Most people don’t cry when they see an advertisement at the mall.
But Alexia Rivera, 20, of Huntington Station felt her cheeks grow wet the first time she saw a larger-than-life photograph of herself hanging in the window of Sephora at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station.
“That was tears of joy,” she says. Alexia’s journey to the window was different from most models: She has Down syndrome — or what she likes to call Up syndrome — and so wasn’t sure whether this career would be in the cards.
Yet less than a year after taking a shot, Alexia is now featured in the skin care, hair care, and makeup store’s worldwide in-store and digital holiday campaign. The ad shows Alexia along with her mother, Alexandria, 54, with the tag line, “Give Something Beautiful.” In addition to being in Sephora stores, it is also in Sephora areas of Kohl’s department stores. “When I first saw it at Kohl’s, I felt like I had to hide behind the sweatshirt rack,” Alexandria says. “We didn’t anticipate it to be such a huge photo. It’s a giant banner.”
Alexia is also featured in a CVS Beauty soial media marketing campaign this fall that and a campaign for The Sims virtual reality video game clothing and merchandise that launched in November. And she has projects lined up that she says she can’t yet reveal.
MODEL, BARISTA, LIBRARIAN
Alexia says her role model is Ellie Goldstein, a British model with Down syndrome who has worked on campaigns for Nike and Gucci. When Alexia saw Goldstein’s photo on the cover of a book about her life called “Against All Odds,” she exclaimed with delight, “She has my face!”
“She used to always say she wanted to be a model, a barista and a librarian,” Alexandria says of Alexia, who has long, brown hair with blonde highlights and light brown eyes under her fashionable Jonas Paul tortoiseshell glasses. “When I finally decided to retire from working, I thought, ‘Now I can help her with her modeling dream.’” Alexandria worked as a senior vice president of design in Manhattan prior to retiring 18 months ago; in January, Alexandria approached the same modeling agency that represents Goldstein, Zebedee Inclusive Talent Agency, about representing Alexia.
Alexia had to submit a portfolio of photographs, create an Instagram account (@alexia.eve.irene) and have an in-person interview. “We were first drawn to Alexia’s beautiful smile and the upbeat, positive energy she radiates,” Victoria Wilson of Zebedee said in an email. “It was a no-brainer that we had to sign her to Zebedee.”
By April, Alexia scored her first job, for CVS Beauty. The Sephora ad shot over three days in June; Sephora worked around Alexia’s schedule so that she could still attend a prom she’d been invited to, Alexandria says.
It was a surprise to Alexandria and Alexia that they were both cast for the Sephora ad. Sephora was looking for duos — mother/daughter, two sisters, a married couple. “To do it as a mother/daughter, that was really magical to me,” Alexandria says. Alexia calls her mom her “bestie.”
‘WIN FOR OUR COMMUNITY’
When she’s not modeling, Alexia attends Walt Whitman High School’s Life Skills program for students with mild to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, which she can attend until she is 22. “I talk to a lot of students about their goals after high school and in life,” says Michelle Siragusa, transition and vocational specialist for the program. “To see that come to fruition even before she has left high school has been truly amazing.”
Alexia also attends job coaching at Gregorys Coffee in Melville. She takes acting classes, has been a member of the Walt Whitman High School varsity dance team and participates in a boxing program for kids with special needs at the gym her father, Eddie, 54, owns in East Northport.
Alexia Rivera, 20, of Huntington Station trains with her dad, Eddie Rivera, at his East Northport boxing gym, Dec. 21. Credit: Danielle Silverman
“I like dancing. I dance when I’m happy. I feel a ray of happiness inside of me. I like jazz and hip hop,” Alexia says. “I love to read books; I’m a bookworm.” Alexia is also looking forward to being a bridesmaid in July in her older brother Brandon’s wedding; she says she’ll wear an olive dress.
The modeling experience has taught Alexia social skills, given her practice interacting with neurotypical people, boosted her confidence and forced her to advocate for herself, Alexandria says. And she says it’s great for the neurodiverse community to see companies valuing one of their own.
“They’re showcasing it the same way they would showcase an ad with neurotypical models,” Alexandria says of the Sephora ad. “It’s a win for our community.”
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
