Shine OnFemale model Elliott Sailors reinvents herself as male model
With her stunning curves and flowing blond hair, Elliott Sailors was the perfect face of the prestigious Ford Modelling Agency -- until she hit 30.
The now 32-year-old New York City model says that as she hit her late 20s and early 30s, modelling gigs started drying up, as women are considered "middle-aged" by the time they hit 25 in the industry.
Unwilling to switch careers, she went a bit of a different route -- Sailors switched genders -- for the camera, at least.
“I’m starting over to have a longer career,” Sailors tells the New York Post. “Men don’t need to look as young as possible, so I have a lot of time.”
After deciding to make the transition into the male modelling world in October of last year, Sailors traded taped down her breasts to fake a boyish figure and traded in her long locks for a buzz cut.
"Tears welled in my eyes again at the first buzz," she says of her trip to the barber. "But I was determined not to have a tear fall."
As for her personal life, Sailors says not much has changed. Her husband of almost three years has been supportive of her career decision, and actually offered to film her initial haircut in a YouTube video.
“[My husband] knew people would see me differently, but he didn’t realize how much people would see him differently,” she says, noting that many strangers who encounter the pair think they are a gay couple.
A former beauty pageant contestant from Tucson, Ariz., Sailors says that starting over as a male model was a no-brainer. In her early days as a model, she claims her overly masculine facial features often upset her.
"I have a strong jaw, wide forehead, huge eyebrows. I thought I looked like a man wearing makeup,” she says.
The fact that Sailors has a male first name is simply luck, as Elliott is her mother's maiden name.
Sailors is not the first female model to transform herself into a male model. Casey Legler, 36, was the first woman to sign a modelling contract for strictly male gigs last fall, also with Ford agency.
As for how Sailors is feeling about her decision now, she tells the Daily Mail, "I’ve never regretted it. I’m standing for something different to be possible in the world — and not just for me. It’s a stand for self-expression, transformation and freedom."
