Meet Mia Maugé | A model on a mission, a content creator, a public speaker, a voiceover artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mia Maugé and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
As a Content Creator, I’d say ‘authenticity’ hands down! I get called an Influencer, but I prefer to think of myself as a ‘Resonator’. I am on Instagram to connect. I create organic content with the sole intention of resonating with the connections I’ve made. To date my content isn’t structured… I usually have a thought that I want to share, and then create the content around that. Often it’s spontaneous. Yup most definitely authenticity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In 2020 at the age of 54, I was feeling riled at being ignored by beauty and fashion brands. Spending my money online and in store, surrounded by images of young models, with very little representation over 40. I decided to make my Instagram public. It had always been private with just a few hundred friends and family. I thought if I could connect with likeminded women and create a community maybe we could make change. So I put a call to action in my bio “Let’s create an authentic silver space for the next generation”, and I began posting about the lack of representation, and about things that I was experiencing as a midlife woman, like menopause. Within 4 weeks I got scouted by a number of model agencies. My immediate response was that I couldn’t be a model, I’m not 6 ft and size zero… with some thought I realised that I had to do it. I had the opportunity to be that representation I felt was missing. So I’ve been modelling since then, and it’s led to doing panel talks about age inclusivity, voice overs for brands, I’ve also morphed into a Content Creator, and last year appeared in the Disney film ‘The Little Mermaid’. Who would have thought you’d ever see a black, silver haired, curvy, middle aged mermaid on the big screen?!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in London, but I love LA. I’ve recently been scouted by an American agency so I’ll be spending a lot more time. My most recent trip to LA was spring last year for a modelling job. I stayed at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, which I loved. It has a swanky rootop pool with bar and restaurant great cocktails, food and service. I cycled from the hotel to Santa Monica Pier and then onto Venice Beach. My mum lived in LA in the 80s so I spent a lot of time there, and there was a busker that I recognised from those days still on the boardwalk playing his guitar on roller skates. Incredible! I have friends in Inglewood so we went to a couple of clubs there, I also have a British friend who is a comedian, he happened to be playing the Comedy Store on Sunset, so I went there to see him with a few new LA friends that I met on Instagram. That’s such a cool venue. Really intimate. The modelling job was a shoot in a remote spot in the Malibu Hills… the sunset was just beautiful! We also did a day shoot in Beverley Hills, definitely worth a visit too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would have to credit the late activist Darcus Howe. I’ve been best friends with his daughter since the age of 4. So, until he passed in 2017, he was a constant influence. He was the black British community’s spokesperson. From the 1970s until his passing, with his eye on equal rights and justice, he stood up to power and racism with eloquence and fire in equal measures. I would say he had the biggest influence on me in terms of speaking out, and working to create positive change. That activism has taken many forms in my life, currently it is age inclusivity and representation. That is the driving force for all the jobs I currently do. I like to think of myself as a ‘model on a mission’. At the age of 58, representation and inclusivity is what motivates me to do modelling.

Website: www.miamauge.com

Instagram: @miamauge

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