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SMHS Grad’s Life Comes Into Focus

Taylor King has come a long way, especially for someone who recently described the experience of getting her high school photo taken as a “crippling anxiety.” As a freshman at San Marino High School, King even asked that her photo be scrubbed from the yearbook because she had blinked.

“I was mortified,” she said.

There must be a lesson here, considering King transformed from that panic-stricken adolescent to a poised adult who recently marked her 16th year in the modeling business.

She began at the age of 12, after signing up for a Barbizon class that brought her few leads but a ton of experience.

“It’s a great way to build confidence,” said King, who eventually overcame her fear of challenging photos.

“I trained myself to take good photos by mimicking celebrities I looked up to,” she said.

After finishing college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, King signed on with a modeling agency in San Diego, which she perceived as less competitive than those in Los Angeles. Before long, King was being offered quality gigs for quality clients with quality shooters.

“The first big modeling job I booked for Apple was with photographer Ben Watts, who is known for photographing Victoria’s Secret campaigns and other big-name models,” she said. “He was definitely an interesting character to have shot one of my first larger shoots.”

King has since been featured in advertising campaigns for Supercuts, Disney, Bose, Smashbox Cosmetics, Liberty Mutual, Mazda, Volkswagen, Toyota, Logitec and Munchkin, among others. She once shot a commercial for Dacor appliances alongside actresses Carolyn Murphy and Jodie Turner-Smith, before she broke out in the movie “Queen & Slim.”

King is also featured in an Apple iPhoto campaign that was shot in Moab, Utah.

“It allowed me to buy my first car,” she said.

She also owns her own store, Espionage, which she has operated for 11 years and is located on Beverly Boulevard. During her days in San Marino, she worked a couple of days a week at Simply Fresh on Mission Street.

“My parents required that my brother and I both have jobs so we could learn the value of a hard-earned dollar,” King said. “That is something I now am so grateful for.”

Another passion of King’s was cheerleading, which occupied all four of her years at San Marino High School.

“I was ecstatic when I made the team freshman year because I’ve wanted to be a cheerleader my whole life,” she said, “ever since I was a little girl and would go to football games with my dad.”

As someone raised during the pre-iPhone era, King said she wishes she had more footage of the squad’s dance performances at games and pep rallies.

“I can still remember the songs we danced to and I only have a few photos from those days,” she said.

She has a brother, Bryan, who is two years her junior, with parents, Angela and Thad King. She recently connected her mom with a modeling gig.

Taylor King, far left, during her days as a cheerleader at San Marino High School.

“She signed with my agency and booked an AARP commercial, for retired people,” King said. “We laughed about it because she was well under the qualifying age, but it was so cool to see her on television.”

It’s a career that has shown little signs of slowing down. King still regularly works as a model, booking one or two gigs per month.

“In the beginning, I didn’t think I’d have a modeling career for very long, as the ideal model was young, bikini-ready and stick thin,” she said. “I hate working out and I’d rather enjoy living life to the fullest. But over the last 10 years, the ideal model has drastically changed to a more approachable look. Now, I think if I take care of myself and stay healthy, I can have a modeling career until I’m an old woman because companies are looking for a wide range of models. Most of the modeling jobs I book aren’t super glamorous, but more depict everyday life.”

Provided, of course, that “everyday life” doesn’t require school photos.

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