Laura May

Words by Cisco Corea Photos by Peter Collie

Laura May has the look and charm one would expect from an upcoming local talent. You know that first impression you get from an aspiring lead singer, talented musician or even a drama student that makes you think ‘this person will probably make it’? They always seem eager to listen, have an undeniably unique style and more often than not, are very pleasing to the eyes. The only difference with Laura however, is that she isn’t faking it; a lot of these other characters are.

She has bright eyes that light up the whole room and an accompanying smile that you know will take her places, or at least get her out of trouble. “When I was 18 I had a big accident where I wrote off two cars completely, but the police officer thought I was cute so he reduced my fine from negligent driving to just driving without enough care. He even called me once or twice to check up on me,” she says cheekily, but quickly adds, “no one was seriously hurt though.”

Yes, we can see her getting away with a lot. A trouble maker at times, having set fire to her high school art class with a blow torch “accidentally”, to working and studying for reputable designers and schools in Australia and abroad. She conveys a cool sense of creativity and a free spirit that you can’t help going along with, “I’ve always been an arts person. I love painting and fashion design and rolling these two things together. Same with acting, which is my other big passion; I love the idea of researching a character and getting into someone else’s skin. I’d love to make a quirky independent film someday.”

And as if being creative wasn’t enough, she was also discovered in the trendy Sydney suburb of Paddington whilst shopping, “This photographer just approached me when I was in Year 11 and modeling kind of took off from there,” she recalls, “the typical stuff – you know, fashion parades, editorials, hair shows and all that stuff.” But, with so much talent why even bother with modeling? “For me it just goes hand in hand with everything else I love, and it’s never been all about the modeling either. It started when I was 16-17, but I did take a break from it all for a while and I’m only just getting back into it full time. It’s all about options for the moment, I wouldn’t mind ending up a presenter where it’s a combination of modeling and acting.” See, she even knows how to leverage.

We can definitely see the potential. Having interviewed her on camera, she was more than comfortable from the first take, even adding a touch of role-playing with some well-timed humor. But what could possibly be next? She’s already been an offshore production manager for designer label Leona Edmiston, studied at the prestigious arts centre Saint Martins in London, has done acting in Sydney and is a natural when it comes to being a TV star. “Hmm… what more can I say? How about, make sure you look out for my own fashion label ‘Laura May’ which I’m working on and will hopefully come out very soon?!” Yep, there it is again: those big eyes and contagious smile that quickly send a message to your head saying “this kid’s going to make it”. Lucky for us we got a chance to say we knew her way back then… sort of.

Check out the Image Gallery of Laura here.