Susan May Pratt

Birthday

Feb 8, 1974

Birthplace

Lansing, Michigan, USA

Bio: Grew up: East Lansing, MIHigh School: East Lansing High School and Montmorency Secondary School in Eltham, Australia (I was an exchange student).College: 2 years at Simon's Rock College of Bard in Massachusetts and 2 years at Parson's School of Design in New York City.Degrees: A GED and an Associate of Arts degree from Simon's Rock. I never graduated from Parson's,… More Bio: Grew up: East Lansing, MIHigh School: East Lansing High School and Montmorency Secondary School in Eltham, Australia (I was an exchange student).College: 2 years at Simon's Rock College of Bard in Massachusetts and 2 years at Parson's School of Design in New York City.Degrees: A GED and an Associate of Arts degree from Simon's Rock. I never graduated from Parson's, where I studied architecture.Current Location: Los Angeles, CAI started out modeling for a local hair salon when I was 14. I modeled for them in a number of regional hair-cutting competitions. Sometimes these events were not only nerve-wracking for the competing stylist, but for me as well; shaky hands and sharp scissors are a frightening combination! Of course most of the time, all went well and we had fun; nothing but my hair ever did get snipped and I only ended up with a few lop-sided haircuts :).Through the competitions I found a modeling agency in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through the Michigan modeling agency, I found an agency in Chicago. Through the Chicago agency, I found an agency in Milan, Italy. Through the Milan agency, I found an agency in New York.... Hmmm, do you detect a pattern here?I did a little modeling in Michigan. My first shoot, at 14, was for wedding gowns! In Chicago, I did almost no modeling; much of my work as a model took place in Milan. I spent the summer after my sophomore year in high school working in Italy.After my summer in Milan, I applied to be an exchange student in Australia. I lived for about half a year with a family in Eltham, which is just outside of Melbourne. While in Australia, I applied and got accepted to Simon's Rock College of Bard, which is a 4-year college for high-school-aged students. (Most of the freshmen are 16-17.) In the intervening summer, I modeled in Japan for 5 weeks. I've never worked so hard in my life. I only had two days off that whole time!After two years at Simon's Rock, I transferred to Parson's School of Design in New York City, the place I once swore that I would never live. (See where those kinds of resolutions get you?) The first time I visited New York, I found it entirely overwhelming. I have since grown to love New York dearly.The summer before moving to New York, however, I returned to Milan to model. Once in New York, I attended class and supported myself through whatever modeling jobs would fit into my school schedule. I chose architecture as my major and was working toward my BFA when I began booking films....While attending architecture classes and modeling, I also started working with a commercial agency (which sends actors out on tv commercial castings) and taking various acting classes. I often get asked 'how I got started'; I got my first acting opportunities through my commercial agency. This agency also had a film and tv department (called the Legit department). One day I received a call from them for a movie audition. An independent film that was being cast couldn't find the lead girl; the casting directors decided to audition some new talent. Although I did not end up booking that film, I was called back in to audition for the part a number of times. My agency took notice and started sending me out on more movies....Eventually, I had to quit taking classes at Parson's School of Design because I kept booking parts.I am living in Los Angeles now! For a while I lived back and forth between New York and LA, but recently made the permanent move here. Written by Susan May Pratt