An interview with Ebony Fashion Fair model Andrea Keesee
Determination and dues
Determination and dues
because I had done it before. And I knew it wasn’t the end of the world if I didn’t get picked. I was more confident. So I got two agency callbacks on it. One of
them was an agency based out of Virginia. It was more local, but it did get people jobs in New York and different places.”
Keesee also learned a painful lesson: your route to a modeling career can take many forms and you have to go where the opportunities present themselves.
The second callback was from the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency out of New York. “They were just opening their talent division and were looking for people who
could not only model, but also had some talent,” Keesee recalled. “I didn’t know until after the guy asked me if I could sing. I said no because I didn’t know why I
needed to sing just to walk down the runway. Come to find out, they were trying to get people who could do more than just walk down the runway. So I messed
that up. With trying to break into modeling for so long, I’ve learned a lot. And I know I would never do that again.”
The other callback, while it did get her some modeling jobs in the Washington, D.C. area, didn’t pan out for the long run. The head of the agency was also
trying to build her modeling career. When she got her opportunity to model in New York, she basically closed up shop and left for the Big Apple.
At this point in her career, Keesee’s mainstay was the modeling competitions. “I did a Teen Super Model Competition in Washington, D.C., which was run
by Gwen Jackson,” Keesee said. “I did very well in that. I actually scored so high that I could have won the adult or the teen competition. They basically told me
to pick which one I wanted to win and I told them the teen competition because I was 17 years old and I didn’t want to be classified as an adult yet. Through
that, I did some modeling jobs in the Washington, D.C. area. During that competition, we had a lot of practices and workshops to build our confidence and
working on our walks. At that point, my confidence wasn’t that high. That competition really built my confidence and a lot of people in my family never thought I
would be a model because I was so shy and quiet. But then when they saw me on the runway, they almost don’t know who I am because I am totally different. I
really do transform, in a way, into a stronger, more confident person when I am on the runway. And now, it’s while I am off the runway as well.”
What made it “easy” for Keesee was that her mom, a cosmetologist, took an active interest in her career. “My mom took me to New York for a week when I
was 17 years old after I had done the competition,” Keesee said. “At Major Model Management, I actually sat down with an agency representative and they
looked through my book and told me to lose my baby fat. I was still a little chubby. They told me to lose that and come back. Other than that, I’ve never gotten
any feedback from an agency.”
Her mom also took her to try out for the Ebony Fashion Fair. “I tried out for that in Chicago and I made it,” Keesee said. “I did two tours between 2004-2006.
After that, I thought it was time for me to move to New York and try to get out there in New York. I didn’t want to do the tour life, so I wanted to find out what I
could do in New York.”
While Keesee was full of confidence having modeled for Ebony Fashion Fair for two years, she soon found out that the New York modeling scene was
almost impossible to break into. “New York was pretty tough,” Keesee admitted. “I enjoyed being out there. I love the atmosphere and how quick and fast paced
everything is. But as far as modeling goes, it was very hard because there are a lot of people there trying to model. I was never small enough. I was never quite
the look they were looking for. And being out there, I didn’t have a place.”
Next Issue: The life of a model in New York and on tour.
them was an agency based out of Virginia. It was more local, but it did get people jobs in New York and different places.”
Keesee also learned a painful lesson: your route to a modeling career can take many forms and you have to go where the opportunities present themselves.
The second callback was from the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency out of New York. “They were just opening their talent division and were looking for people who
could not only model, but also had some talent,” Keesee recalled. “I didn’t know until after the guy asked me if I could sing. I said no because I didn’t know why I
needed to sing just to walk down the runway. Come to find out, they were trying to get people who could do more than just walk down the runway. So I messed
that up. With trying to break into modeling for so long, I’ve learned a lot. And I know I would never do that again.”
The other callback, while it did get her some modeling jobs in the Washington, D.C. area, didn’t pan out for the long run. The head of the agency was also
trying to build her modeling career. When she got her opportunity to model in New York, she basically closed up shop and left for the Big Apple.
