The ex-fashion runway model, Shailah Edmonds, is the embodiment of the phrase going against the grain.” She reveals her inspiring story in her autobiography which is titled, “Wild Child to Couture Style: The Shailah Edmonds Story.”
Watching her glide through the runway in her enviable steps you could almost believe she isn’t taking steps at all. But her story makes one understand the challenges she faced and wonder at her determination to attain the heights she has reached. She left her home town, Oregon, Portland, to chase her dreams of becoming one of the most sought-after couture models in the world. All her travails in getting to Paris and becoming a modeling phenomenon are registered in the autobiography.
New York-based playwright, Walter Jones, says her story is an inspiration for any young lady who has aspirations to chase dreams of theirs. It tells of how she tackled the rigors of daily life being a stranger in Paris and a novice in the industry at the same time. Edmonds recounts how she started out in Portland as a young, black woman. Already a mother in her teens, the odds were against her but through hard work fate smiled on her and brought her to the limelight.
She has since walked prestigious walkways in some of the biggest cities in the world, dominating countless magazine covers, and mixed with A-list celebrities all over the world. Her life is a classic case of “the dream of the young girl that has become the dream life many.” Despite all the glam now visible, she has been through great ordeals, divorce, sexual harassment, racism, surviving the drug challenges of the industry, among several others.
After returning to New York from her European sojourn she released a DVD titled “The Runway to Success.” Currently, she is in the process of shooting the music video of her original song, “the Native in me is getting restless.” You can get more information on her book here.
