At the height of my so-called “fame” I remember a conversation I had at a party I had with one of London’s top paparazzi photographers. He and others had taken many pictures of me which had featured in leading British publications and whatever foreign publication they could tout pictures to increase their cash flow via syndication.I said to him, “Thank you for not following me to my flat or camping outside my door – that scenario must be awful for some celebs.” His response? “Well you haven’t done anything bad yet…”
LONDON CALLING:
For those of you reading thinking, who the hell is Julienne Davis? My claim to fame is that I was fortunate enough to get plucked from obscurity and land the pivotal role of Mandy Curran in Stanley Kubrick’s last film Eyes Wide Shut which was filmed in England. How did I get so lucky as to get the pivotal role in such a huge film? What I had going for me was that I could actually act, I was smart, had a great body at the time (a necessary prerequisite for that particular role), a nice enough face and was literally in the exact right place at the exact right time.
That amazing luck hasn’t happened to me before or since, but at least it happened once in my lifetime. I’m grateful for that.
EYES WIDE SHUT: Cruise, Kubrick, Lighting Camera Man Larry Smith and actress Julienne Davis. pic.twitter.com/jeIdkjdYLS
— WILL McCRABB (@mccrabb_will) October 11, 2013
I started out as just a jobbing fashion model – not a supermodel, just a regularly -working one. I had the life of many working models: traveling between cities like Los Angeles (where I was born), NYC, London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo and so on. Most of us eventually find one city that we work best and love the most, a main base to leave the bulk of our possessions and where we spend most of our time.
I chose London. I LOVE London- best city on Earth. Full of creative buzz and it made me feel so alive. Plus I love the more genuine, down to earth people there and don’t even get me started on the music and the club scene! I was out A LOT. (Big surprise; I ended up marrying a famous DJ).
Workwise, unlike my initial experiences modeling in America, I felt the English didn’t really want to categorize you. In America it was, “Oh well…hmm… you aren’t quite ‘commercial’ but you aren’t unusual enough to be ‘editorial’ either.” In England, if they liked you, they liked you. They just liked me for me.
I thrived there. Spending most of my adult life in London changed me and for the better. I dread to think the person I would be had I never left Los Angeles.
THE REALITY OF FAME:
After Eyes Wide Shut premiered, my life changed pretty drastically. I went from being a working model to a working actor and voiceover artist. I acted in House of 9 with Dennis Hopper and the BBC Hollywood comedy Too Much Sun. I was also making music with my husband at the time, gigging in England and Spain with my band Sophisticated Savage and writing and recording our first – and to date – only album.
I was allowed to show the world what I could do and I was a (minor) celebrity in the best city on earth. These days I’m more outside the circle of fame than in. But in the early aughts, I learned and experienced a lot about the crazy, fickle world of fame… even if my so-called ‘fame’ was fleeting.
Fleeting or not, I rode that wave for a good five to six years. There are still some moments and perks today, although it’s not as frenzied as back then.
You might know how it works. One gets there initially by doing a film (in my case Eyes Wide Shut), or, having a hit single, or, creating a controversial work of art or – as stated earlier – by doing something “bad.”
Some famous people start off with achieving notoriety by doing something worthy, and then, as the game of fame goes, doing something “bad” and thereby feeding the voracious animal that is the celebrity pages of various publications. Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid spring to mind, starting out as actresses and then moving into the “bad girl that parties too much” scenario.
Lower down on that scale, you have the ones that became famous for nothing at all except for being privileged, pretty or outrageous and having a few oh-so-shocking deeds like screwing a pop star or having sex tapes that somehow get leaked to the press. The voracious animal regurgitates the fodder they are provided ad nauseam.
The game of fame is a tricky dalliance. Anyone who has been on the inside of that circle knows the undeniable ego boost and the rush you get when you arrive at a party and the groups of ‘paps’ (photographers) yell your name. You feel wanted. Popular. Liked. You get a kick out of being in the press a lot. You get a kick out of the gifts, the attention and the parties.
THE PARTY CAROUSEL:
Oh the parties!! I was pretty much an “it” girl in London. One of the top ten party people (at least according to the Evening Standard Magazine.)
