for what was required. Someone else may have to cut or change their hairstyle.

I would never discourage anyone who is embarking on or thinking about modeling or any other performance art as a career. What I will say is that you have to want it badly enough to make it happen, be objective, and enjoy yourself in the process!