BIOGRAPHY OF A HAND MODEL
From Burger King, Oil Of Olay and Crest Toothpaste to Sky Vodka, Dove Soap, and Dunkin’ Donuts, you can’t turn on the television or flip through a magazine without seeing Mia's famous hands. Mia is the top hand model in the big business of body parts modeling. Turn on the television right now, and you can see Mia’s talented hands in commercials doing everything from spreading Philadelphia Cream Cheese on a bagel and twisting open Oreo cookies to pouring test tubes of blue dye onto Tampax feminine pads to test for absorbency.
Mia got her start as a hand model while she was working as an actress on a television commercial. When she noticed that the director was interviewing several white-gloved women to handmodel for his next commercial, she stuck out her hands to be judged along side the veteran handmodels. Mia was hired on the spot, and her career as a handmodel was born. (Little did she know that she’d have to shoot the job underwater in a swimming pool for 3 days, and it would be one of her most difficult jobs to date!)
From commercials and international ad campaigns to publications such as SELF MAGAZINE, SEVENTEEN, ESQUIRE, and the NEW YORK TIMES, Mia began booking every job that she interviewed for. Aside from Mia’s naturally graceful fingers, long nail beds and flawless skin, Mia’s skills and impeccable timing have earned her the reputation as a valuable talent who can save the production time and therefore thousands of dollars in production costs.
Mia says, “People rely on me to get the precision shots they need in the first few takes. I’m willing to do anything to get the shotâ€. Holding her arms in the air for hours at a time and holding her breath to steady her hands while standing under hot lights, makes hand modeling a physically demanding job. Mia’s work ethic makes her a favorite with her chiropractor and masseuse who have to repair the damage on her neck and back after a long day of shooting.
5000 commercials, print campaigns, and editorials to date, Mia is the top hand model in her industry. She has been the hands for such celebrities as Penelope Cruz (Lux), Jennifer Aniston (L’Oreal), Molly Simms (Cover Girl), and Cindy Crawford (Danone Yogurt). Mia also foot models and has been the feet of Faith Hill. Mia has worked with the top directors and photographers in the business, including Mathew Rolston, Dewey Nicks, and the late Herb Ritts.
Mia believes that other handmodels who wear gloves are a bit eccentric and jokingly says, “You don’t see models like Giselle Bundchen or Tyra Banks covering their faces so I don’t thinks it’s necessary to cover my hands. I live my life like everybody else, and I love working in the garden.†She says, "I do take care of my hands and I think hands are a part of the body that need a lot of care that people tend to forget about."
Adding writer to her list of accomplishments, Mia is currently working on a book called "HOW TO BE A HAND MODEL...OR JUST LOOK LIKE ONE" which will explain how to get intot he competitve world of hand and foot modeling. (Mia has made portions of her book available to MYSPACERS who can't wait for the book to come out!) Also, Mia finishing a novel about her life titled “HANDJOBS IN HOLLYWOOD: Confessions of A Handmodel†that she hopes to get made into a television show. For the record, Mia does not own a single pair of gloves and has never lost a job because of a scratch on her ungloved hands.
