Page Parkes—“A Lifetime of Changing Lives”
Over our lifetime, many of us were taught the Golden Rule, but for Page Parkes, owner of Page Parkes Corporation, it is her mantra. She teaches her team and her modeling and acting talent to live by the same rules she sets for herself daily. Page and her two sisters were raised by a single mother, who instilled the “do unto others” life lesson in her daughters.
Forty years ago, Page was a recent graduate of the American College of Fine Arts in London. At that time, her hometown of Houston was not a fashion or entertainment city, and Page searched for a profession where a petite woman could not only be taken seriously in her own right, but one where she would dramatically and forever change the lives of others. Enter stage left, Page Parkes Center of Modeling and Acting. Within short order, her dream was realized and for over these four decades, she remains a visionary leader in the modeling, acting and talent industry.
EYE FOR TALENT
Page is best known for her sharp eye for finding and assessing talent. Many of her discoveries and representations ended up winning or nominated for Academy and Emmy Awards, gracing the covers of magazines and becoming icons for renown fashion houses. Some of the notable names on which her discerning eyes fixated are (with short descriptions of how Page discovered and/or represented them):
• Angelina Jolie– I met her in Los Angeles. She flew to Dallas and the first job I booked for her was JC Penney. The rest is history. She went on to win an Academy Award and marry Brad Pitt!
• Charlize Theron-We represented her at Page Parkes Miami. She had previously been a top working model in Europe. Her modeling eventually evolved into acting, which ultimately led her to receive an Academy Award for “Monster.”
• Channing Tatum-We also represented him at Page Parkes Miami, where he arrived with his mother. On top of just being incredibly handsome and full of charm, the one thing I remembered so vividly was how kind he was to his mother. I still think about that to this day.
• Woody Harrelson-He was a typical person passing through Page Parkes where we try to use everything they have to offer. He arrived with his grandmother. Page Parkes helped him out with scholarships for the modeling and acting classes. He crushed the audition for the role of a bartender on the television show “Cheers.” Those producers were so impressed with his audition, that they ended up changing the name of the bartender in the show to “Woody.”
• Alexis Bledel-She was a student in the Page Parkes school and wasn’t separated out as a “star” yet. Alexis was always offering to help me with anything I needed, so she went with me to a promotion where I and some of our models and actors were coming to see a famous New York agent. That agent was Michael Flutie. Afterwards, he called me and said he wanted to represent my “helper” at that event as part of their New York agency. Alexis has gone on to become an actor with roles in “Gilmore Girls,” “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” and appearances on the television series “Mad Men.”
• Brooke Burns– Many well-known stars who started at Page Parkes came to us as athletes, ballerinas, or other careers where they had developed injuries and were looking for ways to extend their careers post injury. Brooke was always tall, always beautiful—but was always a ballerina before coming to Page Parkes’ First Model Camp. She was the Model Camp’s first graduate and soon thereafter became a very successful movie star. You should remember this beautiful girl from the shows “Baywatch,” “Melrose Place” and from the movie “Shallow Hal.”
• Shannon Elizabeth– I found Shannon at a convention where kids from many small towns would come to a standard “Meet and Greet.” We liked her immediately and flew her to Dallas, where she began to study and fall in love with acting. She was a natural. Her first movie was the blockbuster “American Pie.”
• Shemar Moore-Started with Page Parkes Dallas around 1989. Shemar was a light-skinned African-American with an infectious smile and an amazing body. He soon started on “Young & the Restless” and is an in-demand actor with starring roles in “Criminal Minds” and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”
• Twin transgender models Margo and Maddie Whitley-These twins attended Page Parkes Model Camp when they were transitioning near the age of 16. Their dreams were to be advocates for healthy transgender kids that can make it in any business. Designer Marc Jacobs agreed and quickly booked them as ambassadors for his national Marc Jacobs “Perfect” Campaign.
Some others who were discovered and represented by Page Parkes, and have gone on to become stars are: Djimon Hounsou, Jason Lewis, Marcus Schenkenberg, Rebecca Romijn, Hailey and Hilary Duff, Josh Holloway, Amber Heard, Stephanie Seymour, Tyson Beckford, Wes Brown, Shantel Van Santen, Jaime King, Kirby Blanton and Lorri Bagley. All of the aforementioned acting and modeling luminaries trusted Page with their careers and she delivered exquisitely.
TEEN LEADERSHIP CAMP
Several years ago, Page expanded upon her legacy of changing lives by creating the Teen Leadership Camp─an immersive weekend environment where teens could learn life skills, focus on loving themselves, and thereby build confidence and self-esteem. The camp allows attendees to explore inner and outer beauty and help them understand how the two work together to complete each individual as a successful, motivated, positive, driven teen leader. The goal of the camp is to explore what makes up the “best” in you, and it has become a permanent fixture on the company’s roster of classes. With the help of Cameron Fines, a Tony Robbins-certified trainer and life coach, those in Teen Leadership Camp discover what creates wholeness and how to achieve their full potential with assurance and grace.
Page feels one of the best examples of what her company teaches, as far as encouraging young people to lead, would be the story of the Vice President of Page Parkes Corporation, Tabitha Garcia. She started her career at the agency as a very successful model at the young age of seventeen. After a few years, she wanted to transition within the company and so, began as the receptionist. Her dream was to have Page’s job someday. After a while, Page welcomed her as a member of the executive staff. During all of the years of her tenure, she blossomed and grew each and every year. Page constantly remarks, “One day, she will have my job!”
Page Parkes’ innate talent for recognizing possibilities in people, her eye for excellence, and her genuineness in uniting those around her, are qualities she carries on an everyday climb up an invisible ladder of success. We congratulate this remarkable woman on reaching the pinnacle of the invisible ladder and on her forty years of changing lives by mentoring young people to reach for success!
