Most likely to…become a millionaire, have five kids, go to the Olympics…’member these? Ah yes, the beauty of the senior yearbook, capstone to all awkwardness of adolescence, it bestowed in print (of all things!) a so-called predictor of future success. Have any of us actually turned out to be anything we thought we’d be? We’d put our money on the fact that most of you have taken a roller-coaster ride to become much more than anyone could have ever dreamed. Case in point: The amazing twentysomethings who fill our first-annual L.A. 30 Under 30 list. These talented youngsters are experts in breaking the molds that society (and that high-school yearbook editor) set for them, and are whistling to their own tune, along this wild road of life.
The Painter: Rosson Crow
From her slightly askew pixie cut to her surrealist-style Yazbukey accessories, this doe-eyed bombshell embodies "artiste” at first glance. Aesthetically challenged, Rosson Crow is certainly not. She’s designed textiles for Zac Posen and counts Jeremy Scott as a BFF, but armed with an MFA from Yale, this history-obsessed bibliophile lends way more than style to her larger-than-life canvases. Equal parts irreverent chaos and intelligent references, each painting is a perfect storm of poppy-hued punk. Explaining her process, she says, “I get very involved with a certain subject, spend lots of time in the library, then map out ideas. Then I just go at it, with the actual painting not taking as long as the research. I want my paintings to have a sense of immediacy, become immersive environments for the viewer, and still be unfussy.”
—Brenna Egan
The Chef: Kris Yembaroong
Warning: This culinary champ’s quotes are NSFW, as is his fare. (Not. Suitable. For. Wussies.)
—Brenna Egan
The Politician: Suzy Jack
We’re elated to have Suzy Jack, Legislative Director and LGBTQ Liaison for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, on this list. Of her work in the public sector, the all-around superstar discloses, “It's the hardest, most-rewarding work you can find. For those young people up to the challenge, get an internship, get your foot in the door, and work your ass off. If all the good, smart people turn their backs on public service, what kind of people are we left with?” While our political system can seem daunting, she says, “it's a lot less partisan at the local level and more about providing services that affect people's daily lives, so I think it's much easier to reach people and actually get something done.” By grounding herself in her beliefs and working tirelessly (“I cannot rest,” she says), Jack has gotten a whole hell of a lot done.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Skater: Josh Harmony
When Josh Harmony cruised onto our set with his peaceful presence, it was explosively interrupted within minutes by gravity-defying skate tricks that had us checking our insurance policy in full nail-biting mode! As it turns out, injuries aren’t uncommon. The pro-boarder for Toy Machine, Fallen Footwear, and RVCA has separated a shoulder and even had hip-resurfacing surgery — all because at age 11 he got fired up by a neighborhood pal pulling a 360 flip (Santa promptly delivered Harmony’s first board that Christmas.)
—Brenna Egan
Langley Fox Hemingway makes no secret of her infatuation with Tim Burton — she already has a drawing inked up of what fantastic things she’d gift him
—Brenna Egan
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Actress: Byrdie Bell
We’re sure this is Byrdie’s big year to fly to new heights, especially since she’s officially taken a phoenix-style flight from the New York runways to answer the casting call of Hollywood.
The previously bicoastal babe is decorating her spacious new Hancock Park loft while auditioning away, and envisions her ideal flick as an “epic period film, perhaps in ancient Greece or Rome.” (Can’t you totally picture those long locks plaited-up in a golden-goddess topknot?). Bell’s been training for this moment since she was a tween, and will hit the silver screen this year in Red Butterfly, in which she stars as a prostitute who succumbs to a drug overdose. She says, “I’ve played drug addicts and have had characters die before, but this woman was so loved that it made the death scene quite powerful to perform. I really didn’t want to let her go!”
—Brenna Egan
The Interior Designer: Kyle Schuneman
This room guru claims that he “owes his success to L.A.,” but we’re guessing that growing up in a jam-packed 1200-square-foot apartment in Chicago probably taught him to use space to its utmost potential. After devouring endless issues of Architectural Digest and finishing up high school, Schuneman packed his bags for Lala Land and broke his back working as a retail assistant, studio page, and PA (this included menial tasks like cleaning up confetti on commercial sets), before finally finding his “home” in production design for television. The go-getter crafted his first set at the age of 20, and had his on-air debut with KTLA the same year. He says of that groundbreaking moment: “I remember Ice Cube and a lady that bred ‘toyger’ cats were in the dressing room. I was so nervous that I kept tugging on my clothes throughout the segment, but over the years I’ve become more and more comfortable with practice.”
—Brenna Egan
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Fashion Publicist: Chase Weideman
Whoever said “it’s PR, not ER” clearly didn’t have the Account Executive at Bismarck Phillips Communications & Media, Chase Weideman, in mind. After all, he risked his life so that SJP could escape to her car while handling Alexander Wang’s fashion show in '09. The 27-year-old explains, “I took it upon myself to single-handedly redirect traffic in Times Square. What was I thinking? I then proceeded to casually call her ‘girl’ like we were old friends while shaking her hand!” In all seriousness though, you have to bring way more than charm to a role like his, where celeb dressing and editorial placement can make or break a brand (also, consider everyone and their mother is ready to swipe your job right from under the Missoni rug).
