MODELING Living a dream, as a 12-year-old

Her friends may poke fun, but the model says she'll get the last laugh.
By BOOTH MOORE
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES -- When Gerren Taylor scored her first runway gig modeling for an Alexander McQueen fashion show in Las Vegas last October, her booking agent begged her: "Whatever you do, just don't act like you are 12!"
So Gerren, the youngest person ever to be represented by the runway division of L.A. Models, kept her mouth shut, even as she practiced her walk in front of a mirror before the show. And nobody was the wiser. Because at 5 feet, 10 inches, with full lips and rounded hips, Gerren hardly looks like she is in seventh grade.
"Kids have always made fun of me, calling me giraffe and stuff," Gerren said at her agent's Hollywood office recently. "But as my grandma says, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank."
Although some agencies require girls to be 14 before they can model professionally, it's not unheard of for mature 12-year-olds to get work. Some of the most famous models in the world, including Gisele Bundchen, Brooke Shields, Twiggy, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall, acquired international status before their 16th birthdays.
Gerren, said Crista Klayman, director of the runway division at L.A. Models, "is very capable. If anything, I've tried to hide her age from my clients, because it sounds like you're sending someone with braces and bobby socks. I have several clients who say they can't book her; they freak. The other half think she's a novelty." She also is a rarity as a black model in a world where the standard of beauty is generally white (with the exception of a handful of models, including Tyra Banks, whom Gerren idolizes).
Gerren, who took her mother's surname as her first name when she began working, has been modeling for nearly a year now. Besides the runway work -- she modeled in seven shows during the recent L.A. Fashion Week -- she's been featured in YM and Teen magazines, and currently has two national ads on TV, for Kohl's department stores and Volvo.
Mom watches carefully
At casting calls, on photo shoots and backstage at runway shows, her mom, Michele Gerren, is never far behind. She watches carefully as stylists dress her only child and photographers pose her. "There was one time when I left a shoot," Michele said. "There were some other mothers there, so I felt comfortable. But when I saw some of the pictures, I said, 'No, that's not going to work."' (The photos were not for publication; they were for Gerren's "book," or portfolio.)
At runway shows, most designers are respectful of Gerren's age. "People are good at making sure she's not out there in sheer things," said Michele, a single mom who is a student at California State University, Northridge, and works as a free-lance TV editor. "At Richard Tyler, they put three or four layers under the dress that she wore so you couldn't see through it, whereas an older model would just go out with nothing underneath."
"Looking at Gerren, nobody would guess that she's 12," said Kevin Hayes, a designer for Richard Tyler. "And working with her, you wouldn't expect it either. When putting Gerren into looks, we make sure to protect her from exposing too much and protect her innocence, while taking advantage of her prowess on the runway."
Lotta Stennson, who designs the Lotta line, is also a fan. "She came in and she was just alive and bubbly and fresh, and she could walk like a supermodel," the designer said. "When I found out she was 12, I was quite shocked, because she really carries herself like a woman."
"I guess I'm just a natural," Gerren said.
Overcoming adversity
For all her poise, Gerren is a kid who still plays with Barbie dolls, and modeling is a hard job. When she was hired to walk at Tyler's show, the final show of L.A. Fashion Week, she knew she had landed a blockbuster. Which made it all the more poignant when she stepped out onto the runway in a wedding gown and stumbled hard. She tripped once, then again on the train in front of her. And when her eyes welled up with tears, even the most hardened fashionistas in the audience wanted to reach out and give her a hug.
"I was upset," Gerren said. "It was my first big fall. But when people said I was the best in the show even though I fell, it gave me courage." As it turns out, the spill wasn't exactly her fault. Her dresser had put the gown on backward.
When she's not on the runway, Gerren wears jeans and tennis shoes. On this day, she's in denim pants with wide, flared legs, and a crocheted jacket that was a trade for her work at the Lotta fashion show. "The best thing about modeling is publicity and all the cool stuff I get," she said, giggling.
Runway models in Los Angeles often don't earn money at all; instead, they're paid in clothing, which explains why Gerren already owns a Richard Tyler black evening gown, even though it may be years before she has an occasion to wear it. Models earn more money posing for department store ads, which pay as much as $3,000 a day. And landing a few national commercials, depending on how often they air, can be lucrative enough to pay for college.