In Her Words: Silver Fox Model, Gwendolyn DeVoe, Hitting Her Stride in Her Third Act
Gwen went from working behind the scenes to walking the runway. Now in addition to working as a model and commercial actor, she’s mentoring and teaching others who are hoping to do the same.
“Who is this woman and why am I here?” is what I was thinking as I was waiting for Vicki Sasso in an office bustling with younger people. I had dragged my feet all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn and I was looking around and telling myself, “I don't fit in here. I'm already signed with two agencies. I don't need this.”
But I was there because my good friend and mentor, photographer Dorothy Shi had said, “You have to meet this lady. She’s a Pitbull in a skirt.” When I had seen Dorothy in August of 2020, she said, “You’re wearing your hair gray. Are you going to keep it like this?” I said, “Well, we're in quarantine. When I can get my hair colored, I will of course.” Dorothy said she could get me some work. At that point I was thinking, “Work?! Please. No. I just want to ride off into the sunset until I retire.” She took my picture, gray hair and all, without me even knowing, sent it to an agent, and just like that, within three weeks I was signed. Then I signed with another agent the next month. “What am I going to do with all these agents? I don't even know what I'm doing,” I said, and she answered, “Just be natural. Be Gwen. Bring that energy.”
Vicki came in and she was a ball of fire. She was also closer to my age, and I liked her immediately. When I asked, “Do you need me to put my heels on?” she said, “You're gorgeous. I'm sure you can walk.” She didn't ask me to do any of the routine stuff. I sat back and we just had a normal adult female conversation about the industry. I gave her my comp card and she said she really wanted to sign me.
I don't think it's luck. I think that it's my time. I’ve created a lot of opportunities for other women and for men too.
“I'm going to get you bookings,” Vicki said. But as a model, you hear that all the time. They want to get you bookings, but you just can never tell. I always tell models, whether you're younger, you're older, or whatever, your agent can only do so much. They can put you out there, but you have to bring that bacon home. I know I can be a bit much sometimes. They book me for the gray hair and they're looking for someone quiet but I come in like a bat out of hell. This is no little granny right here.
The agency owner was a younger woman, and they didn't work with any mature models so Vicki must have pulled some strings. I signed the contract, and Vicki booked me for the Batsheva show during New York Fashion Week in September of 2023, which brought me to a whole new level. After that I got two gigs with Burlington Coat Factory. People say, “Oh, it's luck.” I don't think it's luck. I think that it's my time. I’ve created a lot of opportunities for other women and for men too.
I grew up in Harlem. In high school and college, I played basketball. I started to gain weight during my last year, and the coach kind of kicked me off the team because I was gaining weight. That hit me hard. Then I had a designer friend who said, “You have the perfect body,” and asked me to model for him. The whole fashion bug really caught my eye in the late 80’s and 90’s, but I tried to get into the traditional industry, and it just wasn’t ready for me as a dark-skinned, black, plus-size woman. I started producing fashion shows and creating my own opportunities for myself and others.
I attended New York Fashion Week when it was under the tents. I went to Tracy Reese's show. She has this thing with color and the fabrics were just exquisite! I had to go to the trunk show and buy something. I got to the curtain and a security guard blocked me. He said, “Can I help you?” and I said “Yeah, I'm going inside for the trunk show.” You know what he said to me? He said, “Ma'am, I don't think there's going to be anything here to fit you to be honest.” I went outside and called my bestie who was also a model and said “I’m at the Tracy Reese show, and the guy wouldn't let me in because he says he doesn't think there's anything here for me. You know what we need? We need one of these for plus sizes.” My friend replied and said, “Well if anyone can do it, and can pull the crowd in, you can.”
I need to talk to women my age and mentor them to let them know that your dreams may be deferred, but they're not denied.
The rest is history. Two years later I created and executive produced Full Figured Fashion Week, which for ten years was a household word in the plus sized fashion community. Toward the end I brought in some of the big and tall sponsors and created a platform for big and tall male models. There are at least three or four guys out there who will say “Ms. DeVoe helped me start my career.” People recognize my name from Full Figured Fashion Week. I'm always going to be an icon to the plus fashion community. I go to pageants, and I speak on panels, but now my heart is with mature men and women.
I've turned my interest to teaching other mature men and women how to do what I do as a commercial actor and model. I created the Silver Fox Model Camp program and host workshops for students who are a mix of experienced models and actors. Some have done commercials and print modeling in their youth and there are some that have just always thought, “I wonder if I could do this?” I need to talk to women my age and mentor them to let them know that your dreams may be deferred, but they're not denied.
In March of this year, I held a Silver Fox Model Camp workshop and invited Vicki along with a young actor friend of mine to come in, and we had this amazing class. It was so good, and it was so hyped that Nightline heard about it. They came and filmed Vicki and everybody and I was interviewed by Deborah Roberts. That was about the same time that Vicki shared with me that she was getting ready to open Seasoned Models.
I've been blessed to have many talents and I’ve spread those talents around multiple companies and industries over the years. I landed at a publishing house, which I love. I’m in human resources and I’ve been working there for a long time. The company allows their employees to be themselves outside of the corporate structure. It has a lot of young people who are actors and performers so it’s a good fit for me, even though I didn't know I would be modeling when I took the job. I intend to retire probably in about three or four years to model full time. I’ll find out if I am as great as everyone says I am.
Belle Curve Stories is about women navigating life with grit, grace, and growth. What do those three words mean to you?
I didn't fold when the industry didn't want me. It took a lot of grit for me to say, “Okay. So you don't want me this way. I'm gonna sneak in another way. And then when you're ready for me, I'll be ready for you.” I talk to people all the time who want to get into this. A lot of them are disheartened. They have bad things to say about the industry. I never said a bad thing about it. I just said, “Oh well. I'm gonna get in some way.”
I'm learning grace. As a Virgo, we always think we can do things better than everyone else. I've always been like that. I was a producer. And I had a nice production team. It was hard for me to relinquish tasks. I had to learn to gracefully let people help me. I had to learn grace. Maybe that's why now I'm successful in human resources. I'm learning that fit is important. Sometimes to get that fit, you have to be graceful. If you don't agree with people, lead with grace.
I've grown so much. I think that by moving from plus size to the Silver Fox community, I’ve grown. I've always said, I'm not a one trick pony. I still have so many ideas and things to do on a daily basis. I'm always trying to fix things, not necessarily in a competitive way. I'll reach out to someone and say, “Listen, if you need any help, call me. Because I would like to help you.” I think that when you do that you both grow. You're giving your time, your energy, your experience, and I just feel like I have good karma. Good things happen to me.
If you could go back in time and give advice to your 25 year old self, what would you tell her?
I would say “Plan for the future.” I would tell myself to be a little bit more conscious and serious about preparing for the future. I didn't prepare for the future. The future just sat down on my lap and said “We're here! What are you doing now?” And I just rolled with it.
As told to and edited by Teresa Bellock and Sandra Ditore.
Gwendolyn DeVoe, 63, has worn many hats. Today she is a commercial model and actor as well as a human resource professional for a publishing company. She also runs Silver Fox Model Camps and recently founded the Ageless Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit organization. Her story has been featured in several major media outlets including Nightline and the New York Times. Gwen and her husband reside in New York City, New York.
