OLIVIA JORDAN NEW YORK POST – NOVEMBER 2017 Modal Trigger Model Olivia Jordan — one of six open casting finalists for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — has two favorite assets . but they’re not what you’d expect. “My feet are my favorite part of my body,” the Tulsa, Oklahoma native, 29, says. They’ve carried her through a robust career so far. In 2015, Jordan was crowned Miss USA. She’s currently pursuing an acting career — she’s appeared in “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” and Lifetime’s “Unreal.” And, of course, she’s done some foot modeling on the side. But, growing up, Jordan wasn’t always confident about her body and described herself as a “tall, awkwardly lanky and insecure.” She ended up going to a modeling workshop at 14 years old for a self-esteem boost. And when she showed up to meetings with casting agents who told her to lose weight, she says she pulled out copies of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and said, “These girls looked like me and there’s a place for me in the industry,” Jordan says. “I don’t have to fit into a box.” Meanwhile, her ultimate goal is to be an all-around entertainer. “I’d love to have a career like Tyra Banks’ and Christie Brinkley’s,” she says. HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 https://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/11/olivia-jordan-sports-illustrated-model/ Olivia Jordan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know By S.M. Walsh Actress, model and Miss USA 2015 Olivia Jordan attends the SI Swimsuit 2018 Model Search celebration and preview of the Sports Illustrated Swim and Active Collection at Mr. Purple in Hotel Indigo LES November 1, 2017 in New York City. Olivia Jordan is ready to make her mark on the world. The 29-year-old actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder is one of six finalists in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue this year. Jordan was one of six women selected from a pool of 5,000 applicants. The other five include Allie Ayers, Iyonna Fairbanks, Olivia Jordan, Haley Kalil, Camille Kostek and Tabria Majors. All six women will appear in the 2018 issue as model search contestants. Here’s what we know about Olivia Jordan. 1. She Was Miss USA 2015 Olivia was Miss World United States 2013 and was named Miss USA on July 12, 2015. As Miss USA, she was the 2nd runner up to Miss Universe 2015. She is the first woman from Oklahoma to be crowned Miss USA. As a model, she’s been featured in national campaigns for retailers like Target, David’s Bridal, and in magazines like Cosmopolitan, Shape and Maxim. HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 The model has found that with more success has come more opportunity. She tells Tulsa World, “I’m just blessed that opportunities keep coming my way… I remember being asked as a 10-year- old what I wanted to be and saying I wanted to be an actress and a model. And I think that was my early goal because of all the shows we went to, seeing people I knew doing creative things with their lives. It made me realize how the arts are something that really brings us all together. HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 2. She Graduated from Boston University According to her IMDB page, Olivia graduated from Boston University, where she majored in Health Science and worked as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at BU’s FITREC facility. Growing up in Tulsa, Jordan was exposed to and heavily involved in the arts. In an interview with Tulsa World, she shared, “I fear I took it for granted in a way because I can’t think of a time in my life when the arts weren’t a part of my life… It was just an integral part of my childhood — going with my parents to visit the museums, taking art classes at Philbrook, going to shows at the Performing Arts Center. And the schools I went to — Monte Cassino and Bishop Kelley — both had great music and art classes. So it was all around me, and I know it pushed me into pursuing a creative life of my own.” HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 3. She Is an Aspiring Actress Along with modeling, Jordan hopes to find success as an actress. She was a party guest in Ted in 2012, and she also played Jessica in two episodes of Murder in the First. In Hot Tub Time Machine, she played a bridesmaid. Jordan says that the interaction between acting and modeling can be both a help and a hindrance. She tells Tulsa World, “There is a huge stereotype associated with the pageant world that you have to overcome… There was a