The career of a model is considered rather challenging, despite the fact that many people think the opposite. Apart from the fact that in this industry you often need to have a certain figure or meet the parameters, modeling is an environment of eternal discipline and fierce competition. Those who become world-class models truly deserve honor and respect. Read more on houstonka.com
Joan Severance was able to overcome the insecurity caused by the disease, go a long way towards self-acceptance, and become a popular model who collaborates with global brands.
Childhood on the road and modeling career
Severance was born on December 23, 1958 in Houston. The girl’s father worked as a manager in a large company, so the family moved around a lot. When Joan was 11 years old, she had already changed 12 places of residence in different countries. As a result, the family eventually returned to their hometown of Houston.
When she was eight years old, she was diagnosed with a disease called vitiligo. It is a dermatological disease that changes the color of the skin, and in the case of the model, the affected area was the eyes. Vitiligo is a very rare disease and is found in only 2-3% of the population. That is why it is not fully studied.
The future model studied at Westbury High School. She dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and was desperate to earn money for college. Joan got her first job at the age of fifteen. She first appeared at a local beauty pageant, where she was discovered by a photographer. He helped her to get into the Elite Model Management modeling agency, which dramatically changed Joan’s life.
Joan successfully completed all tasks and instructions while working in different cities and countries. Her most successful collaborations took place in Paris, where she worked with Vogue Paris and Sportswear International. When Severance returned home, many people already knew her as a talented and promising girl. She quickly broke into the tops and earned about 7-8 thousand dollars a day.
In 1990 and 1992, Joan posed for Playboy magazine, both on the cover and in the nude. Models often end their careers as soon as they reach the age of 25-30. This profession, after all, needs young people. But this is definitely not the case with Severance: even at the age of 50, she continued to work in this industry, appearing on magazine covers, giving interviews and advertising products.
About self-confidence and other achievements
Vitiligo disease has a significant impact on a person’s self-esteem. Spots on the skin, especially in prominent areas, are conspicuous, and not everyone will be happy to answer uncomfortable questions.
As a teenager, Joan also faced insecurity, which she tried to overcome by drawing attention in other ways. She wore waterproof makeup every day for several years. Since the Houston weather can ruin makeup with high temperatures and occasional rains, Severance spent several hours to look flawless in the evening. This continued until she graduated from high school and started working as a model. As a rule, a model should come to meetings with clients and advertisers without makeup to show her natural beauty. This turned out to be a challenge for the girl, but she still managed to get used to herself without makeup and even love this state of naturalness.
Over the years of a successful modeling career and self-improvement, Joan Severance has become a real, confident lady, and she is very proud of it. She has even written several books in which she talks about her history and life path, illnesses, self-acceptance, etc. In addition, she has her own hair care line, which the model actively uses.
The Houston celebrity also proved herself as an actress. At first, she played small and minor roles in films, and later got several leading roles. These are the movies: “Black Scorpion (1995), Black Scorpion II (1997) and The Last Temptation II (1999).
The model was also married to Eric Milan. They started dating in 1976 and got married the following year. The couple divorced in 1984 for unknown reasons. Severance stated that they “just decided to break up”.