Talladega native Julie Love-Templeton is one of the 10 finalists for "She's Got the Look," a modeling competition for women over age 35. The program begins Aug. 25 at 9 p.m.on TVLand and airs over a six week period on consecutive Wednesdays.
You’ll see her in a hot red satin number with a flared tiered skirt and cinched waist, her hair styled in a Mohawk, eyes fixed in a glare at the camera.
There were photo shoots of her wearing a flouncy tangerine cocktail dress, gold stiletto heels and cropped blonde hair.
The “looks” are all part of Talladega native Julie Love-Templeton’s newest venture, into the world of fashion modeling, and one she laughs about in comparison to her normal attire more suited for the courtroom and her legal profession.
“It was just great to get to do something that is such a polar opposite of what I normally do every day,” she said. “I have to be so conservative.”
On a whim, Templeton took part in the national search for participants for the television series “She’s Got the Look,” a modeling competition for women over age 35, when its producers held tryouts in Memphis earlier this year.
Now, she’s one of the 10 finalists chosen to compete in the upcoming season for a contract with Wilhelminia Models and a photo spread in Self Magazine, along with the many other possibilities that could come following a win.
Just 36, Templeton barely made the age cut.
She made a comment to her husband about how much she loved the show and about the auditions, and the next day, he had a hotel reservation for her trip to Memphis.
Although Templeton has never done professional modeling, she does have certain credentials that made her a likely candidate for the tryout.
In 2005, Templeton was crowned Mrs. America and went on to be third runner-up in the Mrs. World competition, held in India.
Before that, her only other real life experience that came even close to the modeling tryout was being named Miss Motorsports at the Talladega Superspeedway as a teenager in 1995.
“I have to explain to people that’s a big deal in Talladega,” she said.
Thousands of women auditioned for “She’s Got the Look” in four U.S. cities, said Mitchell Squires, publicist for TVLand, which produces the program, now in its third season.
The new season starts Aug. 25 and continues for six consecutive Wednesdays.
The 10 finalists lived together in Los Angeles for duration of the competition, working in photo shoots, a video shoot and in high-fashion runway shows.
The experience was hard to prepare for, Templeton said.
“You never knew what you were going to do,” she said.
The professional photo stylists and producers made those decisions, Templeton said.
“It was like getting to be a character that has nothing to do with the real you,” she said.
Throughout the process, Templeton had the pleasure of trying on couture gowns and all kinds of top designer clothes for the shoots.
“I noticed right away there weren’t any price tags showing,” she said. “And we all know what that means — these were clothes that if you had to ask the price, you couldn’t afford them anyway.”
Modeling is something Templeton said she’s always wanted to try.
“It was on my bucket list, you could say,” she said. “And it was an opportunity that really just fell into my lap.”
Templeton jokes about being a bit of a tomboy growing up, and still claims to be a bull in a china shop.
“No amount of coaching could make me look graceful,” she said. “But we got a lot of instruction in every aspect of modeling.”
Templeton said she was lucky that her career, along with her family, made it possible for her to take time off for the program.
“Having the best husband in the world and the best paralegal in the world was important,” she said.
Once she made the final 10, Templeton had to be able to take off for Los Angeles without notice.
“Everyone had decided I’d gone to rehab, I think,” she said. “I just told them I hadn’t been when I got back.”
Templeton is the daughter of Talladega attorney Betty Love and the late Huel Love. She is a graduate of Coosa Valley Academy and the University of Alabama. She received her juris doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law.
She has been in private practice for 10 years in Tuscaloosa, where she lives with her husband and 11-year-old son.
Looking back on the experience, Templeton said her take on life has been substantiated.
“As long as you can dream, you should still try to do the things you dream about,” she said. “And I would like to remind everyone that there should be no expiration date on your dreams.”
Templeton said her take on life has been substantiated.
“As long as you can dream, you should still try to do the things you dream about,” she said. “And I would like to remind everyone that there should be no expiration date on your dreams.”
