Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Ton.
Hi Jackie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been in front of the camera for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had such a love and passion for the arts. It was my dream as a young girl to be a famous singer and actress, throughout high school in college was in theater, inquire and competed in lots of competitions. It probably wasn’t until 2016 where I discovered modeling could be something I could be good at. I’m a pretty small girl 5’1 to be exact and so I never thought that I would be considered for it. But then I realize there’s so much more to modeling than height and looks. It’s really about your creative imagination and how you can portray what you want out of the shoot. Then when the pandemic was slowly coming to an end, that’s when I really picked it up and decided that I wanted to make the concepts that I have envisioned into reality. I truly feel that modeling brought a new fire within me and definitely coincides with my love for performing.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anything that you want to pursue is ever smooth. It’s definitely had its highs and lows the past few years to where I even took a break because I felt like I was losing my vision for a minute. I needed to reset and really think about what I was creating because yes you can shoot photographs but if there’s no meaning behind it then what’s the point? I might as well just be taking selfies of myself. Then, I took most of last year off because I wasn’t happy with the way I looked. I think it’s so important for people to understand that you need to give yourself love and grace. This is such a subjective industry and people can really tear you down. But, what I realize it’s how you react, or should I say don’t react to the negativity. I needed to love myself again before I started to create because performing and modeling isn’t just for me. It’s to inspire everybody and anybody.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Most people know me as a fitness trainer and a model. I also pride myself in being a singer and actress since I’ve been young. I have a degree in musical theater, play guitar and classically trained in opera. I think something that sets me apart is my ability to create concepts that not many people have thought about or even done before. From cosplay to fantasy to editorial fashion, I do it all and strive to be the one that stands out. There’s just something that I feel that’s so different about me and for someone who’s been bullied and torn down in the acting industry, I felt like it was my calling to prove those people wrong and proved to myself that I had what it takes.
Any big plans?
I want to start performing again! For so long, I put that aside for my fitness career, which I don’t regret but I know that this is my time to return to my first love. I want to be able to start auditioning for multiple roles because now I feel like in this day and age there’s so much more diversity in casting. Something that wasn’t really around 10 years ago. I want to show all the young people who are of mixed races that you CAN get the lead role. Stay tuned and hopefully you’ll see me on your screen one day.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/jackietonnn
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/jackieonthemoon
- LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/jackie-ton
Image Credits
Michael Daniels
Andres Gutierrez
Tesh Patel
Cesar Guzman
Cory Cameron
Calvin Hearns
Spaceless Art
