Expert: Kitty Kavey - 5/23/2007

Question
My 8 yr. old daughter has been wanting to get into modeling since she was 4. Every body tells her that she is a little Marilyn Monroe. She has done a few things locally here in Oklahoma but there's not a lot here. How do I go about getting her noticed by a legitimate agency?

Answer
Unfortunately, the closest agencies to you are probably in Texas.  You could consider moving to a larger market such as Dallas or Chicago (or LA), or if you are close enough to the border you could commute, or stay part time in another area that has a better industry.  The problem is not getting noticed by an agency (in another area), but your daughter being available to do the work at a cost that's not greater than the pay for the job.  I used to commute from St Petersburg, FL to Miami - and the lengthy time it took to get there and back eventually made it more cost effective to move down to that area.  You could certainly try a small vacation or visit to a larger market see if moving there is something that appeals to you and your daughter, maybe meet with a few agents while you were there.  Maybe you have friends in Dallas or LA you could stay with for the summer when your daughter is out of school.  You can use the Screen Actor's Guild list of franchised agencies.  Many of them represent models in addition to actors, and they are all reputable, legit talent agencies.  www.SAG.org, under Resources, Agent Information, Find a SAG Franchised Agent.  Although the list covers the US, if there are no agents in the state (such as is the case with Oklahoma) it will list the closest agents to that area.  Agencies marked as FS (full service) are those who represent models in addition to actors.  You can use your favorite search engine to locate the website for each agency you are interested in - most do have a website, and it usually includes who they represent (children, adults, models, actors, etc.) as well as information on how to submit for new faces.

Good luck to you,
~Kitty