Julienne (bottom row, third from left) cited as a serial partygoer in the Evening Standard
I was like the Paris Hilton of London if you will: often in those party pages and gossip columns. For a while I had an absolute blast! Who wouldn’t? Also, there were the people – former friends, and acquaintances – coming out of the woodwork to “friend” you because you are “famous” now.
There were the goodie bags – the lovely, wonderful gifts from some of the PR people I got to know. (Some are still friends today.) I still have jewelry and diamonds and bags and other various presents given to me… just for being “famous”. Lucky me!
But the parties got a bit boring. One particular day was a turning point: After I had spent three hours going to one PR house to get my designer outfit and then another to choose my jewelry for yet another party – it’ s only point to be photographed again – it hit me. Why am I doing this? What does it all mean?
That is the game of fame. Trying to stay in the press, so you can stay in the press!
There are many celebs that played the fame game better than me. I was never entirely comfortable posing for the lad mags or milking the press for as much as I could get out of them to further myself. I was never quite bolshy enough to blag my way in to other opportunities for furthering my fame and notoriety.
Maybe I should have done something “bad.” Believe me, I had my chances. (A prominent former Cabinet Minister springs to mind… but I never went to the dark side.)
I remember another photographer approaching me at one of these many parties with the enticement of a free holiday in the south of France. All expenses paid for me “and a friend,” in exchange that he take tons of pictures of the holiday: me on the beach (I’m sure he’d hoped I’d go topless, as it was the south of France), on the balcony of the hotel room, in the bar, shopping at the market, at a club, etc. All in exchange for Rex Features to own and sell the photos as they choose.
I turned it down. Many don’t turn it down. Depending how big a celebrity you are, you can negotiate some serious deals. I was small time but some celebs negotiate percentage of ownership on all photos sold in exchange for racy photos of themselves half naked on a beach or a boat.
Then there was the press. I’ve had numerous interviews where the journalist would have a tape recorder getting my exact words, and then the article would come out and I’m thinking, “My God, who is this person Julienne Davis they are writing about?” Some of the press said I was from Orange County (not true), that I had a Porsche for my first car (also false). Yet another said I was from Texas.
CALIFORNIA ENGLISH:
When it came to being on set of a film/TV shoot, or dealing with others in the business, this is what I’ve learned: Never feel completely safe. Always be on your toes. There is backstabbing and gossip and hierarchies that need to be well navigated if you are to come through it all fairly unscathed. There are lots of egos to be dealt with… including your own.
I’m grateful for some of those hard truths because it prepared me for my home town: Los Angeles. Presently, I live there once again. It’s a brutal town though, even more than I’d expected. It’s a hardcore work town with a sunny, palm tree fringed façade which is the draw.
Brutality aside, I am loving the sun again after 18 years in Europe. I think I had gotten to the point where, as much as I loved London, I couldn’t take the cold, dark and grey anymore, at least not full time.
But England? I love England dearly. My soul belongs to England and I’m so proud to be a British citizen. Even though I wasn’t born there, I have a deep emotional connection to it. Strangely, I’ve never felt that for my home country.
There have been many times driving or sitting on trains traveling through the British countryside looking across the Valleys, that have brought tears to my eyes. It’s even in my will. My ashes are to be scattered across the Uffington White Horse (one of the oldest hill figures in Britain). England was good to me and I’m forever grateful.
Truth be told my wonderful years in England were a cakewalk compared to life here, as LA can be a real ego crusher. But it’s a journey and I’m grateful I was able to experience the fame and the parties, and the work – modeling, voiceovers, music, acting in England and around the world. It’s been a wild ride of a life thus far.
Now I do plenty of things. I co-wrote and published a self-help book on long-term relationships called Stop Calling Him Honey. I co-produced, wrote and hosted a travel series for cable and just finished my second album.
I’ve designed a jewelry line with Traditions Jewelry Company called The Creation Series (they approached me- another wonderful perk of being somewhat famous), I paint and sell my pictures online and have written a film script which I’m trying to get off the ground.
Ultimately I’m creating which is what I do best. Fame is fun but in itself, it’s empty. I’m an artist and need to create in all its many formats. I want to accomplish something big… or bigger than me.
And the fame game? That’s what it is: a fun game.
www.juliennedavis.com
