Lauryn England pulls back the curtains exclusively with Gaye Magazine on her journey to success as a self-made business woman, model, artist and hairstylist. Lauryn's new reality tv show "Just Lauryn", in which she serves as executive producer, will be a landmark moment for television as it will showcase her journey as a trans woman within a religious and conservative family dynamic. The message will be clear in this show, “Self Love”.
“My number one goal with Just Lauryn would be self-love. If I can reach one person and teach that lesson then I have done my job on this earth.”
THE COMEUP
Lauryn grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and with the challenges of growing up in the deep south, it’s no surprise she hid her identity until she moved to Atlanta just 6 years ago.
“I really got to be myself when I moved to ATL.” Lauryn has always been business savvy as well as a talented hairstylist. She made it clear to us that when she made her shift to Atlanta it helped her sink her feet in the industry.
“I have to be my own boss, I only worked a 9-5 once and I quit in two weeks. Shoutout to anybody working a 9-5, make your money but it’s not for me."
Lauryn had been working as a hairstylist and selling hair through her company Rich Luxe Hair before she got her big break in the industry when singer K. Michelle DM’d her after she posted a parody of her wig getting snatched.
“I just posted a funny video of a scene with her getting her wig pulled and she thought it was funny,” she said with a smile.
“Next thing I know, I got a message from her saying, 'I need a wig tomorrow for the Love and Hip Hop ATL Reunion', I replied and said, 'Tomorrow!'." Lauryn immediately jumped on the opportunity and slayed her.
Her work on K. Michelle then caught the eyes of NeNe Leakes, which later led to her slaying many others such as Malaysia Pargo, Keyshia Cole and Joseline Hernandez.
LETS KEEP IT REAL
"Just Lauryn" will not be her first time on screen. She appeared on the hit YouTube-based reality TV series “Chasing: Atlanta”. Chasing ATL showcases the lives of LGBTQ+ people living in Atlanta as they navigate entrepreneurship. We wanted to know how she found that opportunity.
“It’s funny how I found out about Chasing ATL because I found it on Jack'd”.
When asked about the experience she went to say, “Everyone wasn’t an entrepreneur on the show and just wanted drama, and I was bigger than that.”
She further shared, “If you want to be on a reality show, you need to open up and show your 9 to 5 as well as your upcoming business. Let people see your hustle because you don’t know who you’re inspiring."
As Lauryn sat in the makeup chair getting ready for the "Just Lauryn" premiere party, we asked “Why is this show important to you?”
“This show is/was important for me to film because I had been transitioning for a year off and on. Filming my journey pushed me into finalizing my transition. I felt like I needed to do this on camera to really become the person you see today.“
Lauryn spoke about family and how important family is as she’s very close to her father as for he's been the most supportive.
“I knew my transition would be the reason a lot of relationships would go sour in my life and I’m okay with that....My father is very supportive, however my sister and mother are not at this current time.”
When asked to further elaborate she went to say, “You know I have a two year old nephew and I don’t get to see him because my sister won’t allow me to be myself due to her viewing of “influence”, I don’t have to see him so I’ll wait for the right time.”
Despite her challenges with her family, Lauryn's confidence is through the roof and we wanted to know how did she achieve it.
“There are so many black trans and queer people who experience what I have experienced and my advice is “Don’t Give A F***”; when you start to care too much about what other people think, you devalue yourself and you have to love yourself.”
Some of the best advice we have heard this year.
Lauryn's premiere party for her new show took place last night (Oct. 17) at Sovereign Sweets in Atlanta. The venue hosted their first red carpet, which was sponsored by the owner and LGBT influencer Vinny Watson and his sister Kelan Watson.
