Hi Everyone! I'm Jess, currently in Austin TX, Shreveport LA, NYC and Los Angeles CA. As for me, I'm a very down to earth person with high standards for myself and the people I love, absolutely no tolerance for negativity, and all the love in the world for the amazing people I have had the pleasure of knowing. I ask that if you contact me, please remember that I am a person with feelings, so save your negativity to be used for personal improvement. So far this has been an amazing year for me, as I've met the love of my life, and my acting career is moving forward almost too fast for me to keep up. I really appreciate all your sweet messages and comments, I try to respond to all of them but I am a busy girl! Peace and happiness to you~J.
Jessica Layne began her career in 2005 when she was discovered by a national clothing company called The Blue Exchange for an ad campaign. She later signed to a modeling agency in Los Angeles, CA where she began both acting and modeling, appearing in magazines such as California Apparel News and doing various commercial print ads for companies like True Religion Jeans and Reebok; as well as acting in a number of television pilots, some of which will premier in early 2007. Jessica now attends school at The University of Texas at Austin where she continues her modeling and acting career under Acclaim Talent Agency. She travels between Los Angeles, Austin and Louisiana.
LIFE IN THE FAST LAYNE
UT Student Finds Success in LA
by Emily Gerson
When UT student Jessica Higgins realized she was going to graduate with a triple major in just three years, she knew she wasn’t ready for post-grad life so soon. She decided to take a break from school and spend a semester pursuing a modeling career. She packed her bags, moved to L.A. and changed her name to Jessica Layne. She had no idea what to expect, and had no idea how successful she would be. The Austin Student had the privilege of speaking with Jessica about her experiences in the real world and what she has learned.
What is your year and major at UT?
When I return in the fall, I’ll be beginning my senior year, so I have one year left. Right now I’m triple majoring in Spanish, psychology and government.
How did you get into modeling?
The whole modeling story is kind of strange. I was a child model when I was little and hated it, so I gave it up and said I would never do it again. I kept getting offers my entire life but turned them down. Then last summer I got a phone call from a guy who saw my pic on Facebook, and he had a big new clothing company and was looking for a new face. I told him, “No, I’m sorry,†but he told me he’d pay me $3,000 for three hours. So I got back into modeling! Haha. And right now I’m in L.A. I’m filming a TV show, I’m working on movies, I’ve done music videos and done print work.
How did you end up in L.A.?
I was set to graduate at the end of summer, so I was going to complete three majors in three years, but I realized I wasn’t ready to graduate and go do law school yet. So during spring break, I was modeling in Austin and decided to go New York and L.A. to see what happened. I fell in love with New York, but nobody gave me work — everyone thought I was too short. I hated L.A. but got tons of work, and I didn’t want to graduate yet, so I decided that’s where I’d go.
How is it different from Texas? Do you miss Austin?
Yes! I feel like California has no soul. There’s something about the Southern charm, and some sort of realness in people in Texas. I miss the genuineness of people in Austin. In Austin, people really talk to everyone, and there’s really a sense of community. L.A. is an antithesis of a sense of a community. It’s more OK if you know what you’re getting into, but it’s still not the same. I miss my Austin. I miss the feeling of a smaller town. I fall in and out of love with L.A. every week. I really like this place, I dig it, but then the next week I feel like everyone is so soulless! The people here with the hottest bodies are like 60 years old with tons of work done and it creeps me out! I miss the realness of Texas.
What is your ideal future career?
After finishing my last year at UT, I’m going to go to law school. I never took the modeling thing seriously; I thought it would just be for money. But I really feel like I fit into the entertainment industry a lot more than I thought I would, so I’m starting to consider entertainment law, either with an agency or with individuals. It feels like that’s where my world is leaning towards.
What is it like being a college student and temporarily leaving your life behind for a career move?
When you’ve always followed one path and never considered another path — but then you consider another — it is definitely hard! You’ve got a town with 50 million people and you know two people — it’s hard! Whenever I came here, I had a gay boyfriend of mine who I met in a New York club dancing on stage, then my designer friend Daniel Franco [from Project Runway]. We knew each other from a while ago, and he’s been a lifesaver and my mentor. He calls and checks up on me. Thank God for him. I’m living in the second largest city in the US, and for the first month I’d call him and ask for directions every time I went somewhere. It was a huge adjustment in every possible way, even down to the climate change! And L.A. has a sense of urgency about it, where everyone feels like they’re never going to work again or the world will fall down at any moment. Getting used to that was hard; Austin has a very relaxed vibe about it.
How do you meet people there?
When I was a kid, my parents moved around a lot, so it became easy for me to meet new people. I’ve come across some really great people — a lot of people I meet are in my industry. When I’m at a casting call, I’m the girl talking to everyone in the room. And then we’ll go out to a club and meet other interesting people. But it takes a lot of work meeting people here because you have to do the club scene. But I don’t really hang out with people my age here; Daniel is 32, gay boyfriend is like in his 40s, so I’m kind of a forced adult here. The 20somethings here are students at USC, or they’re these struggling actor/model types and are so work-oriented. People will live here for years and call themselves actor/model and not get any work, but I’ve been here two months but done so much work! I think that’s why the people my age don’t like me…
What work have you been doing in L.A.?
I’m in a movie called He’s Such a Girl, set for release sometime this year — kind of a dramedy. I’m also filming a TV show with Spike TV that I’m co-hosting, called Bikini Pool — basically every week girls in bikinis play pool. I know, I know. I’m also doing a music video for the band Sugar Cult; I’m gonna be the lead girl in video. I was in the LA Times for Daniel Franco. I have a contract with Reebok for ads for some limited edition collection of shoes.
What have you learned?
When I was in the middle of school, I had been doing so much that I lost sight of what I was doing. And my whole purpose of coming here was to gain insight of importance of me being at UT and sitting in class. I think I desperately needed real life experience. It’s completely true — going out there and doing something, anything, and not being in school for a semester, makes you really appreciate the sense of accomplishment from being a student.
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