We were lucky to catch up with Eve Catharine recently and have shared our conversation below.
Eve, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
My last semester of college was one of the busiest times of my life. I was on the executive board for two student-led organizations, doing field work three days a week, going to class two days a week, and modeling or babysitting every weekend. I barely had time to breath but I knew that in mere months I would have a degree, I had a job lined up for the next year and I was doing everything I could on the side to find ways to make my creative work an integral part of the life I was building. I was exhausted, stressed and afraid of starting my post grad life but so were all my peers and I believed in them so I believed in myself. Then on January 28th 2022 I received a call that would change the course of my life. My father had died. I will never forget that call. I had been more sick than I had been since I was in elementary school, running an 103 degree fever for several days. I thought I had the flu or Covid and had just got back from the doctor with antibiotics because it had been strep. I saw my mothers name pop up on my phone and I thought she was calling to ask me what the doctor had said. When I answered the phone she asked me where I was and when I heard her voice my heart sank. I could tell something was incredibly wrong and my mind spun with every possibility. Then she told me my father had died. They had never been together and my relationship with him was strained at best. He had been an alcoholic for as long as I can remember. My busy world suddenly stopped. I spent the next few days in a blur helping to make arrangements for his funeral and figuring out the logistics of leaving my classes and work for a week to attend it. His funeral was a rush of relatives I didn’t remember telling me how much I reminded them of a man I didn’t really know. How much his singing voice has blessed them and how he was larger than life and that they saw those parts of him in me. I watched a slideshow of his life and saw an artist that followed the path of many artists before him, a path of emotional turbulence, passion, raw talent and susbstance use. A path that eventually led him to the end of his life. The night after his funeral my mom ordered food and sat down to pick a movie. While my mom scrolled through Netflix I checked my phone and saw a notification from an account I didn’t know asking about my height. When I clicked on the account information I saw it was a talent agency and I responded. The next message was asking for a meeting. For the first time since my father passed, a little bit of excitement blossomed in my chest. I felt an eerie sense of his presence with me. He had been an artist and creative and he had always wanted and supported my creative endeavors and I felt that in some way he had sent this opportunity to me. I signed with them a week later.
The rest of my semester went by in a blur. I honestly don’t remember much. I was trying so hard to push aside the grief till after graduation. I was so afraid of all of my hard work in the past semesters falling apart. I am so grateful to my friends, educators and coworkers for their grace, kindness and understanding. I do not think I could have gotten through those few months without them. Mere days after graduation I drove down to South Carolina to finish packing up my fathers house. I was supposed to start my new job at the office I had been interning at for the past year in a month. Alone in his house with no academics to distract me I finally had to reflect on everything happening in my personal life. I was my fathers only child and he had never married so I was the personal representative of his estate and there were so many legal responsibilities I had ahead of me that I didn’t understand. I was so different from the person I was months ago. I felt like I had aged years in that short timespan and all the plans I had had for my future no longer felt right. I didn’t know what I wanted. At the end of my few weeks in South Carolina when I was supposed to go back to Pittsburgh and start my job. I called my mom in tears and told her I thought I needed to quit my job. I felt like a failure. I had worked so hard to get where I was but it didn’t feel right anymore. I wanted to pursue other things, I wanted to feel more authentic to myself and I knew that after putting off grief for so long I needed time to heal. So I did. I quit my job and I moved into my fathers house. It was one of the loneliest and most difficult years of my life. I didn’t know if the choice I made was right or what the next step would be. I traveled to NYC several times to meet with my agent and doing shoots made me feel excited and driven again.
I moved to NYC a month after selling my fathers house. The day I moved into my studio apartment in Manhattan I got an email informing me that the probate was finally closed, after almost a year and a half. I had a meeting with my agent that week to figure out our next steps at getting me placed with booking agencies and talking about how we are going to move my career forward. It felt like I was finally turning pages and starting a new chapter in my life.
NYC and the creative community here has made me feel joy and passion again. I am meeting people every day that challenge me and are doing amazing things. In many ways I feel happier than I have ever been. I still feel a little lost some days. I still question myself. I still feel grief and I always will. I wonder what my father would think about the risk I took and continue to take. I don’t think I would have ever taken that risk if I hadn’t been dealing with his loss. I still don’t know if my risk was worth it but I am so excited for my future and I think that somewhere my father is too.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I got into modeling during Covid. I had always been involved in the arts mostly through theater and music but when Covid hit and I could no longer participate in those activities safely. I began to explore other outlets to get creative. My good friend invited me on one of her shoots. It was outside and six feet apart so it was Covid safe and I had an amazing time. I began to contact photographers in Pittsburgh and did as many creative shoots as I could. Through networking I started to get various freelance jobs. Then my mother agency found me via social media and now I am living in NYC working on building my portfolio and getting placement with a booking agency. Part of the reason I continue to pursue modeling is because I struggled a lot with my body image growing up. I have always been tall and curvy and had a lot of insecurity about how I fit into the world. I felt like I could never live up to the girls I saw on billboards and magazines. I am so excited to see the fashion industry begin to show more diversity in their models. I want other girls to be able to look at magazines and see themselves represented. I feel very fortunate to work with so many different creatives that help make that possible. Right now my career is moving from a more creative place to a more commercial place but I think it’s really important to remember the spirit that spurred my involvement in the industry as I move forward. I want to always do my best to uplift other creatives and work towards an industry that displays true diversity.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Networking is a vital part of any industry but it is absolutely at the center of the modeling industry. You can be the most beautiful person in the world but if you aren’t good to work with you will go nowhere. This industry is about being able to make friends, be kind and respectful, and show up when you’re expected. I pride myself in being a caring person and I think that has been vital in helping me create the professional relationships I have.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Social media has always been the most effective way for me to find work. However, there are so many apps out there that help stimulate networking and even connect you with jobs. Recently I have been utilizing neon coat. Neon coat is available in Several large cities and it connects businesses and models, by posting free services or merchandise in exchange for social media recognition. The free stuff is obviously an amazing perk but I have found that the best part of the app is the other models you meet by using it. I have made a lot of amazing friends and connections by going to restaurants or events in the app and talking to other models.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.opheliamgmt.com/eve
- Instagram: Evecatharine