Jaqui

29th Oct 2002

Jacqui meets the PeoplesRepublicOfCork.com

     
The closest I ever got to modeling was parading up and down my grandmother's hallway in my confirmation clothes. Being repeatedly grinded by my mother to "stand up straight" and "push your shoulders" back I always wondered if she was grooming me to become a male model. However the fine collection of facial warts, a plethora of puss filled spots, uncontrollable nasal fluids and a pair of black rimmed Southern Health Board Issued Fishbowl Spectacles effectively rules me out of such a career.

Somebody who has had the fortune to fall inside these cruel criteria by her natural beauty is a girl from Farran out near Ballincollig. The 19 year old CIT student has sensationally just landed herself Best New Look Award at a recent competition in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Being worryingly obsessed with all things Cork and also being conveniently interested in beautiful women we decided it was time to meet up and find out what she's been up to. Here's Jacqui : 
            

Jacqui how're you getting' on ?
Great thanks...how're you ?

Ah sure not too bad like, but you know whole Roy Keane thing, it's getting me down a bit. Valentino sorted me out with a bit of counceling so I should be alright. Anyway lets talk about you, you got to go to Hollywood, that's the job, tell us the story...
Well 15 female models from all over Ireland got to go and 4 male models, which is incredible as there were national auditions held. But believe me none of us were so full of ourselves that we actually thought we had a chance of getting to go - we were all equally shocked and surprised , which is why is was such a nice group really.

So what's the place like, where did you stay ?
We stayed in and the event was held in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel which is one of the ten most photographed buildings in the world and lots of movies were filmed there such as True Lies. It was really cool , there are over 30 restuarants there alone! It was the kind of place I will never get to stay again!

There must have been loads of famous people hanging around did you meet any celebrities there ?
I didn't meet any celebrities in person, but Katie Holmes from Dawsons Creek who was discovered at the event a few years back made an appearance as did a guy from Boston Public. Also one of the New York firefighters who helped during sept 11th - who is a celeb in my eyes - was there to make a speech. There were also a few supermodels such as the likes of Brazilian model Fernanda Tavares who has fronted Versace campaigns there to give workshops for models.

 What kind of preparations did you have to do ?
The training for Hollywood was certainly tough !! It involved travelling to Clonmel often for a weekend's training. As like any model , our bodies had to be perfect - and not just perfect - perfect by Hollywood's standards! To achieve this us models were put on a seriously strict diet so much so that we all almost turned into alfalfa sprout-eating macrobiotic veggies!! On top of this we had someone chasing us around with a measuring tape so ensure we were all a "perfect" 34-24-34! With all the exercise and diet we all lost a lot of weight and turned into exercise freaks - we were running the roads at all hours and in all weather conditions!!

What about learning to walk the right way and all that stuff ?
Well thanks to a local Cork agency I already had a good base on that - the only difference being that models in Hollywood don't usually smile on the catwalk , there's more of a pouty thing going on!!

So overall the training was tough but a great learning experience at the same time, I think it did us all good , I mean I think lean and healthy is beautiful , but then a models job is to be slim and believe me if models had a choice we'd eat all the chocolate in sight!!

..and then the Cork girl takes all, that must have been a great feeling ?!
Yeah, winning the award was, in a word, surreal! The awards part of the event hadn't even entered my head , all I was focusing on was modelling in front of the agents in the hope I might get a callback, so much so that on the awards night - I didn't know what was going on ! My model ID number was called and I actually sat there for a good 10 secs before realising it was me.

So what does the award mean for you ?
Receiving the award means a lot. I was called up on a huge catwalk with a big TV screen behind me filming everything standing in front of some of the biggest agents in the world. It was my 30 seconds of fame if you like! I think I was just lucky , I was up against thousands of girls from across America , so I don't necessarily think I was the best or anything , I was probably just in the right place at the right time.
Seems to be a lot of work in all of this, what about college, do you ever go in ?
I never thought juggling modelling and study would be tough but it proved a bit difficult this year alright. Even though I'm only in 1ST year I still think my attendance was worse than most , and I bet some of my class mates are wondering who the hell I am now and again cause I'm only in for short periods of time! I think though its actually not all that tough if you don't let your imagination run away with you , like when I came back from Hollywood I never wanted to go back to college and I was living in a kind of fairy - land , but if you snap out of it you realise there's more to life than modelling and realise its important to have a normal life also its not too hard to juggle then.  

What did you think of Hollywood? Did you see the place or go out much? What about South Central did you go there ? I know a guy, a friend of mine like, who lives there called Dre.
People don't go grocery shopping in L.A. and they don't step outside the door after about 8pm. On our first night of arrival typical silly Irish girls we were - a friend and I headed out in search of a shop for a snack , of course there are no shops for snacks and it wasn't until we saw all the weirdoes in bandanas and strange people crouching in corners that we realised we'd better head back!

How does it compare to Cork, what do people here think of what you do ?
Everyone wants to be a model , actor singer you name it and people break their hearts trying and I find that really sad. At least in Cork you're given credit for what you do , you smile on the catwalk and everyone loves you. Cork guys and girls are nice , most people I know think its cool that I model and they certainly don't go holding measuring tapes up to me , they accept me as I am and give me credit for the efforts I've made. Its not all about measurements , modelling is so much more than that. Its how you show yourself , how you get on with people, what you communicate about yourself.

 So what is your favourite thing about the Rebel County now that you've experienced L.A. ?
My favourite thing about Cork is definitely the people , I think you could go to the best or the most beautiful city in the world but you'd never match the personality of the people in Cork. Most people in Cork are friendly and they give others credit for their efforts and what they achieve. Cork people have a great sense of pride.

Are you tied up with an agency ?
No, I have decided not to sign an exculsive contract with an agency in Ireland. Work in Ireland might possible be easier to attain if you're with an agency if you're not willing to put in a huge effort yourself , but I enjoy promoting myself and you great a much greater feeling from achieving success yourself.

So what's the plan now that you've got Hollywood under your belt ?
My hopes for the future are to keep doing what I'm doing now which is various shows and promotions , you don't have to be famous to have fun! I really love promoting so maybe when Im past it I'll do promotions for other models who knows!

And finally what do you think about Roy, is it the end of the world ?
He's probably Ireland's best player and again as Cork people have such a sense of pride everybody's devastated but I think he could just as easily have been injured and the game would still go on regardless, so I don't think its exactly the end of the world. You have to look at things that way , Keane obviously had his good reasons and Mick McCarthy had his , I don't think people should judge or take sides.

No doubt everyone in Cork wishes Jacqui the best and we'll hope she'll be strutting the catwalks of Milan and Paris very soon.

Click here to see Jacqui's full portfollio on her brand new website.