It’s kind of weird to think that an international supermodel doesn’t particularly like vegetables. The cliché dictates that the model’s meal menu consists of a handful of almonds, three or four beans, celery and maybe, maybe, a raspberry for a dessert treat. But to hear a model, especially one as eye-numbingly beautiful as Donna Feldman, utter the words “I don’t like vegetable juice,” well…I guess it’s okay not to finish my broccoli after all.
Somewhere deep in the heart of Woodland Hills, California lays a trendy, organic restaurant named The Juicy Ladies. It’s the sort of place that sells tofu burgers and bean sprouts, special “full body detox” sets, and fresh juices. I ordered the Love Juice, a smooth blend of ginger, beets, carrots, apples and lemon, because Donna said it came “highly recommended” from her trainer (she could’ve told me it proved fatal 80% of the time and I’d still get it). I don’t remember exactly what Donna ordered, but she said it was fabulous, and it was the exact same shade of green as the Incredible Hulk.
“Like Winnie from The Wonder Years”
One often expects celebrities to be these larger-than-life figures, towering over us meek pedestrians. They’re the Godzilla to our fleeing Japanese. Donna, with her 5’10 frame, has a personality that is anything but looming. “Growing up I was really shy,” she laughs, flashing her office paper white teeth. “I would hide behind my hair like Winnie from The Wonder Years. I would be really shy in front of everyone else, but the second guests would leave my parents' house, the show would begin! I’d put on a whole production for everybody and just be this other person. Other people were surprised by it, because I was just so, so shy.” Not exactly the type of personality destined to be in front of the camera in a bikini.
During Donna’s college years at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she studied fashion marketing and business management, the thought of professional modeling crossed her mind. But first there was breaking into the fashion industry, and she soon found an interesting opportunity to network with designers. “I thought a good way to network with designers was to become a fit model for clothing lines, which is like being the mannequin for a clothing line. Before something goes into production it has to fit that fit model.”
It wasn’t long before Donna’s agent began having her audition for print advertisements. “At the time I was also working at a men’s clothing store, and I sort of realized that I could make more money in one day of modeling than in, like, a month of working retail. And everything just grew from there.” Donna was soon booking ad after ad, which paved the way for her work as an Academy Awards “trophy girl,” and then national commercials. “Every year there was more and more, and I guess this just became a career! Everyone who knew me growing up was shocked.”
“I mean, look, I’m still shy,” she smiles. “But when you’re in front of the camera modeling, you can be this other person. You get to transform yourself and let go of whatever inhibitions you might have. You’re acting, really, which is probably why my transition into acting was so organic.”
“The One Where Donna Jumps Out of a Helicopter…”
The sky is blue, the force of gravity is 9.8 m/s2, and every man wants to be James Bond. These are facts. In the world of female modeling and acting, the dream is somewhat similar: every model wants to be a Bond Girl. They’re sexy, they kick ass, and, most importantly, they have hilariously suggestive names (Pussy Galore, anybody?). Donna has the same dream, and she had the opportunity to live it…in a sense. From Byron Bay, Australia to Monaco, she has had photoshoots in some of the most exotic locales across the globe. Her appearances in Two and a Half Men and Castle have garnered national attention, and she was recently ranked at number twenty-eight on Complex.com’s “The 50 Hottest Jewish Women.” None of that makes a Bond Girl…but her Visa Black Card commercial does.
“I was in Thailand shooting a high-end calendar, and my agent at the time told me there was a casting for this Bond Girl-like role in a short for Visa Black Card, and he described it to me and I was like, ‘This is my dream role for a commercial! I can book this!’ But I was in Thailand, what could I do? I couldn’t go to the audition. Oh well.”
Donna’s luck hadn’t run out. “The director saw my photos. He held a casting with a whole cattle call of different girls, and even afterwards said, ‘I think this Donna Feldman is the girl. I think that’s our girl.’ So he waited for me to come back, and he met with me and did an audition and screen test. They even had me try on this leather suit, which was already made before they picked the girl, which is kind of silly because you’re supposed to have your actors before you start making their clothes. It was almost like a Cinderella story! I swear it was like that suit was made for me. It was like this $10,000 gorgeous leather catsuit was sewed right to me!”
