Life & Work with Sydney Tucker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Tucker. 

Hi Sydney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Hi! My name is Sydney Tucker and I’m 23 years old. I was originally born & raised in Jackson, Mississippi, but found my way to Nashville at the age of 21 and I’ve been living here ever since. 

Growing up I had always taken an interest in many forms of art. From drawing, playing piano, photography to fashion. I loved it all. 

Participating in art classes throughout high school was essential for me. In my sophomore year of high school, one of my pointillism pieces ended up winning a silver key scholastic art award. I was beyond thrilled. 

I’ve always been around cameras my whole life. My step-dad was a photographer, so I ended up being his test subject most of the time. Many people in my life told me I should give modeling a shot. I was a shy & timid individual, so the thought of doing it as a job scared me at first, but I always love a challenge, so I figured I’d give it a shot. 

At the time, I had some friends that were also pursuing modeling and were able to point me in the right direction and give me advice. Just my luck a local boutique in my hometown was looking to hire new models for their website. This was one of the first real modeling jobs I ever had and it gave me loads of confidence. 

That job then led to the start of my modeling career. A small agency based in Brooklyn, NY scouted me on Instagram from seeing the work I was doing with the boutique. I had two Skype calls with them and decided to seal the deal. I took a big chance on this. I dropped everything, postponed college & packed up everything I could in my car, and drove up north. Frankly, I was in shock. It happened so fast. The excitement, the anxiety, and the unknown were overwhelming, but I was determined to take a leap of faith. Take a chance and see where this journey could go. 

The next 3 months were spent living with my great aunt in Pennsville, NJ and I would commute almost 2 hours to Penn Station every other day or whenever there were jobs or castings that I needed to attend. During the time I was there it was fashion week, so I was sent to attend multiple New York Fashion Week castings, and let me tell you that was an incredible experience just on its own. The independence that I gained while being alone in New York at the age of 19. Figuring out how to get from place to place. Learning the city. It was a lot, considering I had only ever lived in Mississippi. The experiences that I had did so much for me and I’m so thankful I had the chance to pursue this. 

Unfortunately, 3 months in, my agent made the executive decision to step away from the agency. 

So, I packed up my car & moved back home to Mississippi. I decided to take this time to focus on myself, build out my portfolio, and have a more entrepreneur mindset on things. 

At the end of last year, I decided to start learning how to create websites and created a website to market myself. There you can find all the featured works that I’ve done as well as view my modeling portfolio. 

Now music is something I have always loved, but it’s definitely been on the back burner because I’ve been so heavily focused on modeling. I love singing, but I’m incredibly shy when it comes to performing in front of others. Thankfully my roommates are all musically inclined, so they have really helped bring me out of my shell and guide me. 

So last year I jumped into it and started creating music. I have 2 songs out at the moment under an alter ego known as “Vee Stone”. I decided I wanted to keep my music kind of separate from my modeling, so I thought it would be a fun idea to create this different persona that I get to embody when making music. 

Participating in music videos and acting is also something I’ve been able to be a part of since moving to Nashville and it’s been incredibly fun. I’ve been in a few local artists videos, but last year one of my biggest and most exciting jobs/accomplishments that I managed to land and star in was the Miranda Lambert and Elle King “Drunk” music video, which recently ended up getting nominated and won the Academy of Country Music Award for video of the year. Getting to play a part in that video was one of the highlights of last year for me. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time living in Nashville so far. I have met so many incredibly talented individuals & creatives that have inspired me. The connections that I’ve made and the people that I’ve gotten to work with here have made such an impact on me. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been a lot of obstacles along the way. 

I go into more detail of specific life obstacles that I faced in the next section, but career-wise, I’ve faced a lot of disappointment and a lot of “we’ve decided to go in a different direction”. 

And no matter how much disappointment I was met with I never let it discourage me to a point of giving up. I never stopped and I think that’s really important. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I feel like I’m most in my element when I’m modeling. I think I’m most proud of how comfortable I’ve gotten with myself & finally learned self-love. not seeking validation from others. 

I had a lot of insecurities about my body growing up. I was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which is where a whole forms in the diaphragm in utero. I had several surgeries to repair it when I was very young, so it left me with a large scar as well as a few other small ones on my chest & abdomen + my chest plate is sunken due to these complications. 

I feel good. I love the way I am & I wish younger me would have seen how beautiful she was & how uniqueness is beautiful. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Meditation. 

When the first lockdown happened in spring of 2020, I made the decision to temporarily move back home to Mississippi to be with my family since there was so much uncertainty & fear surrounding the whole pandemic. 

I was considered high risk and because of that, I was absolutely terrified of the thought of contracting it. 

I took this time to really take care of myself. I had very routine mornings, did a lot of yoga and a lot of meditation. I needed something to keep me sane and ground me and that’s what it did. 

It was an incredible coping mechanism and it’s something I can go to in times of despair or stress. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.sydneyclairetucker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesydsterr/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/SydneyClaireTucker

Image Credits
Alexa King
Tarpley Brooks Jones
Anissa Hidouk
Jessica Leigh Palardy
Josh Kranich
Dylan Perlot
Ellen Pelletier