How “The Girl Who Can’t Smile” Learned to Accept Herself and Became a Successful Model
In school, Tayla Clement used to be an outcast because children bullied her for her appearance. But despite all difficulties she had to experience when she was a teenager, she recently signed a modeling contract with the Zebedee talent agency. And now she inspires others and shares her story worldwide.
At CHEERY, we learned the story of courageous Tayla from New Zealand and found out why she calls herself “The Girl Who Can’t Smile.”
Tayla was born with a rare neurological disorder called Möbius syndrome. Due to facial paralysis, she can’t move her eyebrows, eyes, and upper lip which makes her unable to smile. “I like to refer to it as free Botox,” she says optimistically. And even though she can’t smile, this doesn’t stop her from having fun and being happy.
However, she hasn’t always been this happy. She had a really hard time at school because she was so different from other children. “Probably around the age of 5 or 6 when I started school and kids and teachers would treat me differently to all the other kids.” She didn’t enjoy studying or communicating with others, “All throughout my schooling life I was bullied, I didn’t have a good time at school at all and for a while, it really hindered my ability to be social and leave the house.”
At 11, Tayla had surgery, but it was unsuccessful. For a long time, she was ashamed of herself. “Growing up as someone that was always ridiculed for the way I looked truly made me feel like I wasn’t welcome in society. It made me feel like just being Tayla wasn’t good enough, that I had to work 100 times harder than everyone else to fit in just because I couldn’t smile.”
By the age of 17, she started having seizures caused by severe traumatic stress. “I had such severe depression that doctors told me my mental health was so bad.”
However, the difficulties Tayla had to go through didn’t break her. She found the strength to believe in herself, “I’ve done a lot of inner work and now don’t have any issues with being social. I accepted myself fully only a few years ago, but I’ve been on the self-love, acceptance and discovery journey for around 4 years, so it’s just been growing and improving and getting better and better as time goes on.”
She accepted herself and opened a public Instagram page. Tayla no longer hides from the camera, she posts her photos and tells her story online to raise awareness of the importance of being unique.
Tayla’s family has played a great role in her life. “My parents have been amazing, even when I was younger they never treated me any differently and I’m really thankful for that. They’ve always loved me for me and supported me in anything I wanted to do and I’m so lucky to have such an amazing support from them.”
Tayla has stopped being an outcast and has chosen the path of confidence. And she’s not afraid of making friends anymore. “I really love my alone time, I thrive when I can do things by myself, but at the same time, I don’t find it hard to be social or to meet new friends.” Working out at the gym and meditating have also helped her on her way to self-acceptance.
Tayla is not angry with the people who bullied her in the past and says to those who can’t find acceptance, “To anyone who is being bullied right now, please know that it’s got nothing to do with you and everything to do with the person hurting you... You don’t need to change to be accepted, you are worthy of acceptance no matter what.”
She used to feel lonely before, but after signing a modeling contract with the Zebedee Talent agency, she’s happy to be able to inspire other people. “I had no one to see in movies or in the media or on the front of magazines, and so I felt really worthless and not accepted because I didn’t see myself anywhere. It makes me kind of emotional, but I’m just so glad that it was me that went through everything because I get to inspire people and help people — it just makes me so happy.”
Zebedee Talent represents people with disabilities, visible differences, alternative appearances, and LGBTQIA talent.
Tayla is the girl who can’t smile but she’s found a way to accept herself and become a model and a source of inspiration for other people, “I choose to perceive my smile as mine, it’s what makes me, me and that’s really all there is to it.”
We are happy for Tayla, and wish all the other people to accept and love themselves, and also find a vocation that will bring them joy and inspiration.