PQs Straight from the Lens

We had the opportunity to interview Model Gabriella Elyse Monaco (G.E.M). She is a multimedia artist and student at New York University. Gabriella studies at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, with a concentration that integrates marketing, creative writing, journalism, and performance. She is a professional model with experience in film, print, and runway events, and a classically-trained vocalist and actor (trained in the Meisner method at The William Esper Studio). She has been in off Broadway shows, short films, classical and jazz ensembles, and award-winning acappella groups. Additionally, and most passionately, Gabriella is an aspiring recording artist with jazz, pop, electronic & soul influences.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in New York, and I’m proud of it! I currently live in White Plains, NY, and commute to the city for work and school.

How old are you?

I am 21 years old.

How many siblings are in your family?

I am one of three girls. My two sisters (younger and older) are incredible in their own fields.

What’s your background in modeling?

As a kid, I played dress up with my grandmother after school almost every day, and I grew an immense love for costumes and transforming into other people or characters, and I think modeling now has really taken a part of this. I began modeling a little over a year ago, and it has certainly picked up a great deal of traction since then at an. My younger sister, Julia, is also a working photographer now and I owe so much of my earliest portfolio to her! (She was just published at age 17!). She was also just starting out at the time, and we’d take pictures around the house with my Aunt’s camera. A lot of why​I started modeling had to do with my own insecurities. I had constantly seen my body as “incomplete” and part of a process, never “good enough” to pursue a more external career. Forcing myself into the lens of the camera was truly difficult at first, but it’s something I’ve come to enjoy, as the minute I did I was constantly aware of my own skin, and more able to grasp that my body and my person, as is, was more than enough for me and for anyone else for that matter. Modeling became a way for me to channel my insecurities into confidence and poise, which was something completely unexpected, but rewarding nonetheless.