By Beauty Expert

Kayla MiChele

Come along on our interview series featuring supermodel and actress Joan Smalls as we dive into topics including her story of how her successful career manifested and her resilience of never taking no for an answer. We share some laughs discussing beauty tips and celebrity crushes straight from the mesmerizing woman herself.

Joan Smalls is an absolute modern day icon and one of the most inspiring models in the world. Some of her career highlights include…

2012 – Smalls was ranked the number #1 model in the world by Models.com

2013 and 2018 – She ranked at #8 on Forbes Magazine’s “World’s Highest-Paid Models” list

2011 – She became the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder cosmetics

2014 – Smalls appeared on the “Return of the Supermodel” January cover of American Elle

2014 – Iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford posted on Facebook stating Smalls as one of her favorite new models. Crawford wrote, ” She has great style – sexy and elegant with a touch of tomboy thrown in! And she showed off her great moves in the “Yoncé” video!”

Exclusive Interview Series | Part 1

Supermodel Joan Smalls Tells All

I have personally worked with Joan as her hair stylist for several years and have shared some amazing memories together both at work and personally. Having the pleasure to speak with Joan for this interview and learn even more about why she is so incredibly inspiring was a fiery reminder of how much fun she is and why people love her so much.

Listen to the Interview

Kayla MiChele

I’m so glad to hear your voice.

Joan Smalls

Likewise, it’s been so long. We only talked through memes on instagram. 

Kayla MiChele

Ah, I love you. 

Joan Smalls

I love you too.

Kayla MiChele

So I have some interview questions for you. Ready to get started?

Joan Smalls

Yeah!

Joan Smalls’s childhood, fitting in and early influences

Kayla MiChele

So of course you’re Boricua, meaning you’re a Puerto Rican? 

Joan Smalls

Yeah.

Kayla MiChele

That’s what it means right? Boricua means three cultures in Puerto Rico? Is that right?

Joan Smalls

Boricua comes from Puerto Rico’s original Taíno name, which was Borinquén. And then the word Boricua came from Borinquén, which was the natives from the island.

Kayla MiChele

Oh cool. Okay, well, growing up in Puerto Rico. 

Did your classmates have any idea that you were a supermodel in the making?

Joan Smalls

Absolutely not!!! I know it’s so cliche when people say “oh, you know, I was the ugly girl in school, nobody liked me”. I’m not saying that I consider myself ugly nor did other people but I wasn’t what was considered attractive to them because culturally I just didn’t fit in the beauty aesthetic for a Latin person. You know, I was just too thin, too tall and too dark. So I just didn’t fit in, you know, they knew I had a beautiful face but it wasn’t like guys were checking for me or anything. 

So no, I don’t think that they knew what a model was. The only concept that they had of beauty was pageants, like Miss Universe, because Puerto Rico would always win and people would make a big deal about it. But as far as, you know, fashion modeling… no.

Kayla MiChele

Wow.

Did you have any idea that you were destined for greatness at such a young age?

Joan Smalls

I mean, I don’t know. I think I just went into everything with an open mind. I just remember where I grew up is very country. It’s not like we had cable television, so we have to have these huge satellites, the ones that go on top of the roof and they would rotate and we would have other channels. So that’s why I spoke English really well because my dad is from St. Thomas, and then also watching TV. 

Kayla MiChele

Wow. 

Joan Smalls

Like I knew I could fit in. 

Kayla MiChele

Yeah, it was like home.

If you could travel back in time and give 15 year old Joan any advice what would it be?

Joan Smalls

Kayla MiChele

Beautiful. 

Joan’s education and finding her passion

Were there any other careers that little Joan dreamed of while growing up?

Joan Smalls

Hell yeah, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Because I grew up with animals. You name it, I had it, from peacocks, chickens, pheasants, pigs, cats, dogs, cows, turkeys, like everything except the horse. And I was always just so in tune with animals, and I would always want to take care of them and, you know, I nurtured them back to health if they were sick. I would raise little chickens. 

I was just like, oh, I want to take care of something that doesn’t have a voice and can’t take care of itself. And then I’ve learned that, you know, you have to euthanize animals and stuff like that and I’m too emotional. So I knew I couldn’t be dealing with that. Like yeah, I don’t think this is for me. Because every time an animal would die, I would cry. And I would do like a little burial. So it just became a thing. And I was like, oh, maybe this is not it for me.

Kayla MiChele

Awe you could have started your own animal funeral service.

