Vancouver Fashion eZine - Online Fashion Magazine | Jenna Finlay

Every inch of Jenna Finlay looks like a model. Fresh from a beauty shoot and still sporting heavy makeup and fluttery lashes, she shows up for our interview at a downtown coffee shop clad in an electric blue tank top, skinny jeans and tall black heels. I'm a little intimidated by this coltish beauty, but within five minutes I find that I needn't be. Quiet and somewhat shy, she is more like your wholesome girl next door than a diva model in the making. Her sweet, unassuming nature shines through in her modest replies to my questions.

While growing up, Finlay was more interested in athletics and the great outdoors than beauty and fashion. She spent eight years as a competitive swimmer and participated in team sports. When she entered high school, friends and family alike began suggesting that she model because of her height. "Everyone told me I should be a model, " she says. Her father's co-worker had a daughter who was signed to the LizBell Agency and recommended it. The agency liked her when they met but both parties were reluctant for her to sign immediately--LizBell because her sporty frame was deemed "too muscular" for editorial modelling, Finlay because of the toll that modelling and competitive swimming would take on her schedule. In the end, she delayed the decision until she felt that the time was right to quit swimming. She has been modelling since April doing editorials, look books and gaining valuable experience in photo shoots and on the runway. Her favourite aspect of modelling is the dramatic hair and makeup done for photo shoots.

Finlay characterizes her life outside of modelling as quiet--very "anti-model" and unglamorous. Although she quit team sports and competitive swimming long ago, she still umpires softball games in Cloverdale on her off days. She also manages to squeeze in time with friends and family in between assignments and enjoys camping and going to movies. She has completed a year in Simon Fraser University's general sciences program and has vague dreams of pursuing a career in the medical field. However, she also hopes to continue modelling for as long as she possibly can and cites New York and Paris as dream destinations in which she'd like to work someday; if her career gains momentum, she is unsure whether she wants to return to school. She enjoys clothes and flipping through fashion magazines occasionally, but is not an avid trend follower or coveter of designer labels, preferring to shop at the mall or go outlet shopping in the United States. However, if she is half as successful as she dreams of becoming, this quiet anti-model existence may become a thing of the past.

To book Jenna Finlay please contact LizBell at 604-683-9696 or visit the website at www.lizbellagency.com.