—Brenna Egan
The Editor: Isabel Wilkinson
If there’s anyone we could be when we grow up, it just might be Isabel Wilkinson. Everyone told this whip-smart wordsmith that print was dead (just as she was entering journalism school), but Wilkinson let it roll right off her back and lived to tell the tale. “What I learned is that the power of story-telling is still as strong today as it ever was, even though the ways we get those stories have changed,” she says. While still in school, Wilkinson interned with The Daily Beast just following its launch. Her arduous work slogging through headlines in the wee hours for the site’s now-signature Cheat Sheet turned enough heads to land her a job following graduation.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Music Mogul: Paul Tao
Somewhere in Georgia is a dusty yearbook in which Paul Tao’s “Most Likely” isn’t that he would grow up to be a music mogul — yet he did — and we’re beaming with pride. Name something cool going on in music in L.A., and Tao seems to have a hand in it. Whether that’s repping breakout bands like Salem, or hosting your favorite eastside hip-hop party, he’s on it. Even after a lovely interview and email exchange, we have no idea how the co-owner of IAMSOUND Records does it all, but have a hunch it’s got something to do with good old honest-to-goodness love of music. When we asked him what he’s currently excited about in sound, he waxed poetic, “I really love the music scene here because it reflects the growing diversity of the city. L.A. has gone through phases of being known for certain kinds of music, but right now you can't really nail down any one genre, which is what I love.” That’s what we call passion!
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Fashion Tech Strategist: Alisa Gould-Simon
Typically, if someone were to assign the title “poser” to one of our nominees, we might have to enact a polite smackdown. But this archaic term will be forever frozen in the pre-Pose.com days, before the start-up took the styling world by storm. The VP of Creative & Partnerships, Alisa-Gould Simon is largely responsible for the app’s dope daily dose of eye candy from tastemakers like Rachel Zoe, Coco Rocha, and thousands of others that we digest in line at the bank, before bed, or maybe even slacking off at work (shh!). The former freelance journalist traded in her writer’s pj’s for many-hat-wearing days dotted with the challenges of “finding scalable, quick solutions as opposed to having endless money or time to throw at different problems or opportunities,” she says. “Being agile and adaptive is essential. I’ve also learned to overcome a lack of technological training by asking lots of questions and not letting ignorance be a block.”
—Brenna Egan
—Brenna Egan
The Entrepreneur: Jesse Draper
Growing up in Silicon Valley, it’s no surprise that Jesse Draper, host, CEO, and founder of web-based Valley Girl TV turned out to be a tech head. “By sixth grade, I was a pretty hardcore internet user, and I just loved chat rooms! I relished in the idea that I could talk to other people online.” And lucky for us, Draper has never stopped talking. As an undergrad at UCLA studying theater, she realized that her upbringing had given her a unique understanding of both business and technology that she wanted to share with others. Blending this and her other passion for talk shows “that make light of things,” Jesse set out with the mission to “make business fun,” thus Valley Girl TV was born.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Digital-Media Maven: Milana Rabkin
One peek at the iCal of this Digital Media Agent for United Talent Agency is enough to make anyone want to pound eight Red Bulls! From rolling calls from S.F. all the way to Amsterdam to launching a YouTube channel for a TV production company to meeting with a famous actor who wants to partner on a mobile start-up — caffeine may not even cut it most days for Ms. Rabkin! Day in and day out, though, the Endeavor mailroom-bred babe somehow manages to bring Silicon Valley to Silicon Beach, shaking up old-school Hollywood tactics to bring traditional clients state-of-the art digital success. It’s such an innovative (and complicated) biz that there’s no rule book, but she explains, “I’m interested in multi-platform story-telling, crowd-funding, new models of distribution that allow artists to go directly to their fans, and social media as a new form of entertainment.”
—Brenna Egan
“Bananas” is the current state of this LAXART curator’s buzzy, upward-climbing career! The mantra of constant “trials and exploration” is what revs her up, and since 17, she’s done her fair share of both in just about every aspect of the art industry. When a professor gave a lecture with the bold statement “curators have all the fun,” she latched onto her life’s vocation, and is now settled in at the Culver City non-profit space. Between “interfacing with artists, fielding queries from the public, managing press relationships, managing exhibition production, and conducting studio visits,” Hunt’s been happily running circles around this sprawling town.
—Brenna Egan
The Publisher: Ken Baumann
Like most people we really admire, Ken Baumann’s success defies logic: He’s a writer, a working actor in Hollywood, a publisher of a self-founded press, and his preferred uniform for eighty percent of the year is simply pants. No shirt, no shoes. “I like straight-legged, raw denim.” Just try putting this man in a box (you’d probably have more luck getting him into a pair of A.P.C. New Standards)! While you may recognize Baumann for his acting on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, we find his literary-geek side even more compelling.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Buyer: Chloe Bartoli
Have you ever stepped inside Curve and not wished you had just won the lottery? Seriously, the Robertson shop makes our closet cry out for extra space and our savings account tremble with fear of a drain. Well, as Assistant Buyer for the oh-so-chic outpost, Chloe Bartoli is partially to blame to praise for the array of crazy-covetable items that line the treasure trove. And if you can’t tell from that studded Burberry trenchcoat, this 22-year-old is beyond clued in on what will fly off the racks and make Lala’s fashion-forward set flip. “Isabel Marant is a no-brainer at the moment, Belgian designer Tim Van Steenbergen is an edgy yet classic investment, Balenciaga is slick this season, and Céline is a sure bet for fall,” she says.
