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Los Angeles newest socialite resident, Victoria Jancke, started out her dream career as a model and actress in Berlin, Germany. Victoria’s prominent career success as a model has made her a beauty icon for women, yet on the contrary, she aims to become an icon of inspiration to empower women above all. As a beacon of empowerment, Victoria hopes to encourage women to love themselves unconditionally in a world full of critics, challenging them to redefine of the conventional standards of beauty.

Some may wonder why a “beauty icon” like Victoria that would seemingly benefit in an industry founded off of looks would choose to challenge such a dynamic. According to Jancke, the answer is simple, but the solution is much more complex.  

“As a young girl I found myself in a dark place even when it seemed like my career was all glitz and glamour. I was constantly comparing myself to other models and actresses, feeling worthless and incompetent every time I was rejected from a role. I blamed myself for not looking a certain way when other people did not see the beauty in me, and no person should ever have to feel like this. No person should ever have to let comparison or the opinions of others define what they are worth,” said Jancke.

Victoria’s career began at the young age of fifteen, and to those she encountered during this time, she seemed to be living the dream. From being published on the cover Vogue to starring in international television shows, her hidden pain was almost invisible on the surface.

“No matter how much success I acquired, I still had tunnel vision for the rejections, the imperfections I was told I needed to fix. I was leading with my ego instead my heart, neglecting all I was capable of because of the belief that I wasn’t good enough.” said Jancke. 

While many Europeans began to see Jancke as the “it girl,” the girl to envy and compare themselves to, she was simultaneously hiding depression and insecurity under the intangible pedestal that very fame had built for her. 

“I hated the idea that women were out there comparing their lives to mine, when in reality I was more unhappy and lost than ever. I was self- sabotaging in order to be as thin and pretty as the other models I’d compare myself to, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t attain the perfect image, said Jancke” 

At the age of twenty, Victoria developed an eating disorder, while determined to find that “perfect image”. In the midst of trying to attain new measurements, she was pulled aside by loved ones for an intervention. Victoria’s friends and family had noticed a dark change in her, and begged her to stop treating her body, and consequently her mind, so badly. They reminded her of how beautiful she already was while it seemed that she had forgotten. 

Victoria’s intervention was successful, and although it didn’t happen overnight, she was able to overcome her eating disorder, coming back stronger than ever. 

“I realized something very important in this time that changed me forever: the perfect image I was trying to attain did not exist, it never did. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, wouldn’t there always be someone else more beautiful to others, and vice versa? From then on I decided that I would be the ONLY beholder of the eyes that judged my beauty, as it should be for all of us.” said Jancke.

Victoria’s struggle brought her wisdom and a bold confidence that made her an even more unique entity. She began to exude the love she had for herself, risking career opportunities for the sake of it.

“I made a permanent decision to only work with people who wanted me for ME, not my measurements,” said Jancke. 

Today, Victoria considers her greatest accomplishment not to be her career, but her ability to help others overcome similar struggles and find the more “complex” answer to living a fulfilled life that is not defined by the opinions of a superficial society. In addition to her modeling, acting and influential work, Victoria has created a career as a mentor.

Sadly, Victoria is not alone the struggles she has endured. According to Medical News Today, a study on fashion model health indicated that over 40 percent of fashion models like Victoria suffer from eating disorders. Additionally, in an article by The Checkup, “Eating disorder statistics 2022,” a study in released in 2019 showed an increase in eating disorder prevalence from of 3.4% to 7.8% between 2000 and 2018, with 70 million people internationally suffering from eating disorders.

With factors like social media that give people the opportunity to subconsciously judge and compare their lives to others, many predict that these statistics will only continue to go up. However, we can find solace in knowing that there are people like Victoria Jancke, with the courage to share her own story in hopes of making a complex, but very possible change in this evolving world of ours.

“With enough love for yourself and belief in your abilities you can overcome anything. I chose to defy what society wanted from me and love myself for who I am regardless of the consequences, and it has brought me more success than beauty or physique ever could,” said Jancke.

If you ever find yourself ridden with similar internal struggles, look to Victoria to remind yourself how abundant your life can be when you learn to embrace what you are given. If you know someone that may be struggling with an eating disorder, tell them her story. When you find yourself scrolling through Instagram asking yourself why you weren’t given the looks or privilege others seem to have, remember her story; but most importantly, remember her message:

The perfect image cannot exist when beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Be the only eyes that behold your own beauty, and like Victoria- love and embrace it with pride. You may find that the beauty was there all along, you were just looking in every place besides the one that mattered most.

To learn more about Victoria and her journey as a mentor for self-love visit https://www.victoriajancke.com/

Instagram.com/Victoria.jancke

AUTHOR: Clare Kehoe