MODEL SARAH TANSEY ON HER CATWALK CAREER
KILKERLEY PHARMACIST IS FACE OF SAVIDA RANGE
She could have been an actor, or a pharmacist, or pretty much anything she wished, but Kilkerley’s Sarah Tansey is living a dream as one of the fashion world’s most in demand models.
Sarah, who moved to the Greyacre Road with her family when she was four, started modelling part-time when she was 21 and completing her pharmacy degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. But she had initially thought her future lay in acting.
In an interview with the Argus this week, Sarah said: ‘I really started it as a part time job when I wasn’t in labs or lectures. I got into it through acting really.
‘My mum (Mary) got me interested in theatre at a young age and we loved being involved with local drama, dance, musical groups be it performing, working backstage, front of house or being in the audience.
‘I think we were very lucky that there is such an interest in the performing arts in Dundalk, so there was always something going on.
‘ There are so many people in the town who happily spend their free time rehearsing, building sets or making costumes just for the love of it. Much as I loved it, I never really thought of acting as a career path because it’s so uncertain.
‘Despite it being said to me on numerous occasions I always put it down to friends being biased towards me.
‘Eventually it was suggested to me that if I wasn’t going to pursue acting as a ca- reer I should at least do some commercial acting as a part time job. ‘ This was by an adjudicator who had awarded me ‘most promising young performer’ at a theatre festival in a different town so I guess the fact that it was an objective person made me approach an agency with that in mind. T
‘ They signed me that day and I started modelling part time and then full time when I graduated from college’.
She has worked consistently since her first modelling job at a fashion show for designer Peter O’Brian. ‘I genuinely just couldn’t believe that I had booked a job as a model and such a prestigious designer wanted me to walk in their show. It was such a massive confidence boost for me.
‘Modelling is a great job for anyone wanting to travel! I currently live in New York and work mostly from there but before that I lived in London for a while too.
‘I’ve been a few other places for shorter stays or for shoots, most recently Athens, so I count myself as very lucky.
‘I would say the best thing is how varied it is. I love the different locations, meeting new people and getting to wear clothes or have a makeup look I would never otherwise get to try.
‘Like anything else there are always pros and cons. It is very unpredictable which makes it difficult to plan ahead. Modelling work tends to be confirmed no more than a few days before the job.
‘I also miss my boyfriend, family and friends when I’m away - I don’t know how I’d cope without Skype’. The past seven years have been wonderful for Sarah, but looking at how her work is ramping up now, it seems the best is yet to come for her.