Getting to know Talia Papantoniou, Teen Supermodel

Sure! My name is Talia Papantoniou, I am half greek and half Australian. I was born and spent most of my childhood in Perth, Western Australia were I used to be a competitive swimmer. Melbourne came about to my family as I was travelling to Victoria to represent the WA swim team, while we were in Melbourne my family and I become instantly drawn to the lifestyle, culture and opportunities that the city offered for myself and my older sister, we then made the descision to move over to Melbourne at this time I was twelve years old. I am now fifteen and still besotted with the city!

How would you describe yourself?

I would describe myself as an extremely adventurous girl as I am always googling to find forests, planning weekend road trips and exploring the beautiful scenery of Victoria... And of course dragging my Mum out the door to come with me!

How did you start on the road to becoming a model?

I have always dreamt of becoming a model as soon as I watched the 2007 Victoria Secret fashion show in Bali as a five year old! As soon as I moved to Melbourne I was fortunate enough to be signed with my agency, Chadwicks at the age of thirteen. Having chadwicks has truly been a blessing for me as they have really engaged with me as an individual and taught me everything I know today about the industry.

What is life like at the moment?

Life for me right now is about really living in the moment and pursuing as many opportunities as I can. My weekends usually consist of exploring the city with my friends and having sleepless nights watching movies with my besties.

Is it hard to juggle school, modelling and being a teenager? How do you manage?

For me, juggling school and modelling has been a challenge but some how I am still keeping up, although trying to pursue two things that are meant to be a number one priority will never be easy, but I am lucky enough to have a school that is extremely supportive with my work, I don't know how I would do it otherwise! Regarding friends and being a teenager I think it’s all about quality over quantity, this year I have found myself making really strong friendships with people who are there for me whatever it is and whenever it is, Having these kinds of friendships as an adolescent is extremely important for me, just knowing I have someone to support me and give me advice is so rare and special but once you have it never let it go.

What does a usual week look like for you?

My week really depends on how much work I am doing in that week, with modelling it is super sporadic, some weeks I could be working almost every day and others I might have a casting or two. But recently I have been super fortunate to be working with such awesome brands and crews, I have also been flying to Sydney for a day at a time which has been such a crazy experience for me because I am then able to explore a whole new City, figure out taxis.. and a whole lot of google maps!!

You’ve had the opportunity to do some amazing campaigns, what are some of your highlights?

Every job for me has been super exciting and special for me as I have worked with some incredibly talented makeup artists, stylists and photographers. Recently I shot the new Forever New Campaign which was so insanely surreal I still cannot believe it happened! The whole experience of it was magical from the 3:30am wake up call to working with the the Australian Dream Team and then seeing campaign come to life in stores! Earlier on this year I was flown up to Byron Bay to shoot the Eleven Australia campaign which was incredibly special to me as I did my first Eleven Campaign when I first started modelling at thirteen and since then have grown a closeness and bond with the Eleven Team and I cannot thank them enough for all the opportunities I have experienced with them.

At the beginning of last year I was grateful enough to be able to model for Ete Swimwear for there launching campaign! I was lucky enough to work with such an incredible team with amazing work ethic through out the day! Ete’s is and always will be such a special memory and opportunity for me...even through the cold winds and rain in January (Come on Melbourne!!).

What are your favourite things to do when you’re not working?

A couple of my favourite non working moments would defiantly have to include travelling with my family, adventuring Australia with my Mum (Redwood forest, Sorrento Back beaches and of course the WA coast line) and spending lazy days cuddling with my kitties.

What are your favourite travel destinations?

Regarding the places I have been I really enjoyed Thailand, there we explored two beautiful islands called Koh Toe and Koh Samui. I am so super keen to travel over to the US and Europe! I defiantly want to go back to my roots in Greece where my grandparents grew up in a small town called Evia, I have lots of relatives there and cannot wait to meet them one day!

For me Modelling is truly my passion and am going to pursue it as long as I can, I am also currently working on acting! I love it so far and I have a couple exciting things in the works for both industries not completely confirmed just yet. I am also interested in Business so I would love to do a Business correspondence course after I leave school. I love making content on youtube so media is also something i’d like to explore.

What are your top tips for aspiring models?

For anyone interested in the modelling industry I’d say go for it! Modelling is such a unique experience and lifestyle, I have learnt endless amounts of life lessons through out my two years and I would never change my decision on becoming a model. For anyone who is wanting to become a model I would recommend starting off at the most reputable agency in your city, email them a couple of no makeup, iPhone photos as they want to see you in your most raw, natural state and ask for an interview.