We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pamela Suvanna. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pamela below.
Alright, Pamela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The biggest risk I ever took was giving up my stable job for a day in the life of a model. After I returned home from IMTA in Los Angeles and got signed to my agency the Covid—19 Pandemic hit our country and it felt like my modeling career couldn’t begin yet because the entire country was shutting down. I was working as a medical assistant in Women’s Health living what most would call a “normal life”. It was a stable job and an honorable one. Working in medicine is rewarding because I get to heal others and spread my love to those who need it. However, it was not my truest passion.
During the pandemic my job only became more difficult. People were getting laid off in my department and luckily I got to stay but the workload became greater with less staffing. I even had to move between Women’s Health to the ED for some weeks to go where help was needed most. Since most patients that were suffering from the COVID pandemic were at the ED instead of Women’s Health, I did not mind the change of environment. Every day I worked in medicine it was a meaningful day but I would never do it for free. Not the way I would do what I love…to be the creative I truly was. Whether that was acting, modeling or singing…I would do any of those for free. It felt like In medicine I could only be parts of myself…the parts where I was hard working, influential and a healer. But in the entertainment industry I could be my entire self that includes those parts mentioned but also a dreamer, impractical and an artist in my own way.
I remember being in my car one day after a rough night shift and wishing that I would finally be able to be who I am once again. I missed LA, I missed being around other people with bigger dreams and I missed doing what I love. That same week my agency called me and told me that I had been direct booked for my first modeling job! This was huge because usually casting wants you to audition against other models before choosing but I was chosen and booked instantly. Not only that…I booked a CAMPAIGN. Most people do not get to work a campaign project for their FIRST paid project in the industry. When I found out it was for Rue21 I almost questioned if reality could be so good to me!
I needed to be in PA in 3 days to work this campaign project and then came my dilemma: my job requires me to request off at least one month in advance and if I called off one more time I would have collected enough points to get fired. My job had a point system and by the 10th point you would be let go. I was sick a lot that year and I was already at 9 points, a call-off equated to 2 points. So I had to make a really big decision.
I had to decide between staying at this stable job with steady income or risk it all for one day of being a model. I was honest with my superiors and they told me things like, “it’s your choice but make sure you make the right decisions.” People also would ask me if this modeling project will change my life or bring me just 15 minutes of fame.
It only took me a day for me to decide to risk it all. The campaign project for Rue21 was only for 1 day of work and it paid me $900. I would not see that money for another 2 months. A normal and logical person would have chosen to stay at their job. At my job I made more than $900 in 2 weeks but I knew that I would be getting another check the next 2 weeks after that. So when I decided to quit my job and choose myself and what I loved… I had to stop thinking about money.
Money is printed every day. Money can be replaced. As long as I never lose sight of myself, money will return even if money is lost. I never had money to begin with. I was never wealthy nor was I ever living such a luxurious life. I never started to pursue modeling for money either. I pursued modeling to change the world’s beauty expectations. Money meant nothing to me. I could find a new job tomorrow but I might not ever get this opportunity again to model for Rue21. I could find a new workplace with more people that felt like a stable job was better than chasing my dreams. However, it’s really rare to walk into a room full of creatives that all share the passions and big dreams and the courage to chase them as you. I am so happy I chose to walk away from my job and do the most impractical thing anyone could ever imagine. I didn’t know it back then how many more projects I would book, how many more posters I would be on, how many friends I would meet in this industry or how much money I actually ended up making so far in this journey I’m in. I didn’t need to know… I just needed to do what I love. I risked it all for love and I would do it again.
Pamela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi yall! My name is Pamela Suvanna. I am a nationally signed curves model with MANY talents including acting, singing and dancing! My mother agent is PMTM and I’m also signed with my national agency 10 MGMT. I got into the modeling industry by taking risks and competing in LA at a convention for models and talents worldwide back in 2020! I have since been growing in my craft and within the fashion industry. In 2024, I actually booked my first global project with Pinterest which now takes me to a new international level that I’m hoping will only bring me more work and more love! I believe what sets me apart from others who are also chasing their modeling career is that I represent many movements! I represent the curvy girls, the curly haired girls, the southeast Asian girls and even just the girls! My biggest mission in life is to spread my light and prove to the world that I can look like myself and be the image of beauty for someone. I want to become what I needed so badly in mainstream media. I hardly ever saw Southeast Asian women with curly hair and curvy bodies as the main characters… so I decided to change that. Beauty radiates from within and we are all unique…I want to get that message out to the entire world! I am proud of all my projects I’ve done with Rue21, Famous Footwear, Lowe’s, Joann Fabrics, Pinterest, etc. However, I’m MOST proud of how much I’ve overcome to even be able to be interviewed as a model today! This wasn’t an easy road but we don’t need things to be easy we just need them to be possible.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Sometimes I find myself in conversations with non-creatives that really do not align with my beliefs as a creative on my journey. A lot of non-creatives believe that there is only one way to success and it is to go to school, collect degrees and find a good paying job. Invest their money in a home and a decent car. Living within their means and being realistic. I feel that of course this is a way to be successful in life if you are content with it however, as a creative I’ve realized that success can be defined in many different ways. A creative like myself? I believe success is daring to do what others fear to in order to achieve financial freedom. I believe that success is being able to wake up at 10am on a random Wednesday and I can choose to rot in bed if I wanted or take friends out to brunch because I don’t have anywhere to clock in to or a boss to report to. I believe success is finding ways to afford what I want, not only wanting things just cause I can afford it. I’ve always felt like I thought differently than the majority I meet but I realized that only the top 1% are wealthy for a reason. Today, I work a full time job while simultaneously working towards my own idea of what success is. I could always settle for my job in the medical field but I will never be content. My heart and soul desires so much more! Life should be experienced and lived…I personally do not want to do that by building up someone else’s business. I will do it for now because I have to eat somehow but there will be a day where I will be grateful for the way that I think. It will all pay off! It has no other choice but to pay off…giving up on my dreams is not an option for me!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I grew up believing I was not pretty. I did not have blue eyes. I did not have fair skin. I was not tall. I was not skinny. I was not what any of the girls looked like on TV. I had to unlearn that when I was growing into adulthood if I wanted to change mainstream media! Before my modeling journey I went on a self-love journey. I completely dived into healing my hurt and building up my confidence. I realized I only felt like I was not beautiful because that’s what everyone outside of me made me feel like. I was always the chunkier one out of my group of friends, the only one in my family with curly hair, usually the shortest of all my friends too and I was almost always the only Southeast Asian. I didn’t feel beautiful because I didn’t fit in with the majority. I had to unlearn that. I had to teach myself that being beautiful is not about fitting in or belonging. Being beautiful is embracing who I am and all my features no matter what anyone else says about it! The more I loved myself the more the mirror was less intimidating. Before anyone could desire me I first had to desire myself!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @pamelasuvanna
- TikTok: @pamelasuvanna RedNote @pamelasuvanna 10 MGMT Portfolio: https://www.10mgmt.com/portfolios/pamela-suvanna PMTM Portfolio: https://pmtm.com/models/313/show
Image Credits
Dani Venen Judd Demaline