A photographer, modeling coach, director and performing arts teacher, Tracy Whiteside has been in the entertainment and fashion business for over 25 years.
As a child and teen, Tracy studied acting, singing and modeling. On stage, she appeared as Nancy in “Oliver!”, Hodel in “Fiddler On The Roof”, Maria in the “Sound Of Music” at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Wendy in “Peter Pan” and Anna in “The King and I”.
Tracy earned her BA in Fashion Merchandising at Ray Vogue College of Design in Chicago. With a GPA of 4.0/4.0, she was class valedictorian and began her fashion career with Saks Fifth Avenue. She worked as a Buyer, Merchandise Manager and Stylist for Spiegel Catalog for 12 years, and was also responsible for choosing the footwear and accessories for the clothing in all the catalogs. As Merchandise Manager and Fashion Director for G. H. Bass and Famous Footwear, Tracy continued to perfect her craft. At Bellini, Tracy held the position of International Managing Director of the Bellini brands. Her diverse background spans all ethnicities and age groups. Returning to her first love, Tracy opened a modeling and acting school and agency in the New York area. She built this performing arts franchise business from $0 to $1 million. Her award-winning agency’s clients included MTV, Nickelodeon, Ogilvy and Mather Advertising and Court TV. Tracy modified existing class lecture material and developed new instructional curricula that resulted in her election to the corporate franchise advisory board.
As owner and operator of the school and agency, Tracy was a licensed talent agent and taught workshops for ages 4 to 64 in modeling, acting, makeup, fashion, image and self-improvement.
Tracy has trained Elite, Wilhelmina and Ford models. Her students have appeared in many magazines including Details, Fitness, Teen Vogue, More, People, TV Guide and Cosmopolitan. Her models have walked the designer runways in New York, Paris and Milan. Tracy also trained “Miss Preteen New Jersey 2005”, “Miss Preteen USA 2006” and “Mrs. New Jersey 2005”.
Her actors and singers have been on Broadway, in films, on TV and in commercials. Tracy’s students have appeared on MTV, Nickelodeon, “Forensic Files”, “Sesame Street” and “The O.C”, among others. The countless TV commercial credits include Tide, Sieman’s Furniture, Coke and Chucky Cheese. Tracy’s students can be seen in films such as “The Stepford Wives”, “The Interpreter”, “Loverboy”, “Over The Mountain”, “Hitch”, “In Her Shoes” and many, many others.
Tracy began her photography career 5 years ago out of necessity. Unable to find a suitable replacement after her good friend and favorite photographer, Statia Molewski, moved on to bigger projects, Tracy found herself behind the camera taking headshots and modeling photos. Now back in Chicago, Tracy indulges her passion for photography by working not only with actors and models, but also with anyone that will allow her to photograph them. Her professional clients include Six78th Magazine, Seventeen, Reader's Digest, SHL Group, Pheasant Run Resort, Noble Fool Theatricals, Brio Magazine, CNN.com, Tiny Prints, Shutterstock.com and other stock photography agencies.
In addition to working as a freelance photographer and writer, Tracy teaches performing arts at Elgin College and Christian Youth Theatre. Now serving as the Education Manager at Noble Fool Theatricals at Pheasant Run Resort, Tracy directs children’s musicals and is responsible for the development and staffing of the Performing Arts Academy program. As a Board Member of First Street Playhouse, she was the Educational Committee Chairperson, the Volunteer Committee Chairperson and directed and produced plays at the theatre.
She now lives in the Chicago area with her handsome husband, two gorgeous children and two naughty cats.