Joan Smalls

It would have been great in the United States.  And then I thought I was gonna be a therapist. So I went to school to study psychology because my mom is a retired social worker and basically, I just love how she always helped other people. You know, like that was her main goal to make sure that people were safe and loved and taken care of and she took out her time to diligently do it compared to other social workers. So I just wanted to do something that was like a step above social work. And I was like, oh, maybe therapy. And my eldest sister was studying it as well. So I was like, okay, let me give this a try.

 I think just with my personality, I was always interested in individuals and people’s stories, and I’m an empath, which is probably why the whole animal thing too happened. 

But once I was there I had great grades and I graduated in like two years and a half to three years, and I graduated magna Laude, which is super high honors. 

It just wasn’t my passion.

Kayla MiChele

I didn’t know that about you. You know, I’ve known you for a long time now, and I could tell that you are well educated because you are well spoken and I can tell that you are  a smart person that really has her head on her shoulders, obviously, but I didn’t know that you graduated High Honors?

Joan Smalls

Yeah, yeah. Because, the thing was I wanted to model in the States and I just remember my dad always pressuring me because he’d be like, “you know, you better get your sheepskin”, which is to get a degree in college. Because like those old schools, they’re adamant about getting your education because that’s all that we have.

 And he would always say, “Joan you know, God forbid, you don’t want something to happen to you. You get into an accident and your beauty is taken away, then what?” He’s like, “have something in your brain, nobody can take that from you. And then if you’re gonna be in a business where you’re gonna be dealing with money and other adults, don’t let them be, you know, potentially smarter than you because you don’t know how to read a contract or you don’t know how to carry yourself or you don’t know how to communicate”  He’s like, you know, “have more on your side”. 

So I was like, okay, and I found a program that you could do a bachelor’s in two years, and I was like, let’s do it! 

Kayla MiChele

Check this off the list real quick!

Joan Smalls

And then I was like, Here! Here’s the diploma… Here! Then he sent me off with his blessing. So he couldn’t have said anything, he was just like, “well, at least you know  you have this to fall back on”. So I did that.

Kayla MiChele

Did you ever resent that at first that he wasn’t letting you go right away?

Joan Smalls

No, because funny enough, he’s always been supportive, because when I would do the modeling competitions in Puerto Rico when I was 13 or 14, he was really supportive. I was still in school, so it was like an extracurricular activity. But he was really supportive. 

He just always believed that models were like prostitutes. He’s like, “you know, they sell their bodies”, or “they’re around rich men”. And you know, when I’m in and then literally I find out some people actually do. So that was funny. 

So I just think he didn’t have the real concept of modeling and that you can make a living off of it. You know, it’s just the unknown. And then I think once he saw that I can make a career out of it and then I was making money, he’s like, “oh, okay, this is actually a real thing”.

First steps in pursuing a modeling career

So tell me about these modeling competitions?

Was it only in Puerto Rico?

Joan Smalls

Yeah, I don’t know if you remember, like Elite models or Ford models, they used to have these events in each state where somebody would represent like United States, Puerto Rico, France, England. It was almost like a pageant, but for modeling, and the girl that would win, would win a contract with that agency for like, $250,000 back then. And I was like, oh my god, that’s so much money, I can help my parents, you know. And I’m like 14 years old, so that’s a lot, I mean even today that is a lot of money. And I was like, oh my God, that would be so amazing!

I’ll never forget my mom’s face after the competition. I remember the night before because we stayed in a hotel in Puerto Rico and I remember crying and holding back my tears so she wouldn’t hear on the phone. So that I could, you know, portray myself as being strong. 

I was like, I don’t want her to know that I’m actually nervous, but I was actually crying. And they’re wishing me luck and like “go kick ass” and this, that and the other and you know, giving me my pep talk. 

And then at the end, I think I was like, maybe a runner up. I lost and then you know, they came to greet me backstage and I remember seeing my mom’s face and that broke my heart more than the competition. It was like, she wanted it for me so bad. It wasn’t like a face of disappointment. It was like she was heartbroken that her baby didn’t win. You know, like she knew that I wanted it. And it was just that face of like, I wish I could help her, but I can’t. 

That to this day haunts me and maybe that’s why sometimes I do things and I’m like, nah, this is bigger than me. You know, like it’s a representation of my family and where I come from so maybe that’s why I do things differently.

Kayla MiChele

Oh, yeah, you definitely do. You’re authentic. I love that about you. 

Joan Smalls

Thank you. 

1990’s Beauty Product Rituals in Puerto Rico

Kayla MiChele

I have another question about Puerto Rico. I’m curious, growing up, was there a beauty product that was like a staple to Puerto Ricans?