At this point in her career, Keesee’s mainstay was the modeling competitions. “I did a Teen Super Model Competition in Washington, D.C., which was run
by Gwen Jackson,” Keesee said. “I did very well in that. I actually scored so high that I could have won the adult or the teen competition. They basically told me
to pick which one I wanted to win and I told them the teen competition because I was 17 years old and I didn’t want to be classified as an adult yet. Through
that, I did some modeling jobs in the Washington, D.C. area. During that competition, we had a lot of practices and workshops to build our confidence and
working on our walks. At that point, my confidence wasn’t that high. That competition really built my confidence and a lot of people in my family never thought I
would be a model because I was so shy and quiet. But then when they saw me on the runway, they almost don’t know who I am because I am totally different. I
really do transform, in a way, into a stronger, more confident person when I am on the runway. And now, it’s while I am off the runway as well.”
What made it “easy” for Keesee was that her mom, a cosmetologist, took an active interest in her career. “My mom took me to New York for a week when I
was 17 years old after I had done the competition,” Keesee said. “At Major Model Management, I actually sat down with an agency representative and they
looked through my book and told me to lose my baby fat. I was still a little chubby. They told me to lose that and come back. Other than that, I’ve never gotten
any feedback from an agency.”
Her mom also took her to try out for the Ebony Fashion Fair. “I tried out for that in Chicago and I made it,” Keesee said. “I did two tours between 2004-2006.
After that, I thought it was time for me to move to New York and try to get out there in New York. I didn’t want to do the tour life, so I wanted to find out what I
could do in New York.”
While Keesee was full of confidence having modeled for Ebony Fashion Fair for two years, she soon found out that the New York modeling scene was
almost impossible to break into. “New York was pretty tough,” Keesee admitted. “I enjoyed being out there. I love the atmosphere and how quick and fast paced
everything is. But as far as modeling goes, it was very hard because there are a lot of people there trying to model. I was never small enough. I was never quite
the look they were looking for. And being out there, I didn’t have a place.”
Next Issue: The life of a model in New York and on tour.
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
While modeling may look luxurious and easy — how hard can it be to walk down a runway in the latest
fashions — it is a demanding profession that is extremely difficult to break into. It seems that models who do
make it in the business follow the age-old maxim “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again … and again … and
again.”
Andrea Keesee, an Ebony Fashion Fair model who appeared in Madison last December knows the kind of
dues a model has to pay. She first got smitten with the modeling bug when she was a 17 year old high school
student in Clinton, Md. Her sister found out about a modeling convention and after her mother found out it was
legitimate, she gave Keesee the green light to participate. She ended up going to the convention three times.
“The first time, I didn’t receive any call backs,” Keesee said during a telephone interview with The Capital City
Hues. “But I was told not to give up and try to be more outgoing. I’m kind of a shy or reserved person. In this
business, you can’t just sit back and have people come to you. You have to jump out at them. You have to show
them that you want to do this and that you can communicate with them well. The first time, I was kind of quiet
and just walked down the runway. I guess I didn’t grab anyone’s attention. But the second time, I grabbed two
agencies’ attention. I generated some interest then because I knew what to do and I wasn’t so nervous
Part 1 of 2
While modeling may look luxurious and easy — how hard can it be to walk down a runway in the latest
fashions — it is a demanding profession that is extremely difficult to break into. It seems that models who do
make it in the business follow the age-old maxim “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again … and again … and
again.”
Andrea Keesee, an Ebony Fashion Fair model who appeared in Madison last December knows the kind of
dues a model has to pay. She first got smitten with the modeling bug when she was a 17 year old high school
student in Clinton, Md. Her sister found out about a modeling convention and after her mother found out it was
legitimate, she gave Keesee the green light to participate. She ended up going to the convention three times.
“The first time, I didn’t receive any call backs,” Keesee said during a telephone interview with The Capital City
Hues. “But I was told not to give up and try to be more outgoing. I’m kind of a shy or reserved person. In this
business, you can’t just sit back and have people come to you. You have to jump out at them. You have to show
them that you want to do this and that you can communicate with them well. The first time, I was kind of quiet
and just walked down the runway. I guess I didn’t grab anyone’s attention. But the second time, I grabbed two
agencies’ attention. I generated some interest then because I knew what to do and I wasn’t so nervous
| Andrea Keesee has been an Ebony Fashion Fair model for three of the last four tours. |