Teen juggles life as international model, student

Stephie Soltys is still a freshman at Oak Mountain High School, but that did not stop her from signing a contract with an international modeling agency.

IMG Models, an agency based in New York, Paris, London, Milan and Sydney, has signed Soltys as a development model. The agency’s talent roster includes Kate Moss, Stephanie Seymour, Miranda Kerr, Karlie Kloss and several other well-known models.

“If you go to New York, in Times Square, the billboards everywhere — that’s mainly IMG,” Soltys said. “I haven’t always wanted to do this, but I’ve always thought about it because people mentioned it to me.”

Soltys’ modeling career kicked off after she did a photo shoot with a local photographer last spring. After clearing it with her mom, the photographer submitted some of the photos to a mother agency, an agency that helps promote and build portfolios for models. That’s when the calls started coming in.

Soltys received contracts from two mother agencies, and she decided to sign with Ludlow-Scout, an agency out of Atlanta and New York.

After signing with that agency, Soltys’ social media began getting more attention. She had producers, photographers and agents commenting on her photos, Heidi Soltys said.

“The mother agent called and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but IMG is interested in Stephie,” her mother said.

Letting their daughter model was not a quick decision for Ed and Heidi Soltys. They wanted to make sure she was entering a good situation.

“The main concern that I had was that modeling has such a bad rap a lot of the time,” her mother said. “But after a lot of praying about it, and Ed and I talked about it, we just realized she could create a platform for a good girl model, a Christian model.”

This means no nudity or age-inappropriate photos. Talking with IMG helped quell some of their parental concerns because the agency emphasized how they research photographers before sending models to shoots, her mother said. 

Soltys’ domain name “Stevie” was also a sign that IMG would be a good fit. The name came up because the agency already has a Steffy and Stephanie on the roster, and they suggested Stevie as an alternative.

“My grandmother is called Stevie,” Soltys said. “Her name is Stephanie, that’s where I get my name from, but she’s nicknamed Stevie.”

Soltys’ mother said she got a little teary-eyed when the agency mentioned that name.

The agency’s emphasis on Soltys remaining active in school also was important to her parents.

“She loves being with her friends,” Heidi Soltys said. “I didn’t want anything to take her away from school. They stressed that school comes first, and that was when I knew.”

Soltys will remain active at Oak Mountain, where she participates in show choir and maintains good grades. IMG does not expect her to miss out on the typical high school experiences, such as homecoming or prom. 

As Soltys gets older, she might have to miss out on school to go to high-profile photo shoots — such as a feature ad in Vogue, her mother said — and that is where an emphasis on good grades is important. If Soltys has to miss a test, it is important she is in good standing and is able to make it up. As parents, however, they remain selective in shoots.

Ed Soltys said they will turn down shoots that come up last minute or where their daughter will have to miss an important school activity.

“We’ve exercised that several times in the last couple of months,” he said. “We still exercise that as parents, try and get control of that.”

Her parents also appreciated that IMG seems open to letting Soltys remain a kid. The agency enjoyed her quirky, fun nature and looks to emphasize those qualities, they said. Soltys said she hopes what makes her different can help set a good example.

“I just want them [teenage girls] to look up to me, and I want to be a good role model,” Soltys said. “I just want them to see that it’s OK to be a kid still, and you can still do what you want, live your life.”

While her agent helps determine which professional photo shoots she attends, Soltys is also encouraged to cultivate a social media presence. On Instagram, she likes to let her full personality show through.

“I don’t limit myself to just modeling pictures,” she said. “I like to show that I have friends and I like to have fun.”

As her journey with modeling continues, Soltys said she looks forward to traveling to IMG’s worldwide offices and meeting different photographers. But for now, she’s glad to take things as they come.

“I’m just really excited for all of these opportunities, and I’m just going to take it one step at a time and see how it plays out,” she said.