My parents’ only other baby was a pocket poodle named Angel.
At age two, I started taking ballet, tap and jazz. I loved to sing
and dance and show off in any way possible (and obviously still
do!). Somehow, I found time to slip in a year of baton too! Around
my third grade year we all moved to Waco, Texas, where a ton of
my relatives already lived. My parents figured it would be safer
to raise me in a small town versus the big city (little did they
know that Waco was wacko!). Looking back, Waco was really boring,
but I’m sure I did have more freedom living there. Everyone
seemed to make the best of what the city had to offer.
I remember loving to do two things in particular when I was growing
up: making my mom laugh so hard that she couldn’t breathe and
arguing until I proved I was right (remember, I was an only child).
So, with that in mind, my options seemed to be entertainer or lawyer.
Well, during my senior year I had the opportunity to be in a video
for a local band. The producer of the project thought that I should
be in New York modeling and proceeded to pitch the idea to my parents.
That Christmas my family and I ended up going to New York to have
some pictures taken and meet with some agencies. I was soooo nervous!
By the end of our trip I had an agent who was waiting for me to
graduate and move to the Big Apple.
Being alone in New York City for the first time was fascinating
and a bit terrifying. I was definitely homesick, but it got better
quickly seeing as I was living in NYU dorms for the summer. I made
friends with most of the building and some of the other young models
with my agency. That was the beginning of me working with various
magazines and doing a bit of traveling. Amongst my travels I hit
such places as Japan, Paris, Milan, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
How lucky was I to get paid to travel and see the world at the same
time?!
Finally, I made it back to the good ol' USA. There really is no
place like home! After spending an awesome season in South Beach,
Miami I made my way out to LA. I loved South Beach, but it was time
to move on. I actually was just planning on visiting a friend for
a couple of weeks, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to compete
in LA quite yet. I had always planned to end up in LA and start
my acting career, but I thought it would eat me alive at that point.
During my visit, I decided to go ahead and get a modeling agent
and have some pictures done, as long as I was there. I started out
with the Ford Modeling Agency and have since moved to Elite Model
Management. Within a couple of weeks of arriving in LA I ended up
booking a Taco Bell commercial. Maybe it wasn’t as scary as
I pictured it after all! In no time I had relocated to LA and joined
an acting class.
I guess that was the beginning of the rest of my life! Before I
knew it I had met my soul mate and started booking acting jobs.
I have been fortunate enough to have great people helping me with
my career all along the way. |
