Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiara Bree.
Tiara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up with all brothers, on a street with mostly guys so I grew up as what my mother called me “a roughneck” or “tomboy”. Because of that, my mom put me in etiquette and modeling classes. At the time, of course, I was mad because I just wanted to play kickball and tag in the street with my friends, but it would later jump-start my career.
I was always tall so in addition to sports, I was now modeling at 10 years old and I actually loved it. I was walking runways, going to castings, and booking jobs where I got to show my personality and take photos. I continued on through middle school and eventually going to an arts high school where I majored in creative writing and theatre. I started signing with modeling and acting agencies and doing some big campaigns and shows.
I continued with that through college but started to find other loves and passions of mine. I studied broadcast journalism and started working for a news station in Jacksonville as well as hosting a TV show. Once I moved to Atlanta I found out about cosplay and the rest was history. Quarantine when covid first started gave me a lot of time to work on things I didn’t even know I had skills in; but in that time, I perfected those skills. I started doing cosplay commissions, sewing costumes, making props, and started making content for social medias and different brands.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
By no means were any of my career paths easy, but I love a challenge and being able to succeed at things people think I can’t. From literally 9 years old in modeling, I was told I was too fat to model and I needed to lose weight to be successful. Mind you I was a child, a string bean they used to call me, but I was bigger than some other models because I had a broader frame. It’s crazy and could’ve crippled me deeply if my mother hadn’t instilled the confidence and self-worth in me that has only blossomed as I got older. From then on, there were several “No’s” rejections, failures, and self-doubt at times but I prayed through it, cried through it, and just kept going. With the cosplay community, there’s a big problem with inclusion. Some people don’t like black cosplayers, cosplayers that are bigger or smaller than the original character designs, people who don’t have the same features as the character they’re cosplaying, etc. That brings a lot of hateful and discouraging comments on our socials. They’ll never stop me though. Obstacles, rejection, and feeling like an outsider are some of the things that shaped me to be a stronger, wiser, and more persistent person. These career paths have taught me that there is no set timeline for your success and to just keep going. Staying my true authentic self, no matter what is something I will always do and I will succeed.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love everything creative, that’s what drew me to cosplaying, acting, and modeling. I’ll start with cosplay.
In April 2020, someone decided to hack my Instagram account, which was stressful and violating, but I used it as a comeback! I’d only been to dragon con before the hack, a local convention for nerd culture. I wasn’t into cosplay yet but I made a new page anyway with the little I had from that event. With the help of some amazing supporters and feature pages, I grew my following back times 10! Over the quarantine period of covid, it forced me to find new creative outlets so I didn’t go crazy sitting in the house every day. I started cosplaying full-time. I learned to sew, make props, body paint, build armor, and more. I now take cosplay commissions to create these looks for other people as well! Halloween is a super eventful time as you can imagine. I realized my love for it and haven’t looked back. I’d say the amount of time I had to practice (all 2020 in the house) I’ve gotten pretty good at all aspects of it but I definitely have room to grow. I feel like that’s what sets me apart though, I can literally choose any direction to go with it since I’m newer and have so many resources and guides at my disposal. Cosplayers commission the pieces of their costumes that they don’t want to or can’t make. I’ve been blessed enough to be able to do it all. From hair, makeup, sewing the costumes, painting full-body looks, making the props, doing the photography, and editing the photos, I’m a one-woman team now. Although it’s a lot of work, I love every minute of it because there are endless possibilities and no “right” way to do it.
With acting and modeling, I started taking classes at a young age. Growing up I was a tomboy so my mom put me in modeling, acting, and etiquette classes. From the age of 9, I was used to being in the spotlight, talking too much, and minding my manners. It served me well in my careers. With modeling, I got scammed, duped and everything under the sun growing up, just trying to make it, but with that, I learned. I learned how and what to research when applying to or accepting jobs and contracts. I’ve been signed to 4 modeling agencies and worked a lot through my teen and young adult years. Now I freelance and find it fits my style of modeling and schedule much better. With acting, I’m still new, but growing. I started out doing background and extra work. After being persistent with that for about a year I took classes and started to hone my craft. From landing roles on Dynasty and Cobra Kai to working on shows for Disney and HBO, I feel like my career is starting to head in the direction I want. It ties back to my cosplay business as well since I’m growing my brand and getting deals with HBO Max and DC. Hopefully, it leads me to some amazing roles with them in the near future.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the acting industry here. There’s so much going on with film and tv and so many things I can audition for. I love that there’s always something to do too. Events, festivals, concerts, etc. are always happening so it’s always fun here. BUT the one thing I hate about Atlanta is the traffic. It’s so cool here that everybody wants to come and now it’s overpopulated and there’s always traffic lol. I still encourage everyone to chase their dreams and come out here though; just be prepared to sit on the highway for at least an hour in the middle of the day on a Tuesday.
Contact Info:
- Email: cosbaenavi@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tiarabreecosplay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tiarabreecosplay
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@tiarabreecosplay
Image Credits
IAmGxftd
Seats Photographix
Greatness Behind the Lens
Sling Shots ATL
