Jennifer Sky says 'being a child model gave me PTSD'

May 2024 · 4 minute read

The modeling industry isn't always glamorous for the young women in it — and even less so for the children and teenagers who are in over their head and taken advantage of. 

Actress and writer Jennifer Sky, now 39, has been a vocal advocate for child models since she left behind her own career of posing in front of the camera, and she explained in a new video just why it's so important to protect girls in the industry.

'I now suffer from PTSD because of the abuse I was subjected to as a child model in the fashion industry,' she says in the confessional clip by Real Women Real Stories

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Traumatic: Jennifer Sky, 39, said her days as a teen model left her with PTSD

Traumatic: Jennifer Sky, 39, said her days as a teen model left her with PTSD

Traveling the world: She started modeling at 14 and worked in Mexico, Italy, and Japan

Traveling the world: She started modeling at 14 and worked in Mexico, Italy, and Japan

Grown-up: As an adult, she acted on General Hospital and had a recurring role on Xena: Warrior Princess

Grown-up: As an adult, she acted on General Hospital and had a recurring role on Xena: Warrior Princess

Jennifer managed to go on to have a career as an adult, earning recurring roles on General Hospital and Xena: Warrior Princess — but she certainly didn't come out of the modeling world unscathed.

She started modeling when she was 14, traveling the world to shoot campaigns and magazine covers.

'I had wanted to go new places, to try bold new things,' she explained in an op-ed for the New York Times in 2014. 'But I soon learned that this was a world where young women’s rights were worth less than the clothing they wore.'

Speaking in her Real Women Real Stories video, Jennifer confesses that she was molested and neglected, and men exposed themselves to her.

'Once when I was 15, I was trafficked to Mexico, I was given drugs, and coerced into being photographed topless. This was for a large national campaign for a spray tan company,' she says

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Industry issues: Now, she writes and advocates for teen models, whom she says aren't taken care of Industry issues: Now, she writes and advocates for teen models, whom she says aren't taken care of

Industry issues: Now, she writes and advocates for teen models, whom she says aren't taken care of

Dead inside: She dropped out of modeling after seeing herself on this cover of Sassy at the age of 17; she thought their was sadness behind her eyes

Dead inside: She dropped out of modeling after seeing herself on this cover of Sassy at the age of 17; she thought their was sadness behind her eyes

At a shoot in Italy, she was made to stand in a swimsuit in a freezing pool for hours before the photographer screamed at her since her skin had turned blue.

In Japan, she did less professional modeling and more standing around and looking pretty, as she was sent to parties with wealthy European businessmen who clearly hoped to sleep with her. She wrote in detail about those experiences in Atavist magazine. 

Being young and so far from her home in South Florida, Jennifer wasn't in much of a position to advocate for her own best interested.   

Finally, at 17, she left the business, spooked by how sad and lifeless her eyes look on her first cover of Sassy magazine. 

She's speaking out about these experiences now because these young models often don't have a voice — and she says it's adults' responsibility to make sure they're cared for.  

Harrowing: She also detailed some of her troubling time as a model in an article called Queen of the Toyko Ballroom in Atavist magazine

Harrowing: She also detailed some of her troubling time as a model in an article called Queen of the Toyko Ballroom in Atavist magazine

Taking a stand: Jennifer said she wants people to come together to end abuse against women and children

Taking a stand: Jennifer said she wants people to come together to end abuse against women and children

'The unfortunate thing for me, as a models’ rights activist, is that I am a lone voice here. I’m a lone voice talking about what happens to these children, utilizing my own experiences and highlighting them, saying this happened to me, this is actually borderline human trafficking,' she wrote in Atavist. 

'This is borderline child labor, a borderline slavery issue.'

'The fashion and textiles industry now makes $2.5 trillion a year globally. In America alone, it makes $250 billion,' she explains further to Real Women Real Stories. 'If corporations will not protect the children they employ, it's up to us to compel them to.

'Let's come together across all industries to end the systemic abuse against women and children,' she concludes. 

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