Amanda Kajy at last
Amanda Kajy at last month’s International Auto Show picture perfect BY KEN MARTEN Model is also an entrepreneur Launching one career is hard enough, but Commerce Township resident Amanda Kajy is launching two. Kajy, 19, owns LA Insurance Agencies in Hazel Park and is also a model. “Owning a business — with all that responsibility — and being a model isn’t easy, but I can take off whenever I want,” said Kajy, a 2004 graduate of Walled Lake Western High School. “I’m a businesswoman, so I think that brings a lot of good work ethic to modeling. It’s hard, but I love it because it’s a challenge.” Kajy started modeling while still in school and posted several of her senior photos on a website for aspiring models. Offers came overnight. Besides working in numerous fashion shows that have featured clothes from the likes of big-name designer Rachel Roy, Kajy has modeled for Harley-Davidson, Sears Craftsman, Motor City Handbags and Lamborghini. Her appointment book includes an entry for the Super Bowl, where she’ll model for AOL. “In Michigan, most of the work is product promotion, which means that you’re on your feet for 12 hours and you can’t complain about it,” Kajy said. “I’ve done a lot of work for free. If I list 20 things on my resume, I’d say eight of them were for free, but you need to do that to build up your resume.” The Lamborghini job wasn’t one of them. Those who attended the 2006 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall may recall seeing Kajy among the Italian sports cars. “I kept hearing, ‘Did they ship her over from Europe with the cars?’” Kajy said. “People think I’m Italian. They come up to me and speak in Italian. A lot of them aren’t sure what Chaldean is.” Kajy freely provides the vital statistics of the modeling world; she’s 5-feet, 9-inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, and her measurements are 34-25-33. “In this business, you can’t say ‘I don’t reveal this or that,’” Kajy said. “And not everyone is going to think you’re gorgeous. You have to be prepared for that.” In addition to not matching everyone’s definition of beauty, Kajy said modeling is harder work than it seems. Besides eternally long days and endless costume changes, the show must go on no matter how the models feel. “It looks easier than it is,” Kajy said. “Say you’re in a bad mood. You can’t show that, so it’s kind of like acting. If you’re sad or angry or tired or sick, you can’t sit there and complain.” Kajy is flexible and realistic about her future. She doesn’t mind traveling to model, but she doesn’t want to move from the Detroit area. And she knows most models don’t have household names. Cindy Crawford is the exception, not the rule. “If I have the demand for full-time modeling I will do it, but I’m not trying to become a famous super model,” Kajy said. “There are a lot of successful models who aren’t famous.” Kajy said her family is extremely supportive. She’s the youngest of Madhat and Ikhlas Kajy’s five children — four daughters and a son. 44 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2006
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