Beyond her years
When Gerren Taylor scored her first runway gig modeling for an Alexander McQueen fashion show in Las Vegas last October, her booking agent begged her: “Whatever you do, just don’t act like you are 12!”
So Gerren, the youngest person ever to be represented by the runway division of L.A. Models, kept her mouth shut, even as she practiced her walk in front of a mirror before the show. And nobody was the wiser. Because at 5 feet, 10 inches, with full lips and rounded hips, Gerren hardly looks like she is in seventh grade.
“Kids have always made fun of me, calling me giraffe and stuff,” Gerren said at her agent’s Hollywood office Friday. “But as my grandma says, I’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.”
Although some agencies require girls to be 14 before they can model professionally, it’s not unheard of for mature 12-year-olds to get work. Some of the most famous models in the world, including Gisele Bundchen, Brooke Shields, Twiggy, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall, acquired international status before their 16th birthdays. And actress Milla Jovovich caused a stir when, at age 12, she made the cover of Vogue. (By 11, she’d already been shot by Richard Avedon for the cover of Mademoiselle.)
Gerren, said Crista Klayman, director of the runway division at L.A. Models, “is very capable. If anything, I’ve tried to hide her age from my clients, because it sounds like you’re sending someone with braces and bobby socks. I have several clients who say they can’t book her; they freak. The other half think she’s a novelty.” She is also a rarity as an African American model in a world where the standard of beauty is generally white (with the exception of a handful of models, including Tyra Banks, whom Gerren idolizes).
Gerren, who took her mother’s surname as her first name when she began working, has been modeling for nearly a year now. Besides the runway work -- she modeled in seven shows during the recent L.A. fashion week -- she’s been featured in YM and Teen magazines, and currently has two national ads on TV, for Kohl’s department stores and Volvo.
At casting calls, on photo shoots and backstage at runway shows, her mom, Michele Gerren, is never far behind. She watches carefully as stylists dress her only child and photographers pose her. “There was one time when I left a shoot,” said Michele. “There were some other mothers there, so I felt comfortable. But when I saw some of the pictures, I said, ‘No, that’s not going to work.’ ” In one image, Gerren was pulling up her skirt ever so slightly, exposing her underwear. (The photos were not for publication; they were for Gerren’s “book,” or portfolio.)
The debate over the sexualization of girls at younger and younger ages waxes and wanes; Gerren’s mother understands that sexuality is a part of fashion and believes she can protect her child from exploitation.
At runway shows, most designers are respectful of Gerren’s age. “People are good at making sure she’s not out there in sheer things,” said Michele, a single mom who is a student at Cal State Northridge and works as a freelance TV editor. “At Richard Tyler, they put three or four layers under the dress that she wore so you couldn’t see through it, whereas an older model would just go out with nothing underneath.”
“Looking at Gerren, nobody would guess that she’s 12,” said Kevin Hayes, a designer for Richard Tyler. “And working with her, you wouldn’t expect it either. When putting Gerren into looks, we make sure to protect her from exposing too much and protect her innocence, while taking advantage of her prowess on the runway.”
Lotta Stennson, who designs the Lotta line, is also a fan. “She came in and she was just alive and bubbly and fresh, and she could walk like a supermodel,” the designer said. “When I found out she was 12, I was quite shocked, because she really carries herself like a woman.”
“I guess I’m just a natural,” Gerren said.
Her mother worries about the raucous party scenes that have been fodder for more than one model tell-all book. But the young model seems to have a good sense of herself. Offered champagne backstage after one show, she refused it, saying, “I don’t do that.”
For all her poise, modeling is a hard job and Gerren is a kid who still plays with Barbie dolls. When she was hired to walk at Tyler’s show, the final show of L.A. Fashion Week, she knew she had landed a blockbuster. Which made it all the more poignant when she stepped out onto the runway in a wedding gown and stumbled hard. She tripped once, then again on the train in front of her. And when her eyes welled up with tears, even the most hardened fashionistas in the audience wanted to reach out and give her a hug.
“I was upset,” Gerren said. “It was my first big fall. But when people said I was the best in the show even though I fell, it gave me courage.” As it turns out, the spill wasn’t exactly her fault. Her dresser had put the gown on backward, with the train in the front instead of the back.
When she’s not on the runway, Gerren wears jeans and tennis shoes. On this day, she’s in denim pants with wide, flared legs, and a crocheted jacket that was a trade for her work at the Lotta fashion show. “The best thing about modeling is publicity and all the cool stuff I get,” she said, giggling.
Runway models in L.A. often don’t earn money at all; instead, they’re paid in clothing, which explains why Gerren already owns a Richard Tyler black evening gown, even though it may be years before she has an occasion to wear it. Models earn more money posing for department store ads, which pay up to $3,000 a day. And landing a few national commercials, depending on how often they air, can be lucrative enough to pay for college.
When Michele was a teenager, she dabbled in modeling for local designers and department stores. But she’s careful to point out that it was Gerren who decided to go into the fashion business, and that the money she is making is going into an account where “nobody can touch it.”
After Gerren showed an interest, her mother took her to L.A. Models with a handful of photographs the two had taken in Griffith Park. An agent there suggested Gerren enter their “L.A. Look” contest for aspiring models. She didn’t make the finals, but the agency signed her anyway.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was little,” Gerren said. In fact, she’s always had a passion for fashion. She was, and is, the kind of child who likes to make clothes out of bed sheets. Once, she persuaded her pediatrician to give her his scrubs, which she snipped into a Christmas dress. Gerren dreams of being on a TV show. She also talks about launching her own handbag line, or being a veterinarian.
A few of the big New York modeling agencies have expressed interest in Gerren. And eventually she’ll have to go East if she wants to make a career of it. “She may be ready as far as physically walking, but not mentally,” her mom said. “It’s friendly here in L.A. but in New York and Europe, it’s a cutthroat environment. When she’s 14, if she still wants to go, she can try it.”
But for now, Michele wants her daughter to take it slow. That means making time for volleyball practice, and helping at her church. “I want to maintain her childhood, because there are so many young stars who we see these days who are messed up because they never had one.”
School is the first priority. Gerren attends a small, private school on the Westside, which her mother did not want to name. When she fell behind in pre-algebra earlier this year, Michele made her stop modeling until her grades came up.
So far, the agency has worked around her school schedule. Klayman tries to book all Gerren’s work after 2:45 p.m. At worst, she misses last period, which is gym or yoga class.
“There’s more to life than fashion shows,” said Klayman, an agent for 19 years. “They are great and that’s her future, but if you are not doing well in school, that’s not the way to go. Because one day,” she said, shooting a glance at Gerren and her mom, “You’re going to make a lot of money and you have to know what to do with it.”