top film producer that my agent had been trying for a long time to arrange a meeting, but he kept saying he didn’t have the time. Then, when I was Miss USA, he wanted to meet — although the first thing he said was, ‘I just don’t understand this pageant thing — it’s got nothing to do with acting.” She continues, “On the other hand, there are those who appreciate the accomplishment, who realize that you’re someone who’s willing to work hard and do what’s necessary to accomplish something.” HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 4. Her Feet Are Her Favorite Part of Her Body In a recent interview with the New York Post, Jordan joked, “My feet are my favorite part of my body.” At 5’11”, Jordan admits that being tall has not always been easy. Speaking to the New York Post, she describes her teenage self as “tall, awkwardly lanky, and insecure.” At 14, she enrolled in a modeling workshop. Speaking to the outlet about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search, Jordan recently said, “I have always dreamed of being an SI swimsuit model, which has led me to follow the Instagram accounts of the magazine, photographers and creative director for years. One week, I saw all platforms posting about an opportunity to submit an application for a model search via Instagram and I knew I had to take the chance. I posted a video, tagged #SISwimSearch and crossed my fingers.” HEAVY – NOVEMBER 2017 5. She Helped Get the HOPE Act for Alzheimer’s Passed in Congress Jordan is an advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association, and according to People, she sites one of her biggest accomplishments to date as getting the HOPE Act for Alzheimer’s passed in Congress. Tulsa World reports that Olivia worked with her father to speak with US senators about how the HOPE Act for Alzheimer’s “would increase access to information on care and support for newly diagnosed individuals and their families.” Jordan shares, “Just to be there with my dad, trying to accomplish this huge thing, and being able to use my title as a way to gain access to certain people, was one of the highlights of my time as Miss USA.” She has also been involved in Smile Train, and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Jordan is also an outstanding advocate of Children of the Night, an organization dedicated to getting children out of prostitution in the US. SI SWIMSUIT – JULY 2017 https://www.si.com/swim-daily/2017/07/26/olivia-jordan-si-swimsuit-open-casting-call-top-15 SI Swimsuit Open Casting Call Top 15: Olivia Jordan Kelsey Hendrix Mon Jul 31, 2017 It's that time of year again! SI Swimsuit Casting Call season is upon us, and you're in for a real treat. For the first time ever, we held an open casting call to find our next big star. After receiving thousands of Instagram submissions from women around the world, we invited 35 finalists to SI's Brooklyn offices for an in-person interview and photo shoot. From there, it wasn't easy, but we narrowed down the list our Top 15, who made history during Miami Swim Week as they walked the runway in SI's first branded swimwear show. So how about we get to know your Top 15 a little better? First up is the gorgeousOlivia Jordan! SI SWIMSUIT – JULY 2017 Here's one of our favorite moments with Olivia during Miami Swim Week: SI SWIMSUIT – JULY 2017 And here's a look at Olivia in our new SI Swimsuit-branded swimwear: Taylor Ballantyne Taylor Ballantyne SI SWIMSUIT – JULY 2017 Enjoy some more photos of Olivia below, and be sure to keep coming back to Swim Daily to learn more about our #SISwimSearch Top 15! SI SWIMSUIT – JULY 2017 TULSA WORLD – MAY 2017 For Olivia Jordan, being involved in the arts was simply a part of growing up in Tulsa. “I fear I took it for granted in a way because I can’t think of a time in my life when the arts weren’t a part of my life,” the former Miss USA said. “It was just an integral part of my childhood — going with my parents to visit the museums, taking art classes at Philbrook, going to shows at the Performing Arts Center. “And the schools I went to — Monte Cassino and Bishop Kelley — both had great music and art classes,” she said. “So it was all around me, and I know it pushed me into pursuing a creative life of my own.” Jordan will be in Tulsa this weekend as the keynote speaker of the Arts Alliance Tulsa “Play Your Part” Brunch, one of the major fundraising efforts of the city’s united arts fund. TULSA WORLD – MAY 2017 The funds raised during the “Play Your Part” campaign will go toward operational grants the alliance awards to its 40-member group.