December 01, 2014

Curvy Girl December: Dellany Peace

This month Curvy Couture recognizes Dellany Peace as Curvy Girl December. In 2012, Curvy girl activist Dellany Peace grew tired of being an actress. More specifically, she grew tired of the confines within which an actress of her proportions seemed destined to spend her life. From her earliest acting, dancing & singing pursuits in her home state of North Carolina, to her migration to conservatory and stage in New York City, and throughout her adventures in L.A. film and television, Dellany has endured the same frustrating chorus from the mainstream: "You aren’t pretty enough." "You aren’t thin enough." "Your hair is too curly." "Your hair is the wrong color." "You're too 'character' to be a lead." "You're too 'pretty' to be a character." "You're too tall." "You're too curvy." "You stand out too much." "You smile too much." "You're TOO DIFFERENT." Fueled by a powerful mix of frustration and determination, Dellany decided to take the matter into her own hands and set out to create something herself… a show that she could cast herself in regardless of what she looked like. Dellany co-created, co-produced, co-wrote & co-starred in a comedy web series called 2 Hopeful Spinsters (featuring Michael Madsen) that went on to win numerous prestigious awards, garnering press attention and helping women begin to embrace the radical concept that they can be simultaneously 'different' and 'happy'. The positive response to her storytelling galvanized Dellany toward more outside-the-box thinking. Why stop with only one story? Why not create a whole universe of stories designed to empower the silent, suffering female majority? Dellany embraces the potential to successfully shift traditional Hollywood behavior towards curvy women. “Right now more than ever there is an underground rumbling for a Curvy Revolution in our society. Our culture has gone long enough to try to meet industry standards and fit millions of women of all shapes & sizes into one supermodel box. In today’s world, we have quickly spiraled with no end in sight into a shaming society. There is shaming for every difference a person could have out there. From racism, to homophobia and obesity - to showing no compassion to people with special needs, our culture is focusing more on why everyone should be ashamed to just be themselves and less on their education, ethics, environment or real world issues.”

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO LEAVE YOUR MARK IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE

Born & raised in North Carolina, Dellany shared a lower income, single-parent household with three other siblings, including one who required extreme neurological care. Her conservative community was particularly intolerant of a single mother and a special-needs daughter. As a result, Dellany learned to endure shaming early in life. “My siblings & I were bullied on a regular basis all throughout school. Why? We had an independent mother who never re-married. We also didn’t have a lot of money or nice things. Because we had a sister with special needs - and none of us were considered thin. If it wasn’t one thing it was another. To help distract us from all the pessimism at school, my Mama put my siblings and I in numerous after school activities. My favorite ones were all the creative classes, of course (!), especially dance class with mentor dance instructor Sheryl Patton (owner of Dance Connection). It was my sanctuary; a haven where I truly felt 100% safe & free to be ME. My Mama encouraged me to venture into the creative world outside of all the bullying & shaming was something that ended up saving my life, paved my future and made me who I am today. She always encouraged me to pursue my goals and be a proud independent woman fighting for others - and to ignore all the naysayers; use their negativity to push me further along and work harder.” Dellany is inspired by not only her own personal and professional endeavors but by hearing & responding to the outcries from multitudes of women who are over a size 6 and thwarted by Hollywood’s influence by not being represented properly on film, TV, magazines or the internet. “When watching a feature film or a TV show, have you ever wondered to yourself - why aren’t there more people who look like me in this story? As a female artist I have become increasingly exasperated at how my gender, body type and overall looks have been portrayed in art and storytelling. Because of this, I have decided to meet the challenge head on and change the stereotypes.” “I want to deliver a new message to the masses, emphasizing on how women are being portrayed so females of all shapes, sizes, colors and age can finally see themselves represented on screen. I wanted to give birth to female characters that could pass the Bechdel test. I’m a woman, a curvy woman. And I'm always astounded by the lack of characters in TV and movies who look anything remotely like me, or anyone I know. Our entertainment culture has a long history of promoting an extremely narrow-minded female image. Most of us, if we're honest, are aware of this - but after a decade of acting and waiting for the phone to ring - I’ve made up my mind to go a step further and do something about the scarcity of female heroes with whom I can actually identify with.” Dellany decided the next logical step was to start her own Production Company: Scarlett Gale Media. “Scarlett Gale Media has been formed in order to create and produce new, engaging female-driven content that all women can enjoy. Through many empowering stories, I will comment and deal with this ongoing issue - where we are unable to accept our natural physical appearances which cause stress, anxiety, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, mental illness, depression and can lead to suicide. My projects will have the underlying message that it is an extraordinary thing to accept and love yourself for who you are. Beauty is only skin deep and if you peel back the layers, you will find that you have your own unique quality that makes you, YOU. There is no need to change your outside appearance to become the most amazing version of yourself, you only have to look within to see the amazing you that was there all along. You have the power to leave your mark on this earth - and it has nothing to do with what you look like.” WHAT’S UP NEXT: Dellany is currently in pre-production for four new web-to-TV series, all of which are focused on female empowerment, gender equality and original concepts. She also just finished directing her first music video (currently in post production) for the all girl rock band Frantic Ginger with lead singer/bassist Nicki Tedesco and Viral YouTuber guitarist Jen Trani. Dellany recently provided voice acting in ‘Pink & Blue’, a live/animated short promoting gender equality, starring Levar Burton and Darryl Hannah. Dellany is a series regular on the hit web talk show Go Curvy with host Sherry Lee Meredith. She was just featured as a special guest on the podcast Ginger & The Brain, where she spoke about her experience in the film industry and how women are viewed and treated. Dellany has appeared in several modeling and print ads for respective apparel companies. Dellany is very fortunate to be represented by an incredible & one of a kind agent who accepts her for who she is: Carol Elsner with AMT Artists. For bookings & gigs contact: carol.amtartists@gmail.com Connect with Dellany via:

For her motivation and enthusiasm, Dellany Peace is our December Curvy Girl. Are you our next Curvy Girl of the Month? Click here to enter for a chance to win a free lingerie wardrobe and be featured on curvycouture.com

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