Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/787116
"What do you do?" It's a question many get asked, though probably not as often as former Miss Rhode Island, Miss USA, and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo. But for Culpo, it comes more in the form of, "What does she even do?" In an increasingly digital world where success is measured by likes and clicks, it's hard to quantify the effect an "influ- encer" can have not only on a brand but on the public as well. In fact, dare have 1.5 million Instagram followers gawk as you pose in the latest trends and you could get labeled as "famous for being famous." But when luxury brand Kipling taps you to be the face of its holiday campaign, while Rampage Jeans, ghd hair tools, and L'Oréal all count you as one of their faces, and on top of that, Moët & Chandon hires you to go to the Golden Globes and create this year's specialty cocktail, it's safe to say the success is not only quantified, but also monetized. There's a living to be made doing this, and Culpo is the genius who's figured out what so many companies and brands seemingly can't—how to make social media work for them. Add in frequent appearances in Las Vegas and brand appearances at Art Basel, a Bali trip with Revolve, two upcoming films—American Satan and Tired Lungs—Paris Fashion Week, recent appearances on Project Runway and The Kitchen as well as the cover of Seventeen Latin America, and this model/actress is a far cry from the self-described "dork in band camp." Especially when you consider she's dating New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola. You grew up in a small town in Rhode Island, hardly destined to become a globally recognized face… I was the typical middle child of five siblings, always feeling like I was getting the short end of the stick. I always felt like my parents were too busy to pay attention to me. Plus, I played the cello all through school and went to band camp. I was never really seen as beautiful; I never thought that I would be able to model. I spent a lot of time going from orchestra to band camp, and I had to practice a lot—my parents were pretty strict. How does a band camp girl who didn't think she was beautiful end up in beauty pageants? As a little girl, I was really chubby. I don't think kids know anything about diet, so I'm sure I was eating whatever I wanted to. And on top of that I was not athletic. I was definitely more into the arts, and I was a late bloomer. All of a sudden, I got really tall and lean. After my crazy growth spurt, I looked like a completely different person. As the years went on, I went to Boston University and studied communications and acting. A lot of the people that I looked up to were actually, surprisingly enough, women who had UNDER the More than just a pretty face, model Olivia Culpo breaks through the digital ceiling, lending glamour, celebrity, and success to the term "influencer." by JARED SHAPIRO photography by MIKE ROSENTHAL INFLUENCE VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 69