Chicago P.D. star Tracy Spiridakos, 38, recalled that when she was 17, she won a modeling contest and traveled to a modeling agency meeting with one of her brothers
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At the agency, they took Polaroid pictures of her and circled all her body flaws with a Sharpie
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“They said, ‘You have to lose weight here, here, and here if you want to do this,'” she recounted on Monday’s episode of the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast
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The agents told her, “She’s pretty for guy-meets-girl kind of pretty, but if she wants to make it in this industry, she’s got to lose weight”
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The comment left a lasting scar on the young woman.
“Those places on my body that they circled – and it’s been a long time – I still see those things in the mirror and I see those flaws, even though they’re not flaws,” she admitted
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Her brother was very protective and got defensive, saying to the agents, “You guys brought her out here. You told her she won this contest and now you’re telling her that she needs to lose weight?”
Spiridakos and her brother walked out of the agency, and he told her, “‘You’re not modeling anymore'”
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“I’m telling mom, you’re done,” he said
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After leaving, they sat in their motel room with beers and burgers
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“You’re such a young age and so impressionable at 17,” she said. “I have to tell myself that that is not real, and to just love yourself and not care”
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“Don’t let anyone tell you how to live in your own body,” she concluded
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In the viral moment Spiridakos was recalling, the 17-year-old had just won a modeling contest and felt hopeful about entering the industry. Her brother accompanied her to the agency meeting, where she was asked to change into a bikini for photographs that the agents said would help with her profile.
When the Polaroid pictures were developed, the agents laid them out in front of her and used a Sharpie to circle areas of her body they deemed as problems. Their blunt criticism crushed her enthusiasm immediately.
The message was clear: her body wasn’t right for modeling. She felt humiliated and didn’t know how to respond in the moment. Her brother’s protective instinct kicked in, and he quickly decided the conversation was over—she would not be pursuing modeling.
Spiridakos opened up about this experience while promoting her new show Anna Pigeon on the podcast
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The series will premiere on August 7
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