Melody Pope of Rockford, IL on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Melody Pope. Check out our conversation below.

Melody, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in my garden, growing roses, veggies, and berries. I’ve also been journaling, learning to sew, learning more about self-care and beauty tools to enhance my self-confidence as well as my modeling, revisiting learning other languages (Spanish and Latin right now), practicing pole dance, getting into yoga, upgrading my home with whimsical, artistic DIY projects, playing games like RingFit and Story of Seasons: AWL, and revisiting my certificate in UX design to create an updated portfolio and grow my skills. I’m always excited to learn new things, and even outside of my modeling and voice acting work I like to stay busy – I find I’m at my best when I’m constantly feeding my growth.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Melody Pope and I have been a glamour, art, and commercial model for over five years now, and a voice actor (and occasional onscreen actress) for about three years. Modeling and voice acting are both competitive fields, and I think I’ve stood out because I persistently show up and have shown that I genuinely care about the projects I’m involved in as well as the people working on them.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child I was led to believe I was powerless, insignificant, hideously unlovable, and only worth what I could be used for. I have an unfortunate past of domestic violence and sexual abuse that created a lot of strife when it came to my body, my self-esteem, and how I viewed both myself and the world around me. One of the first times I truly felt at peace in my physical shell was when I started modeling – that’s when it clicked for me, that I had to tie art and creativity to my body to heal, that modeling was a key. Now, modeling has opened so many doors for me as far as opportunities as well as healing go, and I truly believe I feel so much more hopeful and sure of myself now as an adult because of what modeling and the creative world in general has given to me.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
This is not the end. You are enough – more than enough, in fact – and things will not always be this way.
There is no removing the pain you’ve already endured, these scars will not fade, but you will grow into something so much more powerful and radiant, something no one could ever break. There is an abundance of beauty, growth, and light ahead – you will create something so much better than this place. You have the power to do that; you are so much more than capable.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That creatives – models, namely – are not people, and that consumers only want sterile perfection. Especially in today’s world of rising AI and wondering what’s real or fake, truly human connection and representation is more important and desirable than ever, and the models with sincere personalities, unique looks that don’t follow cookie cutter trends, and an ability to connect with others are going to be the ones on top of the world.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
Absolutely! It’s a very fun job but it is still a job, so not every day is perfect or even all that great, but I always bring an attitude of excitement and joy when I get to be on a set, because your attitude is contagious. Most days, though, that isn’t so hard to muster – I feel like I’m on cloud nine whenever I find out I get to model on a fun commercial set for a new product, or embody the essence of sultry glamour in a lingerie set for a designer, or pose for a painting from a talented artist, or act in a scene for a movie that’s going to be shown in a real life theater, or voice an exciting ad or loveable cartoon character. The act of creation feels sacred to me and I am so grateful for each and every opportunity I am offered to bring something magical to life and to be a part of so many incredible visions.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Alana Reihl (Cover Photo)
Ian Storck
Orlando Gonzales
Chad Britt
Alana Reihl
Josie Fox
James Avery
James Hogan
Alicia Janae Clifford

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