Model Behavior

jaidaforweb5
Jaida King (left) appeared in Fred Meyer ads when she was younger.
jaidaforweb9
In May 2010, King appeared on the cover of Portland Monthly magazine.
jaidaforweb4
King's modeling career started when she was eight months old. She keeps photos and clippings of all her work.
jaidaforweb8
King signed with Option Model and Media of Portland at age 6. (Photo courtesy of Option Model and Media)
jaidaforweb12
King leads models onto the runway at Portland Fashion Week. (Photo courtesy of Option Model and Media)
jaidaforweb11
King has to make sure that she keeps up to date on all her schoolwork. Some of her modeling jobs cause her to miss class and it's easy to fall behind.
jaidaforweb13
King takes to the runway at Portland Fashion Week. (Photo courtesy of Option Model and Media)

Jaida King remembers the time she had to hurry backstage at Portland Fashion Week and prepare for her turn on the runway as a model. People in the audience lit up when she stepped on to the runway. The 17-year-old Grant High School junior has spent a chunk of her life modeling. It has her walking a fine line between her life as a student and her life as a model.

“You’re a kid in an adult industry,” she says. “I like to think of myself as a professional person. But you definitely can’t mess around in modeling like you do in school.”

King worked as a model since she appeared in a Fred Meyer ad at 8 months old. She signed with Option Model and Media at age 6 and modeled for print ads through elementary school.

“I actually got Jaida into modeling because I thought she was the cutest baby I’d ever seen,” says her mother, Kelley Jordan.

These days, it’s common for her to miss school to go on shoots. She stays on task at school to keep her grades up (she has a 3.3 GPA and says she has plans to go to college).

“I see myself a lot harsher,” she says. “It’s such a shallow industry and when you’re modeling, it doesn’t really matter how smart you are. It can be a lot about body image.”

She’s modeled for Reebok and Nike, along with participating in multiple runway shows. She’s even been on the cover of Portland Monthly magazine.She’s careful how she juggles time with her friends and school. She plays on Grant’s basketball team, but had to quit soccer this year to devote more time to her modeling. But for King, it’s worth it. “It’s something I am able to do, so why not do it?” she says.

About
Born in San Francisco, sophomore Sarah Barr and her family made the move to Portland when she was nearly two years old. Her family consists of her father Lewis, and sister Jessica, who is also on the Grant Mag staff. Ever since taking a darkroom photography class at da Vinci Arts Middle School, her main passion has been darkroom and digital photography. This is her second year of contributing to Grant Magazine as a photographer.

Leave a Reply