That was before the helicopter. Donna, playing a character that can be best described as a female Tony Stark, takes a flying leap out of a helicopter into the ocean. Even a stuntwoman would balk. “In casting, when a director asks you if you can do something, you learn to not say no. You figure, ‘Oh, I’ll work out the details later.’ So when the director asked if I could jump out of a helicopter,” Donna bursts into uncontrollable laughter, interrupting herself. “I’m like, ‘Sure, sure! We’ll work it out.’”
She’s not totally lying, though. There’s nothing stopping her from being able to physically jump out of a levitating vehicle being kept in the air by massive, spinning razor blades. She can do it. Survival, on the other hand…“I didn’t think I’d really have to, but I did! And you know what, it all worked out. Everyone on staff was incredibly helpful, and it was a great experience. How many people get to say they jumped out of a helicopter?” Just you and the Marines, Donna.
Donna Feldman, Inc.™
“The goal is for Donna Feldman to be a brand.” That says it all right there. Donna wants to be a registered trademark, with a lingerie line at Macy’s, and she’s determined to make that happen. “I want to be a part of products I genuinely believe in, not just ‘Oh look, my own stuff!’ I want to use the name to have my own business, in either fashion or cosmetics. But I’m still young! I have all these opportunities coming my way, and I’m taking advantage of that.”
There’s more to it than just that, I think. Donna seems like she sincerely cares about her industry and its effect on people. Self-image appears to be a big part of her methodology: she started off as a shy, unassuming teen and somehow blossomed into an international supermodel. It’s an inspirational story. But how many have starved themselves in order to achieve those “perfect” bodies? How many horror stories are there?
I have to believe there’s more to Donna than she’s letting on. She can be a symbol to so many. Here’s a talented, beautiful woman with her head on straight, totally uninvolved in the crass Hollywood lifestyle the tabloids love to exploit. I ask her, cautiously, what sort of advice she would give to a young girl looking to break into the industry. How can they learn from her?
“I have girls emailing me lately. I’m working with these sixteen year old girls, and they share stories with me that are really disturbing. They’re insecure. Their agents are trying to control their careers…you’re in control of your career. You need to treat this as a business and can’t take it personally. And as much as I’m a sensitive person, I learned that. Just because you didn’t land this job doesn’t mean you’re ugly, fat, and not good enough. You just didn’t fit that specific role, and let’s move onto the next one.
“Girls need to stay true to themselves. This can be a very lonely business, and it can be very hard to be judged and criticized on a daily basis. You walk in, and you’re judged, not by what a great person you are but on looks. But in the end, it’s what’s inside that defines you. This is a very unhealthy business. I just want to do anything that helps make women feel better about themselves.”
Donna doesn’t know just yet where she’ll be ten years from now. After all, who does? She knows what she wants, and will do whatever she can to turn her dreams into a reality. I’d like to throw in one suggestion: motivational speaking. Donna has somehow managed to maneuver through the modeling and acting world morally unscathed. She sleeps well at night knowing that her integrity is intact, and that, in my opinion, is far more rewarding than anything a line of clothing can offer. Hopefully one day she can help others feel the same.
We all have ideas and dreams and the hard part is doing something with them. Donna has. What places her above the rest is the experience of having the opportunity to fulfill those dreams. But what will define her? The modeling and acting she does now? Something tangible, like her future brand name? Or perhaps it will be her affect on the future generations of models. Her dream role is to play Wonder Woman, who is a humanitarian warrior and an inspiration icon of hope. She can be that on both the screen and in real life. Donna can be a symbol, something everlasting…something truly inspirational.
Donna Feldman is represented by ATB Talent and just booked a major supporting role in a currently untitled film starring Ray Liotta, Harvey Keitel and Christian Slater. With an onslaught of upcoming acting and modeling gigs, 2012 looks to be an incredible year for Donna. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2114153/
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By Alex Tafet
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