LIVING THE GLAMOROUS LIFE

Tower Lakes’ very own Gina Magro makes her way as an international—and in-demand—model.

As a teenager, Gina Magro spent her days dreaming of making the winning goal, hitting the home run, or catching a big fish at one of the nearby lakes close to her childhood home in Tower Lakes.

But she never dreamed of becoming a model.

“My fashion week this year had me meeting with designers such as Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors, and Ulla Johnson,” Magro recalls. “And that was just over the course of one single morning.”

It’s a glamourous life she is now living, even though Magro says she still can’t quite get over the fact that she is indeed living it. “Every day in high school, I wore quarter zips and sweatpants,” laughs the former Barrington High School hockey and softball player. “Now, it is not uncommon for me to be wearing Akris, Chanel, or Dior and be seen carrying my Marc Jacobs or Valentino purse. I mean, these are all names I wouldn’t have known prior to starting this journey.”

During her teenage years, she was at times stopped and asked if she would consider a career in modeling. But she never gave it a second thought. Until, while attending University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point studying biology during the COVID-19 pandemic, Magro says she began to see modeling as a way to keep busy when everything else was shut down.

“I was about to turn 20 (years old), and I ended up doing a short walk video in my driveway. I took a couple of pictures at my house, just with an iPhone, and sent them to a bunch of agencies in Chicago,” remembers Magro. (Of note, she graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with three years of parasitology research that were later published in The Journal of Parasitology.) “Select (Model Management-Chicago) came back and said ‘Yes, we will take you.’ Honestly, it was one of those, ‘Oh, wow, what now?’ moments.”

But while the modeling industry was quick to take notice of Magro’s obvious talents, she admits there were many times early on that she was somewhat critical of herself. “Still to this day, I just feel like every photo shoot I get back, I end up feeling like I could do better,” Magro says quietly. “But back then, I have come to realize that really, it was more about getting comfortable in front of a camera. Everyone gave me so much advice and so much feedback that ultimately, I did get to a point where I could look at pictures of myself and say, ‘I get it. I know what to do now.’” Today, Magro finds herself as one of the most sought-after models in not only the country, but around the world. Currently represented by Elite Models NYC and Select Model Management Paris & Milan, Magro consistently travels to multiple points on the globe, serving as a muse of sorts to photographers worldwide.

Nevertheless, Magro’s buddies back home in Barrington can still give her a hard time about this so-called glamourous life. “They always say, ‘You were the girl we had pictures of fishing in sweatpants and quarter zips with mud all over you,’” laughs Magro, who can now be found shopping at Barrington’s very own TruBleu and thrifting at House of Hope with those same exact friends.

But while she too is still getting used to the idea, Magro says she has found more and more ways to get comfortable with the life she now lives.

“I definitely fell in love with the whole process of modeling,” explains Magro, who is currently attending Northeastern University part-time and online to complete her master’s in bioinformatics. “It was not only about getting better at something, but I loved getting instant feedback. And now, I’ve just have fallen in love with meeting so many new people.”

She also loves sharing her most treasured style tips.

“Start with the basics,” Magro suggests. “Instead of getting four or five different white button downs that all fit a little different, just get one white button down that you love because then you’ll want to wear it, and you’ll find reasons and ways to incorporate it into outfits.”

And while her fans have been known to flock to her Instagram page for more style tips, Magro admits that she is still, in many ways, trying to find her own style. “I love having strong quality basics that focus on fit and material that will always look good,” explains Magro, who is currently planning yet another international trip this summer. “From there, I like to layer or fit my basics with pieces that I have fallen in love with. I don’t like to settle for items that are trendy or almost fit right, but items that are going to survive a trend. They look good on you because you gain confidence when you wear something you love.”

But when she can’t find that style or herself anymore, Magro heads home to Tower Lakes, often travelling to downtown Chicago for work trips to Neiman Marcus, local runway events, brand photoshoots, and test shooting with photographers who submit her photos to national and international magazines for publication.

And when she is not working, she enjoys taking a walk around the neighborhood. “I know all my neighbors’ first and last names, and I walk my dog around and I know everyone,” she shares. “No matter what I do, they can say, ‘I saw you on the cover of Country, but I also saw you when you were 10 years old, and you skinned your knee on my hill. (Laughs.) They ground me.”