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Culture

Finding the Supermodel in You The Insider’s Guide to Teen Modeling

In her book, Claudia uses her honest, open voice to talk about what it means to grow up as a child model.

Imagine growing up amongst some of the most beautiful people in the world. Picture yourself surrounded by the most elegant, poised, confident bodies, sporting the work of the greatest designers, the products of brilliant minds. It’s one thing to observe the prestige of the fashion world from afar, but when you live it, experience it, have so much of your young life defined by it, navigating the proper path can be difficult.

World-renowned supermodel and actress, Claudia Mason, wasn’t the only one who had to find her way. She just happened to flourish and find her home in the glittering world of fashion. In her book Finding the Supermodel in You: The Insider’s Guide to Teen Modeling, Claudia uses her honest, open voice to talk about what it means to grow up as a child model, referencing her own experience to give useful pro tips to other models and their families.

It was easy, she says to be “intoxicated by the coolness… the sexiness and the romance” of modeling.

Discovered at age 13 at the Tower Records in New York’s Lincoln Center distinct, she spent most of her formative years in front of the camera, posing for the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan Elle, and W alike. It was easy, she says to be “intoxicated by the coolness… the sexiness and the romance” of modeling. “But,” she stresses, addressing all the young models out there, “don’t be afraid to engage in normal teenager stuff.”

Claudia Mason talks boys, sex, confidence, relationships between mother and daughter, managing all that money, the big, “what’s next?” question, and more.

Reading Claudia’s book felt a lot like sitting in a velvet coffee shop chair having a heart to heart with a close friend. She talks boys, sex, confidence, relationships between mother and daughter, managing all that money, the big, “what’s next?” question, and more. Having gone through it herself, Claudia understands how fundamentally individual the experience becomes.

“At the end of the day, it depends on who you are and what you can handle…” she emphasizes, “No one can tell you what’s best for you, not even me.”

She can, however, provide some pretty comprehensive life advice. And even for those who aren’t pursuing a career in modeling, her timeworn wisdom still reigns true.

Lani Allen

Lani Allen is a graduate of Columbia University’s Non-fiction Creative Writing program. After serving as Vice President of her class for two years, she contributed written pieces and illustrations to many on-campus publications. As a writer with a passion for beauty, Lani enjoys capturing the stories of innovative thinkers and risk-takers shaping the industry as we know it.

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