THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
September 8, 2010
cjnews.com
T
Page 73
And now for something completely different:
Fashion graphic designer moonlights
as an entertainment reporter in L.A.
By RITA POLIAKOV
Staff Reporter
Every now and then, the auditions would pay
off. Nadel has had roles in Relic Hunter, Style
by Jury and Electric Circus, in which she was
Some five years ago, a Thornhill, Ont., a dancer. But, as the designer learned in Los
native took a huge leap. Sheri
Angeles, nothing pays off more
Nadel, a fashion graphic dethan networking.
signer, had been working for
“You can be pretty smart, but
companies such as YM Inc.,
if you’re not good at networking,
which owns Stitches and Urban
you’ll have a hard time.”
Planet, and Fairweather, when
Nadel learned this at a fashion
she decided that she was up
show, where she noticed a few enagainst a brick wall.
tertainment reporters and started
“As a fashion person, you’re
up a conversation with one. At the
like, ‘Now what?’ It’s either New
end of the conversation, she got a
York or Los Angeles,” said Nadel,
business card for Real TV Films, an
31, a graduate of Ryerson Unientertainment company that posts
versity’s fashion and marketing
celebrity interviews online. Eventuprogram, where she learned to
ally, Nadel sent the organization a
Sheri Nadel
design prints and textiles for
demo reel and was asked to come
clothes. “I started applying to
in for a group entertainment-recompanies in New York, because L.A. was too porter audition.
far. I have family in New York.”
“I did about five interviews live on camera…
While applying for jobs, Nadel went to a job the first time, it’s nerve-racking,” she said.
fair, where she interviewed with everyone and But Nadel got past her nerves.
anyone, including BCBG Max Azria, a cloth“I [thought], ‘I’ll just be myself. I’ll talk to
ing company whose global headquarters are these people like they’re my friends,” she said
located in Los Angeles.
of the celebrities she interviewed.
“They said, ‘We’ll fly you in for an interAnd it paid off. Right now, Nadel works as a
view.’ I went, and I got the job. They said, fashion graphics designer by day and a free‘The job’s yours if you’re here in three weeks.
I did not know one person in L.A.… I’m so
close to my parents and my brother, it was
hard,” she said.
But Nadel knew that she had to take the
risk.
“I said, ‘Forget it. I’m just going to go… you
live once. That’s why you do it,” she said.
Nadel designed prints for BCBG for about
three years. Her job included tracking down
the latest fashions in Paris, Hong Kong or
Vegas.
“I shop the market, see what’s hot. I’m
shopping for my company,” said Nadel, adding
that she combines her natural fashion instincts
with research and foreign shopping to stay on
top of current styles.
Nadel eventually left BCBG to work for a
private label, where she’s a fashion graphic
designer/stylist.
But fashion wasn’t enough for the Canadian. Since childhood, Nadel had been interested in acting. In high school, Nadel studied
theatre and dance, making sure to participate
in any school fashion show she could.
“I wanted to go to acting school, but my
Jewish mother was like, ‘You need a backup
Sheri Nadel, a freelance entertainment
degree.’”
reporter, recently covered an event for Fox
So Nadel did acting on the side, auditioning
News 11.
for roles in Los Angeles whenever she could.
lance entertainment reporter/host for Real
TV Films at night. She’s interviewed Sylvester Stallone, Adrien Brody, Vivica A. Fox and
Eric Roberts. Some of them have been a little
intimidating.
“We’ve been to the big red carpets and interviewed the big A-listers. It can be nerveracking… Some are friendly, some aren’t.
You have to know how to break them down,”
she said.
Nadel has to walk a fine line while interviewing celebrities.
“You have to watch what you ask…[but] as
a reporter, I’d like to say I’m in control. It’s
my job to redirect them. They’re the star, but
you have to know where to cut them [off],”
she said.
One of Nadel’s most difficult experiences
on the red carpet happened when she interviewed Samuel L. Jackson.
“I prepared for him, I looked him up on
IMDB,” she said. “He comes rolling down
the carpet, he seems talkative, but when
I tried to break the ice, I got one-word
answers. I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, you’re
on camera. There’s press everywhere.’ You
have to be quick. I’m like, ‘I gotta make this
guy laugh.’”
So, thinking on her feet, Nadel reached for
an easy question.
“[I thought] we’re two people, let’s just
talk… I asked, ‘Who are you wearing?’ He’s
like, ‘Who are you wearing?’ I said, ‘Speechless [a fashion label] because I like to make
people speechless.’” And he laughed.
“He was really cool after that. He was a
hard one to crack,” Nadel said.
Through her Hollywood connections, Nadel
has walked red carpets as a guest, been to
magician Harry Houdini’s house and partied
at the Playboy Mansion.
“I’ve been way too many times. Usually, if
it’s a big party, girls have to submit pictures of
themselves – head shots and full body shots,”
she said.
Most recently, the entertainment reporter
worked for Fox News, even though she only
found out about the opportunity the day of
the event.
“I got the call at 4:30. They said, ‘We need
you here in two hours.’”
This was a problem. Nadel was at work at
the time, an hour away from the event.
“I had to make it happen. I drove an hour
home, got ready and I was there 7 p.m. on the
dot,” she said. “Everyone came to me because
I had the Fox News mike in my hand.”
For more information about Nadel, visit her
blog at www.thegossipjunkie.com.
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