She does just about... everything, and with a quite charming confidence so meet Cynthia Leigh.
1) Can you tell us a bit about your background, upbringing, etc.?
I'm the daughter of an ex-hippy turned maintenance engineer and a former accountant for the Playboy Club of Dallas, TX. Born in NOLA, but raised in SoCal, I flew japanese beetles as kites, rode tortoises, and scaled my apartment complex in full ninja regalia as a child.
2) What makes you more inclined toward edgier alternative themes? Where did you get your passion about cosplay, for example?
I blame my Dad. He had us reading X-men and attending fantasy knife shows at age 5. I eventually found out about anime around age 12 when I first began costuming it was only a matter of time before I found out about cosplay.
3) Oh why do you have to apologize about not having any tattoos or piercings? :D
I find that a lot of alternative designers and photographers specifically decline to work with models that lack one, the other, or both. I keep a fairly mainstream look because it allows me to get more paid work and prestigious gigs, but given my styling skills I've never had a problem pulling off something distinctly "alt" which is why I apologize for my appearance.
4) Tell us a bit about your costume work? did you start doing this after becoming a model?
I learned how to sew with a sewing machine when I was 16, but I didn't start costuming on a regular basis until I was about 18. A year later, friend who net modeled told me that I should shoot with her photographer to get professional pictures of my costumes. I did, and continued to do so, and what you see now has just been 6 years of progression.
5) Do you find that curvy models are more in demand/popular these days, in any kind of modeling work, be it alternative or mainstream?
It used to be that only Caucasian females with a clean cut look who wore a size 4 could call themselves a model. Alternative lifestyles and geeky hobbies are more widely accepted and advertising has adapted because of this. The look being sold these days in print and on television is incredibly varied along with the type of publications that care to them. There's room for almost anyone in the industry these days.
6) What are your intentions regarding your website?
It allows people who enjoy my work to keep track of what I'm doing. My schedule can be all over the place at times. It also lets people get in touch with me if they're interested in hiring me for a particular show, convention, or movie.
7) What comic book heroine(s) would you like to portray in a future shoot?
I'm actually working on doing Poison Ivy in the near future and I'm a regular in the Dawn Look-a-Like Contest at Dragon*Con.
8) OK what have you actually done on WWE RAW? :D
I've done local stagehand work for WWE for the past three years. This has been everything from setting up the lighting for WWE: Extreme Rules 2009. (I worked on the "X" shaped lighting apparatus and titantron.) I've also set up the ring, mats, and barricades. I also appeared in the background as a stagehand while they filmed one segment during RAW/ECW. One of the things I loved the most about working WWE gigs was that until recently, we were allowed to eat lunch with the wrestlers. Being able to sit 10 feet away from Dusty Rhoades and The Edge while Finnegan sat across from you is pretty incredible.
9) Seeing all your past and future projects, do you actually have time to relax? If so, what?s your favorite way to let go?
I have a "I'll sleep when I'm dead" motto. After surviving Hurricane Katrina I learned how precious our time here can be and I haven't taken it for granted since then. My idea of normal is pretty damned crazy. Last year I went from working and overnight shoot on "Jonah Hex", took a 2 hr nap, and then was doing a lighting load-in. So the only time things stress me out is when it's slow, then I tend to take a bubble bath and drink a woodchuck.
10) Have you been lucky enough yet to travel for photo work? You know that we will welcome you any time in Montreal?!
Oddly, I find people pay to come to me, rather than have me go to them. I do travel a lot however, but I mainly do TFP when I do because it's with photographers I would never get to work with otherwise, like Ted D'Ottavio. I did just get my passport recently, and I plan to be abroad for most of next year in Paris, FR and Seoul, S. Korea.
