Belinda's best bet
Updated: Feb 25, 2019
Our very own Belinda Kelly is already a professional working presenter, actor and model. While going through old footage, published images and articles the other week (before her impending nuptials) Belinda uncovered a blog written some time ago. The questionnaire came from a UK publication about Belinda's personal and professional life. We thought it might be a little insight and inspiration to post it here to help other young models in their quest to break into the entertainment industry.
Not one to focus solely on her looks by winning a model search for Yellowglen, Belinda also studied as an intern at The Warehouse Workshop to help her round out her career.
Reel Management is right behind you when you take steps to open up all the opportunities available to you. For Belinda, journalism played a role in the beginning and she thrived on reporting the sports on Foxtel Aurora. Winning the Yellowglen contract was her stepping stone.
A lot of people think once you have made a TV show, movie or won a contract with an agency, things will be easy. You'll be offered more. Things will fall in your lap. While that can be true for some, the climb to get to the top can be fraught with distractions and an unclear path. You need a network of support behind you. Please understand that you still have to be excited by the industry. You still need to look after yourself. And the biggest shock is that you have to still fight for what you want. There will always be younger, hungrier people, right behind you that are snapping at your heels. The opportunities are here.. and so is the competition. You need to want the wins.
How can you keep winning? Stay grounded. Stay humble. You are not entitled to anything. You need to earn it. Mutual respect for people working in the industry is paramount.
There is this misconception that scoring a contract is the best you can do for your career. Or modelling for a big agency will help your career. I know myself, I thought being with the biggest and best agency in Sydney would be the best for me. I scored the contract with them after winning a competition (Miss Myer), but the agency had a lot of other models on the books and because I wasn't tall enough, was left behind. I used to call in and annoy them. I felt upset and would call them feeling hurt and forgotten. Comparing myself to others. This had a negative impact on them as agents and bookers.. and more importantly it had a negative impact on myself. I blamed my bad experience on the agency. I demanded to know why I wasn't getting more work when I had won the contract. Surely that should have opened more doors?!
The agency (my world) didn't owe me anything. I had to keep getting up, keep showing up and keep positive. I kept working on myself, went on photo shoots with the best photographers that I could source from magazines. I worked out, looked after my physical wellbeing and started to pick up some TV commercials. I realised that if I found a booker who really believed in me, the work would flow through instead of trickling through. My new booker thought I was the bees knees. From that point on, I had a career. I wanted it. I turned up to every casting with the right wardrobe, had happiness in my heart and worked doing many other jobs to keep paying the rent. Every cent I made, went into more photos with even better photographers if I could get them to take my photo. I also started teaching young kids and teens everything I knew.
The Gold Coast is enjoying a boom. We have some great clients here. And we have a new studio being built here too. Big productions are in place for 2019 and even some have started scheduling for 2020!
Belinda Kelly has done a lot of training. Belinda Kelly keeps working on herself. I believe in Belinda Kelly. AS her agent, I do everything in my power to submit everyone who fits the brief.
If you have an article, if you are published, please share it here and let's celebrate the steps and wins with you :)