Joan Smalls

I would say mostly it would be hair things because of the humidity. So like, hardening gel was a thing. You know? So when you scraped your hair back in a ponytail, or when you did a side swoop, you had gel or hairspray to hold it tight because you know it might poof up by 3pm by the end? 

Kayla MiChele

Sure, because it’s that island humid type of lifestyle.

Joan Smalls

Yeah, and then also another thing is girls are always into nails, like acrylic nails at a young age. Like in seventh, eighth grade, girls would always have a new set with a design. I never did because my parents didn’t have money to spend on that. So yeah, I would say those two things.

Kayla MiChele

So the nails were a big thing. I remember growing up getting acrylics a lot as a teenager as well.

Joan Smalls

Did you get?

Kayla MiChele

Yea, I used to get acrylics for sure. Do you know if the young girls there, like teenagers, if they are being very expressive with nail art and stuff like that nowadays?

Joan Smalls

I wouldn’t know because I’ve been a little bit out of touch with it since my mom retired. So I’m not like seeing it, but I’m sure it’s still there. I can’t imagine why not.

Kayla MiChele

How about growing up in Puerto Rico? Was there a hairstyle that was very popular then? I know growing up in the States, a lot of the Puerto Rican girls that I would go to school with used to do the kiss curls, like those little waves that are sculpted on the hairline. You know? Was that a thing in Puerto Rico or were there other hairstyles that were really popular growing up?

Joan Smalls

Popular was always a blowout, like a bouncy, nice blow out. Half up, half down hairstyle. Oh and the little curls coming out the front of the hair, like a little antenna, but it’s curls and it’s like one or two pieces and then you’ll do a ponytail or half up half down.

Kayla MiChele

Like very 90s right?

Joan Smalls

Exactly, exactly. It was always 90s. You know, the Aaliyah hairstyles, stuff like that.

Kayla MiChele

I love that. It’s cool. Are there any sort of beauty products that even nowadays that you feel like Puerto Ricans love? Is there a brand that you feel like everyone has? You know how editorial hairdressers, most of them have like the Elnet L’Oreal hairspray. Is there some expected vanity product that you can think of that nowadays are a part of Puerto Rican culture?

Joan Smalls

I feel like it was like more pharmacy beauty brands. And maybe back then I feel like L’Oreal was fancy. They probably had like B05 or what’s the other one that they have like a body wash? Was it essence or essentials?

Kayla MiChele

Herbal Essences?

Joan Smalls

Yes, Herbal Essences. Yeah, it was beauty products like that.

Kayla MiChele

I remember one time smelling someone’s hair randomly and saying do you use herbal essences? And they said “how do you know?” and I felt like I just slam dunked a ball.

Joan Smalls

It’s almost like traveling back in time, it like hits you. You’re like, oh, wow, I remember this.

A supermodel in the making

Kayla MiChele

Okay, so going back into your modeling career. So you would say that it basically started with these modeling competitions. 

Joan Smalls

Yeah, for sure. 

Kayla MiChele

And then can you walk me through… was there this moment where you considered starting modeling or signing with an agency or moving but then you got on track to go to school? What was in between there? Were you scouted? 

Signing with a first model agency

Joan Smalls

Oh, no. So basically, when I did one of the competitions, I then got represented by an agency in Puerto Rico. So then I would be sent to castings or I’d get bookings for some fashion shows or photo shoots or editorials. 

But it’s Puerto Rico and in Puerto Rico, when you say you’re a model, it’s more out of like a title, but not a career because the  money that you make in Puerto Rico is not comparable to the living. So you would do a show and it’d be like $200-$400 and you can’t live off of that because it’s not like there’s that many shows. 

So it’s more out of the experience or just to say that you’re doing this thing. So therefore I was kind of like, no, this is not it. I want it to be more than just these shows. 

So one of the agents that was at the competition was an American agent and he liked me and he was like “Joan, I actually wanted you to win but they said you were too thin”. And I was like, Oh, well, God damn!! What? And then I was like, don’t y’all want the skinny girls? But I guess I was too thin because I was like 14 years old and still growing.

I remained in contact and while I was in college, there was another event where you go to Florida and all the agencies from the United States go and then you go. It’s in a big room and you pay like $2,000 and everybody sees you.

Kayla MiChele

Like a scouting event of some sort?

Joan Smalls

Yeah basically.

I remember walking the mall and somebody once had stopped me. They’re like, “oh, have you considered doing Miss Universe?” And I was like, I don’t know if it’s for me, especially knowing that back then Puerto Rico was very close minded when it came to the aesthetic of beauty, especially with my skin color. There weren’t many dark women winning the pageant and so I was like, oh, this is going to be a waste of money because you have to fund it yourself. 

