Keenyah is Still "King Of The Hill"

With the return of America's Next Top Model to our TV screens I thought it only appropriate to be speaking with one the shows most notable alums, today I only have one photo in my hands and it belongs to Keenyah Hill. Hill graced our screens during the shows fourth cycle with her Colgate smile, and cover girl beauty who currently resides in Atlanta Georgia. I caught up with the Los, Angeles native today who I learned from our conversation has quite to the sense of humor.

Lets start with an introduction of who you are including your name, height, age is optional, and where you are from and what it was like growing up for you...

My name is Keenyah Hill, I stand at 5'11, I had an amazing home life I grew up in Carson California, but I'm from Palmdale which is a very suburban area. My mother moved us to Carson because she felt that we needed to be more in touch with our blackness. Living there I got labeled because I lacked confidence, I was a nerd who was really skinny and well-spoken, although I was what you consider a late bloomer, towards college I experienced a growth period where my body changed and I blossomed more into a model. 

Was modeling always an aspiration of yours in life, and what were the responses of those close to you once you revealed those aspirations...

Well growing up with low-self esteem my mom always told me that I was beautiful. With that being said the responses around me have always been positive where they mattered which was home. Prior to ''Top Model" local fashion shows were the only experience I had.

Who were you most influenced by in this industry, that when you saw her in a magazine or on a runway you said" I wanna be just like that"....

Liya Kebede, and Tyra because of the summer camp she has for girls to uplift them. This is something that is inspiring to me for someone who was made fun which prompted me to have low-self esteem.

What do you think makes the essence of a great model as well as an amazing lady....

A model who goes above and beyond just being a model, being true to themselves, embracing their own beauty despite media stigmas. I think an amazing lady is armed with grace, elegance, strength, passion, love, along with being in-tune with her feminine side.

On the show I know some of it's for entertainment, but I also personally felt that it was very nitpicky towards you later on in the competition, reflecting back on that time, what were your feelings about how you were being treated, and how do you feel about those interactions now......

The photo shoot before Africa was titled "Seven Deadly Sins", I was given gluttony, then once we get to Africa I was given the elephant at the time I didn't realize it, but I feel like they were trying to build the story of the fat girl because it was the third time I had the photo-shoot. They purposely put me in a top that showed my mid-drift, sure I gained some weight in my stomach, however I was clearly a very thin and healthy girl. I feel the show is very political, because it is about making everyone happy, although I am happy to have had the experience, for years I had mental beliefs that I was never skinny enough. These beliefs left me wondering why I wasn’t booking "Vogue", I was feeling like I wasn’t enough, this prompted me to create my own lane in this industry, making me currently proactive in my future. I can honestly look back and laugh at those experiences now. Here is the deal with the shoot I had in Africa, because the show was edited there is a lot you don't see, that shoot was about an hour long, during hair and make-up the model had already been hitting on me. I  stopped the shoot because I was uncomfortable with the model grinding on me while being erect, although I was given the advice by Tyra, during judging I got a lot of backlash for stopping the shoot and standing up for myself.

What was the best and the least best thing that you learned from your time not only working with Tyra Banks, but her entire team....oh and who did you keep in contact with after you left the show

The best thing was working with industry professionals like Nigel Barker, Jay Alexander, Jay Manuel, and Janice Dickinson at a young age. It changed my life, I was also able to see the dark-side of the business, that shows a lot of people act like they do but they don’t really care about your well-being. I still keep in touch with Brittany, Naima, Kaylin, and Lluvy.

Seeing the way the culture of reality tv has shifted, with fellow cast mates like Eva going on ''Scared Famous", would you ever do reality tv again why or why not?

I would do reality tv again, as long as its directly aligned with my purpose which is to uplift young girls, propelling the modeling industry forward in terms of black women, changing the stigma of models being bitchy and divas, adding the business side, and passing on knowledge.

Do you feel that color plays a big role in success in the fashion industry......

Yes, there is work to be done and we are not fairly represented in this industry, 90 out of 100 girls in casting are white, and 1 out of the ten black girls are actually picked.

Describe your personal style and what are your favorite designers to rock....

My personal style changes daily, depending on my mood, some days I feel fierce and want to wear heels, some days I dress like a tomboy but always with a model swag. My belief is that personal style is not always about labels, as far as my favorite designer is concerned I would have to say it's "Alexander Wang" , because of his classic simple pieces that I can dress up or down, and Zara.

What were some of the best campaigns you booked so far, and what campaigns are you looking forward to booking....

Samsung, and Heineken, but what stands out most is landing the role on ‘’New Girl”on fox because even though the show was scripted I got to incorporate some of my own personality/comedic strengths into the character, on that project I worked with the director from "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I'm really looking forward to taking the acting world by storm,  I find myself to be very inspired by Angelina Jolie because she always plays these strong badass roles that you rarely see black women play. I see myself playing badass athletic roles like that, and I even want to do my own stunts tailored towards strong phenomenal women.

If you weren't modeling what could you see yourself doing, and what advice would you give to any young lady who seeks to do what you do....

Well currently I'm doing my "Find Your Light" workshop in L.A. and Atl my plan is to take this all over the country, my workshop helps girls find their light on set and within, it goes over poses and masters emotions. I also teach the types of posing for different jobs, so if I wasn’t modeling I would be working with kids instilling value and worth into them early on. My advice to any young lady trying to make it in this industry is make sure this is your passion, do it for the right reasons, be well-versed and have knowledge of your craft, have thick skin, be yourself, and love yourself.

Where does Keenyah see herself in say 5years........

I see myself traveling all over the world, doing acting, still doing my workshop, and married with children.

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