Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Shevchenko. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?

Rachel is a child model and actor. She is currently signed with LA Models for modeling and LA Talent for acting jobs. Getting an agent is one of the most important things in a modeling or acting career. Rachel has been signed with an agent since she was 1 year old. I always wanted her to get signed with LA models but at that time it seemed like they were only accepting kids with experience. So, after she booked a few jobs including a worldwide Levi’s campaign she finally signed a contract with LA models when she was 5 years old. So, then Rachel went on booking lots of jobs including Nike, Levi’s, Nordstrom Rack, Nautica, FIDM, Minimaven, Walmart, Dillards, Amazon, Mattel, Badgley Mischka, Sydney Evan, etc. She has also walked a lot of runways: LAFW, NYFW, FIDM Fashion Shows and appeared in TV Shows: Telemundo Acceso Total Show and Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
Of course, signing with an agent is a very important step in the modeling career but also, it’s just the beginning of a long journey together. One thing is to start the relationship with the agent by signing and another thing is maintaining the relationship. You and the agent are a team that works together. It’s very important that you are doing your part in the relationship: updating headshots and photos, updating casting websites, respond to all requests as fast as you can (we try to respond right away or within a few hours max), good communication, being on time for all the castings and jobs and also well prepared, sending self-tapes on time and in best possible quality, always improving your skills, staying in shape at all the times, good diet, maintaining good mental health, updating your sizes if any changes (especially important for kids that are growing all the time). A Modeling career is a big commitment and in the case of a child model, it’s a commitment of the child and also the parents to help out with everything.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Rachel is a child model and actor. She is now 10 years old and started modeling when she was around 1 year old. After 9 years in the industry, she has learned a lot in her young age. Rachel is represented by the best agencies in Los Angeles: ‘LA Models’ for modeling and ‘LA Talent’ for TV, theatrical, and commercial. Rachel has worked for brands like Levi’s, Nike, Nautica, Mattel, Nordstrom Rack, Dillard’s, Walmart, Amazon, Tutudumonde, MiniMaven magazine, Badgley Mischka, Sydney Evan, and many more. She has also walked a lot of runways: LAFW, NYFW, FIDM Fashion Shows and appeared in TV Shows: Telemundo Acceso Total Show and Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
By 10 years old she has an extensive experience in modeling, acting, and runways. One of the main advantages of starting early is you learn how to handle business from a young age. If someone is going to start modeling at the age of 16, for example, they would have to compete with Rachel who will have about 15 years of experience by then.
As much as talent is important, hard work and dedication are very important as well. Rachel is always learning and improving her acting and modeling skills, she speaks 2 languages: English and Russian, and does different sports: horseback riding, surfing, wrestling, and dancing. She is also an Instagram influencer with around 30000 followers and gets a lot of collaborations through Instagram.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think there should be more education about the modeling industry. There is no college degree in it and barely any reputable coaches or schools. When we were starting out there was no guidance whatsoever. Rachel learned a lot during these years, and I learned a lot as a parent of a modeling child to help her navigate through the industry. Rachel gets a lot of questions on social media from aspiring kid models asking for tips on how to start out. We always try to help out as much as we can but sometimes it does get really busy with all the DMs. Maybe one day we can create a course and share all the things we learned over the years.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Rachel has around 30000 followers on Instagram. I started her account when she was 1 year old. So, it does take time to get established on social media. While it is possible to get a lot of followers from a viral reel or something, a lot of influencers with big following have been doing it for years. Creating a social media account for your child can be not an easy decision for some parents. Some parents want to keep it private and not post their kids. I guess it’s not for everyone, but it is a decision you have to make for yourself and your family. A lot of castings and jobs now ask for the number of followers on social media on top of your resume, reel, and headshots. It’s also a great way to establish your media presence instead of just waiting to be casted. Some of the most important keys to grow your social media are consistency, relevancy and quality.
Also, one thing I didn’t know before about child accounts under 13 years old: you have to add ‘Account managed by a parent’ in the bio. I had to learn it the hard way when Rachel’s account suddenly got banned by Instagram. I was so scared that our hard work of many years will be gone. But thankfully I was able to sort it out with Instagram by providing my ID and proving that I am managing the account, and also did have to add the above phrase to the bio.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lamodels.com/RachelShevchenko
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelshevchenko/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rachelshev

Image Credits

Alena Kunda @alenakunda.photography