Can you tell us a little about you?

Hello everyone, my name is Laura Parijs. I’m 25 years young and originally I’m from Dendermonde ( Belgium ). I’m currently based in Central London.

I have one younger brother; Lucas and one younger sister; Ella who I both love to death. Both my parents and my brother and sister have honestly been my biggest support in life so far. As a performing artist, I have been through a lot of difficult situations and I feel that my family has been backing me up in any sort of situation. They’ve always believed in me, even when I was in doubt with myself, they were always there to remind me about my talent and my dreams. Since I have the opportunity now, I would like to say a big thank you and a massive show of respect to everyone in my family and all my close friends. A massive kiss and hug to my lovely boyfriend Mathieu, who has been supporting me for more then three years allready in a very crazy lifestyle.

 

So now a bit more about myself as an artist.

I’m a professional dancer, choreographer, model and actress. I have been training in dancing since I was four years young and started including acting from the moment I turned 14.

I have attended more then one professional college focussing on commercial and theatrical dancing, choreographing and acting.

Colleges include : ‘De!Kunsthumaniora Contemporary dance’ ( Antwerp BE ), ‘DeSingel – Conservatory of Arts’ ( Antwerp BE ), ‘Fontys Hogeschool voor de kunsten’ – Fontys Art Academy ( Tilburg NL ), ‘Alvin Ailey Dance school’ ( NewYork USA )

 

I’m a very energetic person so I like to go to the gym to workout and clear my mind, I enjoy running, biking, swimming, tennis..

As an artist I also benefit from my knowledge in extreme sports because these skills are often required for Tv commercials, Videoshoots, Music videos, Live events, ..

Some of my skills are : Inline skating, Rollerblading, Ice skating, Skateboarding, Longboarding, Snowboarding, Skiing, Wakeboarding,  Free running, Martials arts ( on screen combat / on stage combat ) …

 

Besides all this, I’m actually a very normal girl who likes to have some drinks with friends. I’m a party animal but also enjoy a full day on the sofa with a slice of pizza ! PS : I love cats !

 

 

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

I think that I might be one of the first people to say that I don’t really want to change something about myself. If I could chose one, I would have wanted to be a bit taller in lenght.

 

I do have some complexions about myself just like anyone else on this planet but I honestly believe that we should embrace the fact that life was given to all of us and that we should be happy with ourselves the way we are. There are so many wrong images in the media these days, giving people a bad idea of how they should behave and look like to become succesfull.

To me this is bullshit. It’s how we approach every day that makes us happy and succesfull.

If people want to change something to become more happy, they should do it. It’s personal.

 

How did you start modeling?

Since I was a kid, I always wanted to become a model. At the age of 12, I allready started browsing online looking for modelling work and so on. ( I was so unexperienced and had no idea what I was doing )

 

I first started modelling when I was the age of 14 I think. I applied for Topmodel Belgium and ended up with the last 30 candidates. I didn’t make the finals because my figure was too athletic ( that’s what they said back then but I think I was to young too ). It’s very ironic to know that these days I actually work as a model BECAUSE my body is athletic. I mainly work as a commercial model, fitness model, dance yoga pilates model,..

 

What do you think of the work as a model?

I really love modelling. It’s always cool and fun to do a job that you like doing and this is exactly how I feel about modelling, dancing and acting.

 

There’s a lot of competition in this business but I feel like I’m clever regarding the fact that I focus on commercial modelling and sports modelling. I don’t have the length or slim build to do high fashion shoots so I’m mainly working in the commercial modelling scène.

 

Some of my friends are working in the high fashion modelling industry and sometimes they’re struggling to get casted for jobs since there’s so many people going for the same job. It’s a very ugly world backstage but I’m a very stong character so most of the time I don’t really care about difficult people. I have no time for people that are negative, people that think they’re better than you, short-minded people, rude people, ..

Life’s to short to waist energy on such people. I like being surrounded by motivated, positive, energetic people that are not afraid of hard work but who like to have fun too !

What are your personal qualities which distinguish you from others?

 

My personal qualities which separates me from others must be my other skills that I can include in my modelling work. Any other skill might be the right one to make you stand out.

People also like the fact that I’m foreign. I’m very outspoken, energetic, positive and dedicated during castings and this makes me stand out. There’s no way that you’ll not notice me.

 

What is your beauty regimen?

This one is easy to answer.
Citrus fruits like Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit, .. are very healthy for the skin.
Eating them is allready a very good thing but something you might want to try out is actually keeping the skin of the fruit after you’ve peeled it so we can sqeeze the small amount of juice that’s actually found in the skin on to your face or body and massage it into the pores.

Make sure you close your eyes whenever you sqeeze in your face J

 

What are your plans for the future?

My plans fort he future are not really set. Anything can change at any moment, every day. Right now I’m working more and more on bigger and bigger jobs. Everyday I get castings in for acting, dancing, modelling, choreographing, ..

I’m always applying for all jobs that I think might suit me and will keep improving myself in this industry. You never know what tomorrow brings.

I might be a lead role in a new Feature Film, I might be dancing next to Rihanna, I might be on the billboards next tot he highway next week.
I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know one thing for sure. I will not give up on myself, I will keep improving myself and become a better performer.
I want to see the world and enjoy life for as long as it lasts. So be happy but stay foccused.

 

Do you have any advice for those who want to start modeling?

I would suggest anyone that’s willing to model to be prepared before you try out.
It’s important to have some really good natural pictures allready before you walk into a modelling agency. Best thing to actually is to decide what sort of modelling you woud like to do ? Runways, Editorials, Commercial work, High fashion ?

When you’ve decided this for yourself, you can go online and search for different agencies in your country. Sent them a short email and make sure you can just go tot heir office and walk in. They will tell you straight away if there’s any potential or not.

Don’t give up to soon ! I started when I was 14 and only started working the past 3 years.

 

What are some of your favorite experiences so far?

The best experience I’ve had so far was moving to London. I feel like this has opened a whole new world for me. Aything is possible in this city.

 

I’ve worked with big names such as LMFAO, Katy Perry, Jermaine Jackson, Justin Bieber, Far East Movement, David Guetta, Birdy, ..

Can’t wait for more to come !

 

What do you think of the magazine?

I really enjoyed sharing my stories with you all.
The magazine is a great way off focussing on talents in the industry.
It’s a great way to tell different stories and showing different people.
A lot of people will probably find out a lot of information about things they never knew before.

 

 FOLLOW LAURA ONLINE

 

WEBSITE : www.lauraparijs.com

FACEBOOK : www.facebook.com/LauraParijs

Facebook Profile : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1042420650

INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/lauraparijsofficial/