Born in São Paulo, Fernanda Liz grew up in São Caetano do Sul, and her childhood dream surprised her family: it all began because she wanted to be part of a children’s soap opera.
At the age of eight, she remembers that they started talking about a new soap opera in Brazil called “Chiquititas,” and they were holding auditions. She really wanted to be one of those girls, so she asked her mother to help her find some possible contacts to get her there. After much searching, Fernanda’s mother found an agent who began to intermediate some opportunities for the girl. Not knowing much about “Chiquititas,” but very familiar with the audiovisual market, the agent suggested that Fernanda participate in a children’s modeling contest. Fernanda won the contest and from then on, she never stopped.
At 13, while walking in a shopping mall, Fernanda was spotted by the owner of a modeling agency and invited to join their casting of models – Mega Model Brazil. At 15, she took her first trip to New York and has since conquered the fashion industry. She has starred in various campaigns and walked in the most sought-after catwalks such as Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, Alexander Wang, Dior, Hermès, and more.
Fernanda has lived in New York, Chile, Barcelona, Germany and is always in London, Paris, Milan, Bali… The top model is always traveling in search of new work and stories. In addition to the fashion world, Fernanda is also engaged in social actions such as #TOGETHERBAND, organized by the UN Assembly.
In her personal life, she seeks balance through meditation, a healthy diet, and daily body care, since, as a good Brazilian, her bum grows a lot! She is currently dating one of the most hyped models in the international fashion circuit, Sean Opry, and they share a house in New York. Check out the interview!
Like many professions that involve art, acting is also something very difficult to stand out, however, when you were a child in São Caetano do Sul, this ambition was quite strong. Could you start by telling a little about how this desire took hold?
This desire took hold at the age of eight when I was in love with the telenovela Chiquititas and I put it in my head that I would like to be one of them, like a good stubborn Capricorn I did everything to convince my mother to try to find someone from there.
She got in contact with a manager in my city, but she said that she had no contact with the Chiquititas, but that there would be a competition for children and, if I wanted to participate, she would sign me up. I went, I took the contest, I won first place, I won books from some children’s agencies and I started doing commercials for children.
When I was 13, I was walking around the mall with my mother and the owner of Mega Model asked me to join the agency. At 15, I took my first trip to New York and since then I haven’t stopped. It’s really funny because we never found the Chiquititas people, but it was because of them that today I’m celebrating 20 years of my career, living in New York for 10 years.
Despite not having got the spot he dreamed of in “Chiquitas”, fate was in his favor and ended up closing some opportunities in pageant parades, until he never stopped. Do you remember what it was like the first time she stepped on a catwalk?
Impossible to forget! It was in Paris at the Givenchy show during Fashion week, I was digitally chosen by Ricardo Tisci to do his exclusive show, the next day they were flying me to Paris. It was a dream come true, mainly because when it happened to me I had been working as a model for 10 years.
A situation that ended up happening to you, however, many people are afraid of nowadays, is that you managed to meet a talent scout – what happened when you were 13, when you were approached by the owner of Mega Model Brasil in a shopping mall. In that case, how was this meeting and what tips would you give to deal with such a situation? Is parental support important in this artistic path?
Parental support is undoubtedly very important, I always had mine by my side and that was essential for my success. I am very grateful to them, without my parents today I would not have achieved everything I have achieved. My tip for dealing with such a situation is to find out the origin of the contact, see if the person and agency are serious before closing any partnership or contract.
During your successful trajectory in the fashion market, you had the opportunity to live and visit several places, such as New York, Chile, Barcelona, Germany, in addition to always being in London, Paris, Milan and Bali. How was the experience of living this mix of cultures and what was the best experience you had in these places?
I’m very lucky to be able to be immersed in this mix of cultures, especially living in NY, in fact it’s the part of my job that I love the most! Always meeting new people from different parts of the world, having the opportunity to travel to paradisiacal places, staying in luxurious hotels in addition to learning the culture of each place, for me there is no more wonderful experience.
In addition to the world of fashion, its presence is constant in philanthropic movements and social actions, such as #TOGETHERBRAND, promoted by the UN Assembly, which transits between fashion, culture and art and aims to engage people to be aware of changes to save the world from various problems. These actions are present in the lives of several artists who use their image to help people – in your opinion, would having the influence you have and not using it in campaigns like this be negligence?
I think it is very important, in the moment we live in and in an era of great weight of social media, that we, people who have a reach, a relevant number of followers, can speak out loud about these problems and to try to save our world. I also embraced this project because, among all the ones I know, it is the only one that addresses all global issues. Besides, if we don’t get together, we won’t get anywhere. Now is the time for us to come together for our world, it needs us as much as we need it.
In your personal life, you are very dedicated to balancing your diet, seeking balance through meditation, among other concerns. These attitudes, in addition to being inspiring, are healthy practices that everyone should apply in their lives. As a model, do the demands of this care also reflect heavily on your work? How does the charge for health work on the catwalks?
It was always difficult to have a routine, because in fashion everything is last minute, it is difficult to schedule, sometimes I have to go photograph in 3 countries in 10 days, so it was always a challenge to have a routine with healthy practices, with time I learned ways to stay focused, meditation was one of them, it helped my anxiety a lot and made me learn to be present (in the now). Over the years I’ve learned that the most important thing is to have balance, take care of yourself, but don’t stop being happy.
Sharing the same space, you are also currently dating model Sean Opry, who is currently one of the highlights of the international fashion circuit. How is it to share not only life, but also the profession in common?
It is wonderful! In addition to sharing my personal life, having the opportunity to have the same job. Both of them having the availability to be anywhere helps a lot. We love exchanging ideas and planning next steps together.
Fernanda, considering all that these years working in fashion have promoted in your life, do you believe that Fernanda, from the age of 13 who was walking in the mall, would believe that one day she would get as far as you did? What would you say to her today??
When Fernanda was 13 years old, she was already a dreamer, but she would never have imagined that one day she would live in NY. I would tell her to be calm that everything happens at the right time and at the right time. That difficult situations are part of life and make us stronger. For her to live intensely every moment caring and respecting herself, and never forget to thank and dream.
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