VANESSA VANDERPUYE

NAVIGATING LIFE, NATURAL HAIR AND THE ACTING & MODELING INDUSTRY

Who is Vanessa?

I am an actress and model My first passion is acting My school teacher recommended acting when my dad passed away Acting became a great escape from my reality At the time, I really enjoyed being anyone but myself I also enjoyed learning about and playing different characters I quickly realised that acting was my peace Acting is who I am today

How do you set your career goals?

I have a rough version of goals I hope to achieve over the next 12 months but my career is quite volatile I try not to look too far ahead Instead, I assess my progress every few months What have I achieved? What can I adapt? What can I reinforce? I have disappointed myself by saying in 5 years I’m going to be in a particular show Five years pass by and I’m not in that show That can be very disappointing and disheartening Actors can be their own worst enemy and it does take a long time to achieve your goals

Everyone’s journey is different You have to create your own pathway and adapt to your own means, otherwise you ’ re going to kill yourself trying to achieve a goal that does not belong to you

Word.

Have you faced pressures in your industry?

Definitely I have always been type casted to play a certain, stereotypical role - generally an urban character with a London accent I always wondered, “why can’t I be the lady in the office, why can’t I be the main role, why can’t I be the leading lady?” I was often told I couldn t be the girl next door because of my hair I never understood the meaning behind that statement because there were people that lived next door with hair just like mine

In the modelling world I faced challenges with my body I have always been a size 8 to 10 with an athletic frame but my figure would often be airbrushed to appear more feminine

I was regularly told to either lose weight and become a high fashion model or gain weight to become a plus size model My waist is naturally 27 inches and I was told to succeed in the modelling industry, I needed to reduce my waist to 25 inches or less Can you imagine! As a young model I did attempt multiple methods to lose weight From fad diets, to not eating at all, to exercising aggressively I tried it all but eventually I realised that my body is my body and I learnt to love my body exactly the way it was made Through that I discovered commercial modelling which has been a much healthier and happier pathway for me

What about your hair? How have you been able to maintain natural hairstyles in your career?

To be honest I have done that by simply being tired I was tired of maintaining styles that weren’t authentic to me There have been many times when I had fresh braids only to have to take them out for an acting or modelling job Imagine sitting in Aunty’s salon for 6 hours for a fresh set of braids only to take the braids out 2 days later The process became very tiring however the trigger came when I was unable to remove my braided hair style for an audition I went to the audition exactly how I was and naturally apologised profusely about my hair Funnily enough the panel liked my hair and did not want the style to change I was shocked but thought “why haven’t I done this before”

That moment gave me the confidence to show up as myself. During that time I also realised I wanted younger black girls to have a role model to look up to that had hair just like theirs because I did not have that growing up.

What does your hair mean to you?

I have had a journey with my hair but at the moment my hair is so strong so resilient and so adaptable My hair is more than just my hair My hair embodies everything that I am My hair is a statement of power and strength My hair signifies that I can be whoever I want to be My hair is special

How have you balanced your mental health with your career?

In this industry, managing my mental health has had to be a priority This, for me, has been through finding my peace which is within my inner circle

Lockdown helped reinforce the importance of balance

Before the pandemic I was a busy body Lockdown helped me slow down and taught me that I could take a day, rest, find my peace and start again the next day

What about the negative side of social media?

Social media is how you use it and I have been very mindful of that I don’t put pressure on myself to post I’ve always been good at focusing on work I don’t need to log out or set a timer for Twitter

Putting added and unnecessary pressure on yourself to maintain a specific social media aesthetic is extremely

Stressful

There is a lucrative side to social media but I had to give myself permission to tap out Luckily I have an organic and genuine audience that will always be there to show up and show out when I post

Outside of work you’ve been open about endometriosis and egg freezing. Tell us about that?

I didn’t know about endometriosis until I was diagnosed at 31 yet I had been suffering since I was 15. At 31 I went to hospital on my knees in pain The painkillers were no longer working I knew something was wrong By the time they found my endometriosis it was growing into my spine I wanted to share my story to help others in similar situations Nobody knows your body better than you You have to be persistent in getting the right help

I decided to freeze my eggs because I wanted children and I’ve always had problems with my womb Before my first surgery I had to sign a form stating that if my womb was badly damaged the doctors would have to remove my womb That frightened the life out of me As soon as I woke up from the surgery I was persistent in seeing a fertility doctor and through that process I was able to freeze my eggs

What is next for you?

I recently filmed a show called Mrs Sidhu Investigates with Meera Syal that comes out soon on ITV I filmed this role right after freezing my eggs When you freeze your eggs you are given large amounts of hormones to help prime your eggs but the hormones also make you gain weight Just my luck that I filmed this role playing an athletic character right after freezing my eggs

Hopefully this year I will also make the transition to Los Angeles aka Hollywood 95% of my auditions are for African American roles Why don’t I go where there are roles for me and where I am celebrated? I never want to live my dreams through anyone else I’m ready to take the leap After all if not now when?

Vanessa Vanderpuye is a British-Ghanaian Actress & Model After studying for a degreeinCriminalJustice,shedecidedtopursueherdreamofacting

Vanessa made her TV debut as Shakira, on the Sky Atlantic Comedy-Drama VenusvsMarsbeforegoingontoshootmulti-awardwinningcomedyWebSeries - Dreaming Whilst Black - which led to two nominations for Best Actress at the Screen Nation Digital is Media Awards She also played Arjana Pike from the secondseasononwardsofSky’shitdramaBulletproofalongsideAshleyWalters

Outside of acting, Vanessa is an accomplished model Having been scouted at a young age, she has modelled for many companies including Pantene, Max Factor L'Orèal IT Cosmetics Colgate Adidas and Samsung Bio taken from wwwvanessavanderpuyecomandeditedbyTheHealthPaletteeditors Interview March2023