CiaraBravo Words by JOSEPHINE TSE Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Hair & Make-Up by SARAH JOFFE
“If you could put together three music videos for three artists, who would it be?” was the question asked to Ciara Bravo to cap off our conversation. She picked The Killers, Vampire Weekend and Bleachers. And ending anything off with Bleachers is always a good sign. But more on that later. Born in Covington, Kentucky, Ciara has been living a busy life right from the start. She began going to school in Ohio while still residing in Kentucky, which exposed her to two different lifestyles between the states. A quiet and docile child, she loved the outdoors and attended camp for 12 years while growing up. Going outside, fishing, horseback riding, climbing trees, exploring the woods. Name anything, because Ciara’s probably tried it. When she turned 12, an agent approached her mom at a state
fair and talked to them about getting Ciara into the entertainment industry. But he said that she would have to travel to Dallas if she was really going to commit to get into the industry. That prompted Ciara to go to an expo in Dallas, where she met her manager. Her manager told her that the next step was to fly to Los Angeles to try auditioning for roles. In L.A., she met her current agent. The first gig she booked was Big Time Rush, where she played Katie Knight, the younger sister of Kendall Knight (Kendall Schmidt). Ciara sent in her audition tape for Big Time Rush and waited. When she was on a school field trip to an Amish town, her mom told her that they had to send over a revised video since she made it to the second round of auditions. “We filmed the revised version in a
grocery store. The grocer had to turn on the generator for us,” she says, laughing. “He thought we were crazy.” In the end, Ciara didn’t stay on her school trip for long. Her mom picked her up and on the way home, Ciara received a call: she landed the role. “My friends were really supportive, and it was cool that I got to tell them that I was going to be on Big Time Rush,” she says. However, a young kid living an adult life also comes with dilemmas. Ciara comments that it was hard to get close with anyone from her school because she was constantly working. She moved to Los Angeles to film Big Time Rush and learned firsthand how to balance education with work. “It was overwhelming at first, but I didn’t take the grunt of the fan base because it was the boys who had to deal with the NKDMAG.COM
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