County special place for model

Everyday young people hear that they can do and be anything they want, and one former beauty queen who has ties to Franklin County is living proof that dreams really do come true.

Tara Darby, who spent every summer and holiday in Russellville visiting family, has achieved success as a beauty queen by winning Miss Alabama USA in 2004 and going on to place as a Top 10 finalist at the Miss USA pageant in Los Angeles; she has achieved success in the entertainment industry by becoming a model, actress and TV host and by winning the NBC show Fear Factor in 2004; and she has achieved success as an entrepreneur by co-owning and operating a pageant and entertainment training business called Sashes & Crowns.

Darby actually grew up just outside of Birmingham and graduated from Oak Mountain High School in 2000, but she said her fondest memories are from when she visited her family in Russellville.

Darby is the niece of Mayor Troy Oliver and his wife, Brenda, and her 94-year-old grandmother, Rachel Thornton, has a home near downtown. Darby also has other aunts, uncles and cousins who she grew up with in Franklin County.

Darby said she received tremendous support from her tight-knit family and received so much of her training while she was in the area.

Darby now lives in Los Angeles where she works as a model, TV host and actress, but she said her heart will always be in North Alabama because that’s where her family is.

“Often times in interviews on TV or on the red carpet, I am asked about how I got my start, and I get a surprised response when I tell them Russellville, Ala.,” Darby said. “My first pageant coach lived there, I would order gowns locally, and my mother and aunts would help me with walking.”

Darby first decided she wanted to pursue modeling and pageants when she was in middle school, and she signed with her first agent when she was 14 years old. During the summers and holidays she spent in Russellville, she began to focus on her dream of modeling, acting and becoming a beauty queen.

“One of my pageant coaches, Willodean Davis, lived within walking distance of my grandma’s house,” Darby said. “My aunt, Annette, would order dresses for me since she owns The Wagon Wheel downtown. My aunt, Brenda, was a big help because we would practice singing at her house and practice our walking. Uncle Troy helped me make my audition tape for Fear Factor and my cousin, Laura Beth Oliver, competed in pageants as well, so it was fun for us to support each other.”

Darby said as a young girl she loved to be on stage singing and dancing so she decided to turn that love into a way to fund her higher education since competing in pageants would sometimes net scholarship money.

“I love the career path I’ve chosen, but I know that my education has helped me be a success,” Darby said. “I’m happy that I completed my college degree in liberal arts from the University of Houston-Downtown.”

Darby was hooked after that first pageant and even though she has had a successful pageant career, she remembers that she didn’t always win them all.

“In 2000 I won my first pageant, Miss Oak Mountain High School. Then in 2004 I won Miss Alabama USA,” Darby said. “But let’s not forget about the dozen or so pageants that I didn’t win in between.

“Competing helped me gain confidence, learn poise and presence, helped me improve my speaking and interviewing skills and it taught me to be a gracious winner and a gracious loser. So many life lessons were gained through competing.”

Darby is currently passing those lessons on to other young women who have the same dreams as she did. She and her business partner and best friend, Cristina Nardozzi, train girls through Sashes & Crowns who want to compete in pageants, have modeling careers, or become actresses or TV hosts.

“I always tell other girls to start right where they are because you can learn so much, as I did, by being on the drama team at school, creating mock-photo shoots with friends or local photographers, or modeling for local vendors. Experience is everything,” Darby said. “ I don’t recommend that these girls just move to LA or New York City without experience so when I am coaching these girls, we work on getting them that experience.

“Cristina and I are firm believers that if you can make it in a local market, then it’s more feasible that you can make it in a large market like L.A.”

Darby said pageants were an excellent springboard for her career in entertainment and even today, she and Nardozzi make appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and Entertainment Tonight as beauty and pageant experts.

Darby is living in the fast lane in Los Angeles and she has traveled to places like South Africa, China, Barbados and England through television shows she has hosted, but when all is said and done, North Alabama is where she hangs her hat.

“My roots grow deep in Russellville and now, living in the big city of L.A, its even more important for me to remember where I come from and who I am,” Darby said. “I loved making the drive from Birmingham to Russellville with my mom and step-dad, Kathy and Steve Gray, and my sister, Haley Gray, listening to my mom’s stories of growing up on the farm and what life was like with my aunts and cousins.

“Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by family and good home-cooked southern food, and Mamaw makes the best cornbread dressing, coconut pies and dumplings that I’ve ever had.

“Life seems a little more idyllic, simple and slower-paced in Russellville than living in the city. And sometimes my soul just craves that.

“Every time I go home to Russellville I love to stop by The Frosty Inn, shop at The Wagon Wheel, go to the double feature at King Drive-In, get some barbecue at Pilgrim’s and go for a run through downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. The air just seems sweeter there.”

Darby said she plans to make a trip to Russellville this summer to see her family and she hopes to meet up with some of her local clients.

“Every time I come home I schedule training sessions and boot camps with my clients,” Darby said. “I love helping local girls get their start like I did.”

Girls who are interested in knowing more about pageant coaching or entertainment training can contact Darby at sashesandcrowns@gmail.com or by visiting www.sashesandcrowns.com.