// Jessica Stroup: Photoshoot 08
Jessica Stroup is a country girl who’s afraid she might wake up on a riverbank only to find out that this spectacular trip down the rabbit hole has been nothing more than a dream. It isn’t hard to imagine why it would all seem so unreal for the Charlotte, North Carolina girl who went from the farm to fame quicker than any young girl dare dream of. Ever since her days of Mary Janes and pigtails, Stroup has been enamored with all things fashion. But never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined how she would one day be a part of that shiny and exclusive world.
It began with modeling: a career that soon, and not completely unsurprising, led to acting. The surprise would come when Stroup landed the coveted role of Silver on the new Beverly Hills 90210. It was no easy leap. “It was a long process,” Stroup said. “But also a really fun process, more so than other auditions.”
It was a part Stroup really wanted as the filming would be in Los Angeles and the project meant reviving a television classic. Plus, she couldn’t help but fantasize about the wardrobe she might find herself wearing. And, Stroup explains, “I felt like I could relate to the character. She’s more of an edgier character. And she’s a bit of an outsider but still had friends. I know that girl.”
The show was picked up before they even shot the pilot, (a highly unusual occurrence) which was scary enough. There was the fact that “we were going from the hype and craze that the show had before and then the daunting idea of everyone watching because of the name,” says Stroup.
The most important thing to her and the cast, Stroup explains, was to get across to audiences that “this is a different show about a younger generation. Things are different now. So much more fast-paced. It’s about what Beverley Hills is now.”
It was a strange place to be as an actor too. Gillespie had been on the entire run of the original show from 1990-2000. Stroup explains, “It was really interesting to see [Gillespie's] reaction to what happened to her character. And we were able to touch on a subject that is prevalent out there. It came organically, too. It wasn’t just thrown in and down.”
Because she was so affected by the experience, Stroup took the cause from the screen into the real world by becoming a part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink; a program that has raised or donated over $100 million to the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure Foundation over the past fifteen years. “Young people can really help,” Stroup says. “Kids should be aware. Don’t be afraid, but be aware.”
Enduring all the hard parts of the job though has meant being rewarded by all of the fun parts too. One of which is the clothes. “We have an amazing costume designer, Frank,” says Stroup. “We didn’t have any costume fittings at all last year. Now we have them before every show. It’s an amazing thing. He’s pulled everything in your size. It’s like dressing up and playing or going to a party. They have an iPod there and we are just dancing through the whole fitting. I love the clothes. And this year we’re lucky to have a budget. Still I’m so jealous of Gossip Girl,” Stroup jokes. “Hopefully some day [the clothes and designers] will come to us.”
That day might not be as far away as Stroup thinks. She’s already found her way and taken a seat with the fashion big leagues. In September, Stroup attended Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, where she went to six shows, including Charlotte Ronson and Vivienne Tam. Stroup was over the moon. “It was a great year. Oh my God, I can’t even tell you. My other passion in life is fashion. I have loved the fashion world ever since I was a young kid growing up on a farm,” Stroup laughs. “I’ve always really appreciated what clothing could do to the body. As I’m coming into my real self in my mid 20s, I loved seeing all the designs; all the imagination. Clothing can make you feel something different on any given day. I sometimes make clothing choices based on music I’m listening to at the time. When I got to go [to the shows] it was pretty unbelievable. I kept pinching myself. I was calling my mom and saying, ‘I’m at Herrera right now!’”
As if it couldn’t get any better, Stroup also went to Paris Fashion week and sat next to Rihanna at the Vivienne Westwood show, which, Stroup explains, was just unreal. “I had to take photos there. Otherwise no one would believe me!”
Stroup hopes being in the audience is just the beginning, though she doesn’t see herself going back to the modeling side. “It was like me being a clothes hanger for the clothes. It never really made me happy.” Now, she says she imagines more for herself in that universe. “I needed to have a voice. I needed to expand on what I wanted to do with my life. I dreamed then that maybe I’d have a chance at some point to develop my own idea in the clothing. A dream I never thought could come true.” But now such a future seems as if it could become a reality. “Years and years away, of course,” Stroup says. “And I never want my name on it.” She wants the clothes to stand on their own. Not on her fame or her name. “I want something that really came from within me. But that’s a different time, a different part of my career.”
For now, Stroup is just enjoying the ride; really, really enjoying it. “I feel incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities,” she says. But she adds modestly, “Obviously there are people who deserve [those things] more.” The biggest perk of all though, Stroup says, is the job itself. “I know what it’s like to have passion for your job, something I really have always wanted. And I love every, every second.”
Source: Signature Mag
