Bio

Hi There..

Well, Hmm…I was born and raised in Massachusetts, the sixth of seven children. I have five brothers , one sister. I was the minority at home, so everything I did was considered “strange” ( My sister was out of the house already). My brothers were never serious. I have memories of being left on top of the refrigerator as a kid, as well as put to work in the goaly net at their hockey games. I spent a lot of time with my music, art and theater, while they talked about the Boston Bruins…They made fun of my brownies, calling them “hockey pucks…” A totally abused sister who got stuck with the dishes.

I was a little tired of cleaning, picking up food, socks, hockey equipment, and lots of unidentifiable objects around the house, ( also had very tired parents by the time I arrived ) so I moved to NYC to study acting, which is what I wanted to do. ( Last kids were ” do it yourselfer’s”…) In college I performed in various shows, also community theater groups. In NYC, I studied at the well known Herbert Bergdof Studios, as well as The Actor’s Studio. Before my move to the big city, I won a local pageant title, with scholarships, as well as ” Miss New England”.

I didn’t have much time in the city during my first stint there. A few months later I was under contract with a Tokyo, Japan modeling agency and completed several commercials, catalogs, and magazines. They included Elle Japon, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, G.Q., and many others. I appeared in commercials and print ads for Seiko Watch, Wacoal, Sony, Diamaru , Sogo, Hankyu and Isetan dept. stores, Tokyo Pearl Co., Toshiba, Nissan, and many others. I worked frequently for designers such as Hanai Mori, Jun Ashida, Junko Koshino, and others. My work took me all over the globe, including Hong Kong, Korea, The Philippines, Guam, and other remote places.

I spent five years primarily in Japan, also lived and worked in Spain with Maroe Models. In Madrid, I was hired by Pedro Almodovar, for a principal role in one of his projects, as well as other great directors and photographers there. My time in Madrid landed me print jobs in Cairo and Luxor among the pyramids of Egypt, as well as beautiful areas of Portugal. I loved Spain, but my Japanese was better than my Spanish. The cab drivers there would looked perplexed when Japanese would mistakenly come out of my mouth!

In between all this moving, I earned my SAG card (Screen Actor’s Guild) as a principal actor in Miami. I was surprised to learn that the senior DP behind the camera on that project was Freddy Young who shot ” Dr. Zhivago”. Michelle Pommier Models (Wilhelmina) represented me then, and also booked me for ads for Burdine Stores, Galleria Shops, and several projects that used the beach locations. I eventually returned to NYC for a few years to resume my acting, and also worked regularly for Catalina and YSL swimwear lines, as well as a hair model for the late John Sahag…the nicest man, and most talented hair stylist ever…

I enjoy my work, and the people I’ve met along the way! It was difficult to take a leave of absence from the business for some 12 years or more, but well worth the great son that I’ve raised! During those years, I was a self-employed cosmetic sales and marketing rep, as well as an industry make- up artist. I did manage , however , to study at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles, and work behind the scenes on projects for Bravo, ESPN, and several national commercials. I’ve also enjoyed teaching teenagers personal development, modeling, nutrition, communication and make -up artistry classes for the past 16 years.

As far as interests, I read a lot of non-fiction, informative books on health, life, spirituality, and world issues. I try to eat healthy, (Japan was a good influence) involve myself with the environment and other issues of concern, study holistic health, Naturopath Medicine ( striving towards an N.D. degree ), try to exercise, and above all, keep my sense of humor! Prayer helps me a great deal, also…
Thanks for the support and good thoughts….and thanks to my wonderful son, Ryan,
(“Bubba”) for for being who he is, his assistance and genius w/ technical computer issues, and everything he’s taught me about life. Ryan received numerous awards from the State, County, Congress and Senate, for graduating High School with a high GPA,also awarded several Distinguished Student Awards, nominated by his teachers. He’s excited to now be a UCSB graduate,w/ a degree in Computer Science/Engineering. He made the Dean’s List quarterly,and recently started an engineering position he loves.
I’m blessed to be his Mom, and extremely proud of him!

THANKS, BUBS!

The journey continues!

Best Wishes,
GINA