With a Princeton architecture degree and a third-place finish in Maxim magazine's "Hometown Hotties" competition behind her, Vail Bloom '04 is making a name for herself in Hollywood.
Bloom moved to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue acting. She now lives with two of her Princeton classmates in a beach house in Santa Monica, Calif.
"This city is so crazy, but I love it," she said.
In Los Angeles, Bloom attends acting auditions and enjoys a new passion for screen-writing and photo shoots — which she said are "not her focus."
"I am co-writing a romantic comedy for a Universal feature film," she said. "I got a job with a director, we pitched our idea to Universal and they loved it. It's not finished yet."
Bloom also worked as a nonspeaking extra in a pilot show called "Head Cases," starring Chris O'Donnell and Rachel Leigh Cook.
Bloom said her Princeton degree can be either a positive or a negative when she auditions for parts.
"Princeton breeds assertive, articulate and confident women," she said. "I come across a lot older than my age. I needed to temper my Princeton language in auditions for younger parts because you want to come here as young as possible. My manager takes Princeton off of my resume sometimes."
One of Bloom's roommates, Erica Hahn '04, is a public relations officer for the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. Hahn said Bloom has already proven herself in the entertainment industry.
"Vail already has an agent and is going for lead roles in pilot shows," she said. "Having an agent after such a short time is unbelievable. People who have been in theater school all of their lives might not even have agents."
Day-today life, Bloom said, is "very last-minute" and "not conventional."
She wakes up each morning at a different time, depending on her schedule. Bloom then checks her messages to see what auditions her manager and agent have set up for that day.
"The most notice I have ever gotten for an audition was 48 hours," she said.
Bloom runs through her lines for the day's auditions before getting in her car to attend from one to as many as four appointments.
By attending several acting classes once or twice a week for six hours, Bloom squeezes some time into her busy schedule to advance her acting skills.
In one class, she said, she practices "classically comedic" sitcom acting, while in other classes, she learns about finding the core of a character and relating to it.
"We may get the scene five minutes before, then put it up in front of the camera, get critiqued, and then put it up again," she said.
Acting in front of the camera in class, she said, is "a lot harder than you think."
"It is very emotional and tiring most of the time," she said. "When you get into a character who is hysterically crying, you can get emotionally drained from the inside."
Bloom added that people in her classes learn the most from each other.
"You can find a lot of brilliance in other people's work," she said.
Following her Maxim debut, Bloom said she has declined offers from other magazines of the same genre.
"I've gotten calls from FHM, Stuff and Maxim again," she said. "I don't do those anymore."
Hahn sees the same ambitious drive in Bloom that she had in her years at Princeton.
"Vail sets her goals so high, and she doesn't feel she has gone far enough yet," she said. "In this industry, actors have so little control, but she is modeling, doing commercial acting, taking amazing acting classes and hanging out with Adam Sandler and actors from 'The O.C.' "
Bloom's mother, Cindy Bloom, said she understands her daughter's motivation and dreams. "She is so happy and healthy there," she said.
Despite her demanding schedule and the annoyance of Los Angeles traffic, Bloom said she will continue her acting and modeling in the years to come.
"I can't imagine doing anything else," she said. "I'll be in L.A. indefinitely. Here, you struggle for a while, but the payoff is huge."
Related stories
— Bloom takes third in Maxim contest (March 10, 2004)Read More
Dean of Graduate School hosts TigerSide Chat to celebrate 125th anniversary
Ambre Van de VeldePriestley highlighted Princeton’s continued leadership in graduate education, noting four new PhD programs just within the past three years: biophysics, bioengineering, quantum science, and material science engineering.
Priestley highlighted Princeton’s continued leadership in graduate education, noting four new PhD programs just within the past three years: biophysics, bioengineering, quantum science, and material science engineering.
‘I thought someone was playing a prank on me’: Princeton releases early action decisions for the Class of 2030
Hayk Yengibaryan and Benedict HooperConsistent with past practice, the University did not release data on the number of students admitted through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA).
Consistent with past practice, the University did not release data on the number of students admitted through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA).
Newest minors include Computing, Society and Policy, forthcoming Education Studies
Haeon LeeThe faculty meeting on Dec. 1 saw a unanimous vote to establish a new minor in Education Studies, following the approval of the minor in Computing, Society, and Policy at the end of last spring semester.
The faculty meeting on Dec. 1 saw a unanimous vote to establish a new minor in Education Studies, following the approval of the minor in Computing, Society, and Policy at the end of last spring semester.