I remember telling my dad and he’s like, “well, Joan, if you want to”, you know, again, he was super supportive. “You know, we’ll do it. We’ll figure it out.” And then I remember contemplating and saying, Yeah, I don’t think this is the route for me because what they’re gonna end up doing is giving me fake tits, doing my nose and trying to mold me into a different person to win a pageant.

I’m not going to end up looking like myself and I’m not going to be able to model after this. And I was like, that career is going to be too short lived and I didn’t want that as my ultimate goal. So I was like, this is not it.

A model’s business plan

I don’t know how I came up with the idea, but I remember the agencies in New York have an open call casting, which means like, Monday would be Elite, Tuesday would be Ford, Marilyn etc… They would have it for like two hours, certain days. So I told him I was like, you know, why don’t you give me the money and I’ll go with my sister to New York and I’ll hit up all the agencies. 

And he’s like, “okay Joan then give me your plan, I want to see it.” Because he wanted to know if I was actually serious. So I went online on the internet. I did my own schedules of what day I was going to hit what agency, got their directions and address. Then I sent it to him, he’s like, “okay, Joan, so you’ll do it… Let’s go.” So I went with my sister.

Then I went to IMG, and they sent girls in a room and it was just me and one girl and I look at my sister and I was like, Oh my god, I think they’re gonna see me through the doors, because you just send your portfolio. And they come back with my book and I was like, god dammit! Fucking hell! I was like, oh damn! 

Then I went to one agency, which was Women and it was the same agent that had met me at one of the competitions that I did in Puerto Rico. And he’s like, “Joan, you know, we’re interested, but you have to straighten your teeth out.” Because I had one side that was really crooked and I was like, but why? I know so many white girls who have crooked teeth and that doesn’t stop them. 

Til this day, I always respect him for his sincerity and transparency. And he said, “Joan, you’re already black, don’t give them another reason not to book you.” And you know, some people could take that and be like, oh, my God, that is so bad! But it’s constructive criticism. He wanted me to win. 

So I was like you know what! So during that time is when I went to college and in the two years that I was in college, I straightened my teeth. Then I came back and remained in contact, he moved to Elite models, and he signed me straightaway. And that’s how I started.

Kayla MiChele

That’s the same guy that signed you that said to get the braces?

Joan Smalls

Yeah, exactly. 

“Sometimes all it takes is just one person to have a vision and, you know, helps you to see through it.”

Living in the fashion capitals

Kayla MiChele

Wow, that’s so interesting. I didn’t know this. That’s really cool to learn about the first steps you know, so you moved to New York, then?

Joan Smalls

Yeah, yeah. I moved to New York, to Queens actually with my aunt. She had a two bedroom with my cousin, and I ended up sleeping on an air mattress in her room while she was going to college. So I stayed there, maybe for like, a year and a half. Then I found my own place and stayed in Queens for a little bit, so the struggle was real.

Kayla MiChele

Wow, it really was. Did you ever live in a model apartment situation?

Joan Smalls

Oh, no. Hell no. No. I can’t. No. It’s too many people crammed up, too many personalities. Especially not knowing New York, I wanted to feel like I was in a safe environment with people who I knew.

Kayla MiChele

You were young. How old were you around that time?

Joan Smalls

Maybe like 19, 19 and a half. So I started late, what’s considered late in modeling.

Kayla MiChele

Right, right. Well, you made it!!! 

So did you ever live in any other of the fashion capitals or like LA or were always in New York since then?

Joan Smalls

I tried Paris for a little bit because I wanted to break into high fashion. And, you know, no agency in Paris wanted to sign me.

So when I finally got a small agency to sign me, I was like, oh, maybe I’ll just live here for a month. I didn’t last maybe like two weeks and a half or three weeks because jobs kept on booking me in New York and I wasn’t getting anything in Paris. 

Especially back then, there weren’t many spaces for girls that looked like me. So it was hard to break through and I was like, I’m gonna take my ass back home where I could actually make some money, you know. I gave it a chance.

Then I just continued doing a lot of commercial work with brands like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, J Crew, Macy’s, like all those high commercial catalogs. I would always just book them.

Kayla MiChele

Yeah, so you went where the demand was… smart!

Joan Smalls

Yeah. I became like a catalog queen.

I know you are excited to hear Part 2 of this exclusive interview series! Stay tuned as we discuss topics including her rise to fame and her personal hair and makeup tips. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when it drops!

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