My story would be a little different from some other models’, who never dreamed about the fashion industry. I always wanted to. I remember yet being a four year old girl, watching TV with my mom, seeing the models walking on a catwalk, wearing those cute dresses, and I fell in love with that world straight away. Since then no one has been able to change my mind!
While my friends at school dreamed of other things, I always dreamed about how to become a professional model. Every day, I looked at the sky and thought one day I would fly far away from São Paulo. I collected magazine clippings with the top models from Brazil and other parts of the world, watched Victoria Secrets and Fashion Week shows, and used to look at those pictures on the wall, creating a kind of my personal dream board.
I even started working in a shopping mall to save money for making my first model book and try participating in one of those numerous modeling contests in Brazil. So, I tried at all costs to find a good agency to fulfill this dream. This was not an easy task at all, and I was rejected by the majority of the big agencies in São Paulo, saying I was too short for them, or that my beauty was too typical, etc. However, my parents always gave me a lot of strength and support, never letting me giving up on my dream.
My lucky day, when “water turned into wine”, was when the director of one of the London based agencies noticed me. Right after the interview I heard: “Thank you and I see you in London!”. My eyes sparkled with happiness! In a few months, at the end of August of 2015, I was on my way to London, without even knowing English and only GBP 80 in my pocket, with no credit card, and with a cell phone with a half dead battery. But having my big dreams, I was not afraid of going through all those difficulties. When I arrived to London, the city welcomed me with a rain, but still I fell in love with it almost from the first minute.
The agency driver picked me up at the Paddington station and drove to a model’s apartment. Thank God I did not get lost on that day! There was already a German model living there, and she helped me a lot. When being a model you meet so many different people! I remember I had a Brazilian roommate who at first we didn’t get along with, but it only took one party for us to realize that we shared the same energy and danced so much that I never met anyone else with the same joy. We are still great friend with her. And another time, when being on a modeling trip to Turkey, I saw snow for the first time in my life – it was so incredible that I immediately woke up my roommate, so she would not miss it and look out at the window with me. But… she appeared to be from Russia, so they probably have tons of snow there yet from the childhood, so there was nothing new for her with those white snowflakes!
As to the UK, my first job appeared to be not exactly in London but in another city, in Manchester, so I had to take a two-hour train to get there. I was so scared to miss the train that I arrived at the station too early, and it seemed to me I had to wait for it for ages. When I stepped onboard, I fell asleep immediately and woke up in a fear that I missed my stop, however and old English gentleman calmed me down saying that Manchester would be the last station, so I may go back to sleep!
The same day, I got another job, and again, I had to use the train to get there, because it appeared to be… in Scotland! I swear, I don’t even know how I managed to do all this almost without speaking English at all.
My time in London started pretty well, so gradually my dream began to become a reality, and I took part in more photoshoots and campaigns for various UK magazines around the country. After working for a while in the UK, I’ve got a chance to sign up with one agency in the US. And that was even a greater dream of mine to become true soon! First it started from Miami, and then finally New York! I had never felt so freezing in my entire life as in NYC. Even after living in London, NYC seemed to me as bloody cold! And everything was different there. I had a love-and-hate relationship with the city first, but then I got used to that intense lifestyle and ended up liking the city vibe too. To cope with the stress from the busy modeling life, I started taking Muay Thai boxing classes, which helped me a lot!
When in New York, I once saw a mouse in the apartment and called my roommate to say that we had a “Mickey Mouse” waiting for her at home. Haha, she got really scared and screamed so loud that the neighbors later came down to complain to the landlord about us! However, the mouse was just a small one and more looked like an additional element for the decor when she was sitting there under the TV set when I noticed her. We haven’t managed to catch her though!
I am very grateful and still very passionate about being able to work with so many creative people around the world, visiting many countries and being able to fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a successful model. Now, I’m back to London again, with even more strength and courage to work. My inner “little Jacky” is very proud with all what she achieved and everything that is yet to come soon. Never give up on your dreams too!
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