Bartoli’s rocked shopgirl status since high school, and the summer job bloomed to full-time buying when she impressed retail queen and Curve owner Nevena Borissova with her ability to keep it “simple, sexy, and light.” Bartoli’s striving to reach many mums-the-word goals, but we’re predicting a future L’Wren Scott-level star turn in the beaut’s rosy future.
—Brenna Egan
The Sculptor: Lola Rose Thompson
Somehow within the lifetime of everyone on this list (i.e. the last thirty years), Los Angeles has gone from being a predominantly entertainment-driven town to boasting a bustling and brag-worthy art scene. So, it’s no wonder that a native like Lola Rose Thompson would set her sights on returning here to make a name for herself. But for a young woman like Thompson, who is more conscious of what she doesn’t know (and trying to learn it) than intent on proving how smart she is, we think she just might stand a chance in this ever-changing artistic atmosphere.
Perhaps it’s our magpie-like obsession with all shiny things, but it was her hanging sculptures made of geodes, minerals, and salts from exotic locales that first caught our eye. While we as viewers focus on the materials, the sculptor has quite the opposite approach: “I usually come up with the title of a thing before I actually make it. Creating it is hard and the fun part is trying to make something that you've thought of exist in another form,” she says. And it’s just that attitude that we find refreshing about Thompson. Watching a young artist making work, trying to learn from her own process, and being transparent about it might be the keenest idea we’ve seen take shape inside or outside gallery walls. This summer, keep your eye out for her pieces in a number of group shows around town and online at the Tappan Collective.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
—Brenna Egan
The Jewelry Designer: Karla Deras
If Karla Deras’ name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s all over the place right now thanks to the launch of her debut jewelry collection for Roman Luxe (and written up on our site, natch). Back in the day, she started a blog as a place to write about music (she was formerly a member of the band The Slumber Party Girls), but quickly found the online space shifting into a personal style journal — and the rest as they say, is history. After being given the opportunity to design a bag for Coach in 2010, Deras was officially hooked and knew her calling was to design accessories.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
The Musician: Binki Shapiro
One-third of the harmonious Little Joy posse, this pretty, multi-instrumental vocalist is in the throes of creating cover art and making a video for a fresh set of hits she recently completed with Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches (anyone else already have the Juno soundtrack stuck in their heads?). The one-time Beck muse has been bouncing around the country, burning the midnight oil coming up with all kinds of ditties. The crooner says, "I can't wait to come back to L.A., though, to play shows again and to continue recording my own music."
The Style Star: Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor
With a nymph-like Bardot-meets-Bilson mug and spunk in spades, this 20-year-old is one to watch, and not just because it’s hard to take your eyes off of her. She may have just crossed the teenage breach, but she’s already strutted her stuff for Polo Ralph Lauren and Net-A-Porter, and has a whole slew of style groupies following her outfits’ every move. Only adding to her artistic, disheveled allure, the pouty model’s got rock and photog royalty scribbled all over her family tree (dad is Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, mom is shutterbug Amanda de Cadenet, and stepdad is Nick Valensi of The Strokes). But unless it’s from the turntables, don’t expect her to bust out a tune anytime soon. “Growing up, my dad made me learn pretty much every instrument,” says de Cadenet Taylor. “I had a baby-blue bass that was so cool. However, my girl-band days disappeared after my sixth-grade school performance — along with my abilities to play anything.” Dressing casual Cali glam is one knack that we can rest assured isn’t going anywhere and rumors are running rampant that a line is underway. Neither confirming nor denying, she says, “I have a book that I’m constantly writing ideas in and I’m always saving images — not to mention the massive collection of vintage dresses hanging from a rack in my apartment that I’m just waiting to recreate in my own way!” Either way, we have a feeling that this gorgeous gal’s dance card is going to fill up fast!
—Brenna Egan
The Family Act: Charlie and Willie Ebersol
A chance meeting with a South African youth named Victor led Charlie and Willie Ebersol on a personal and professional adventure they could never have predicted. The journey would result in the making of the documentary Ithuteng, an award-winning flick that follows four South African students on a quest to turn their lives around. The filmmaking coincided with personal tragedy for the Ebersol clan, when their other brother Teddy passed away. Charlie says, “It was an incredibly important moment in our life, not only because of the life-changing lessons we learned in Africa or the success that it enjoyed, but much more importantly because it helped us through the darkest hour of our lives.” The film became a true family effort when the brothers’ mother came on board to help with the editing. As Charlie eloquently states, “The film came to life and my mother and I healed together.”