Q&A: Taylor LaVie is Breaking Barriers from Catwalks to Open Mics
Photo Credit: Gregorio
Taylor LaVie is an American beauty with an impressive career as a model, comedian, and content creator with an enviable 1.3 Million followers on Instagram. This comedic bombshell is defying stereotypes with her razor wit, creative prowess, and her mantra, “have fun and be yourself.”
We had the pleasure of talking to Taylor about her passion for comedy, her ability to break into the male-dominated industry, and her goals of getting people to see others for more than just skin deep.
LUNA: So tell us, when did you first know you were interested in comedy? Has it always been a passion of yours?
LAVIE: For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved making people laugh. There was this time in second grade when the school was having a play and the principle asked if any of the students wanted to get up on stage and tell a joke. I ran up there and saw a concerned look on my mom’s face because she had no idea what I was going to say. I get to the front of the stage, tell a joke, and I still remember that feeling of adrenaline of being on stage in front of a bunch of people and hearing them laugh at what I said. From that day on, I knew I wanted to be in entertainment. But as I was growing up, working in entertainment didn’t seem like a realistic job. So, I went through life and worked really hard because I wanted to be successful, but in the back of my head I knew I wanted to work in modeling, acting, or comedy.
LUNA: How did social media help you break into the entertainment industry?
LAVIE: I am super grateful that social media has really helped to give me a platform to break into the entertainment industry. I went to school for marketing, so I knew the importance of marketing yourself. So, I started posting to Instagram a lot and I really paid attention to algorithms and the things that would get great engagement. Eventually I just started making viral videos and during the pandemic, they just really hit. The responses encouraged me to keep making more content and my account started to grow like crazy. And then from there, I think the thing that made me stand out is I always kind of added a little bit of humor and tried to make things funny. One of the things I really love to do is to create and post memes. Eventually I realized I was making enough money from social media to be able to quit my job and pursue my entertainment passions full time.
LUNA: You mentioned you create memes, how did that come about?
LAVIE: My involvement in the world of meme making began with my background in marketing and I found it really interesting how memes possess the ability to provide commentary on both popular culture and significant global events. Their incredible shareability on social media platforms creates a sense of relatability and fosters a community by incorporating humorous or absurd content into random images that resonate with others. This connection to comedy allows memes to serve as a coping mechanism or source of solidarity, enabling people to navigate their own life experiences. The essence of great comedy lies in its ability to address harsh realities in a more digestible manner, often leading to those “aha” moments where people gain new perspectives. Memes possess a similar power by highlighting truths and encouraging contemplation. What fascinates me about memes is their seemingly silly nature combined with their astonishing impact. The fact that major brands utilize viral memes as a marketing strategy demonstrates their effectiveness, and we’ve witnessed how a meme can catapult individuals to unexpected fame and career opportunities, just like the Walmart yodeling kid. So, they are kind of this silly internet thing yet still remain very powerful and I really relate to that.
LUNA: Those are such good points about memes and comedy in general. You’ve briefly touched on this already with memes being a social commentary and observational comedy, but how would you describe your comedy style?
LAVIE: I would say that right now I tend to focus on observational comedy and either making fun of myself or just talking about the things in my life. I found that people are often interested in the influencer life or aspects about my modeling life. There are so many stories from my life that are really random and weird, and those are the funny things people can relate to the most.
LUNA: You have already accomplished so many great things as a model and a comedian, but what are your goals as an entertainer?
LAVIE: I’ve done some stand-up and I would really like to continue to do that on a larger scale. I love stand-up comedy and open mics because I like doing crowd work and I like how quick you have to be and the fact that it is live gives me such an adrenaline rush. I also want to do a lot more comedy skits online too, not necessarily just live comedy. I have some skits that I've written, and I've been looking for more people to collab with in that aspect. Skits are something completely new to my audience, but I think it is a fun way to expand creatively and do things that wouldn’t work in stand-up.
LUNA: What do you want people to take away from your content:
LAVIE: As you know it is already challenging breaking into comedy as a female performer, and when they find out I am also a model, people tend to judge me pretty heavily. I think just being a woman in an industry where it's focused on your looks, a lot of people are always like, there's not much more to you. I get a lot of the “oh, you’re actually funny”. And I’m like what does that mean? What do you mean by that? And so that's something I've always tried to bring out in my acts, “there are more to people than what meets the eye”. And I even shove it down my followers’ throats where I'm like, yes, I might be a model, but there's so much more and you have to see those parts as well. If you're going to be a follower of mine, you have to see that there's more to me, and not just me, but all girls and women.
I think one thing that I always say and always focus on in my content, is to “have fun and be yourself”.
When you are being yourself, you seem to get farther, and you are more well received.
LUNA: We’ve talked a lot about your career in comedy, but is there anything else you’re working on?
LAVIE: Yes! I love comedy, but I'm a super creative person in general and want to continue exploring all areas of entertainment. I am still actively working on my modeling career, I was invited to Miami Swim Week this year. But I am also exploring some work in acting as well. I would love to combine my experience in comedy and modeling and do some presenting or hosting work.
LUNA: We love that you have such a positive attitude and are a role model for other women trying to break into this tough industry. Are there any other charities or causes close to your heart?
LAVIE: A cause near and dear to my heart is vision loss. I have a super rare genetic eye disease called Stargardt. A close family member also has the disease and is partially legally blind. I am really lucky because I don't really have a lot of issues with my vision now, but it is the kind of disease that can get worse without much warning. When I was first diagnosed, I was like what do I do have these dreams and these goals. After taking some time to come to terms with my health, I was like I have to just go for it because I never know if one day my eyes may start regressing. Even if I lose my vision one day, it will not stop me from performing and doing the things I love.
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