Mini Trini maxing out

AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

A shorter version of this feature first appeared in June 2015. Vanna Vee died in Tobago last week at the age of 30.

My name is Vanna Vee Girod and I am a singer, actress and – I hate to say it – but also a model.

I was named after Vanna White. And Farrah Fawcett. So my name is Vanna Farrah, really. But most people call me Vanna. Sometimes Vans – but that’s already taken by the sneakers!

I’m a town girl. I’m from mostly Valsayn and Maraval. I kinda grew up in both places.

My grandparents live in Maraval. Close to Ellerslie.

I have one brother, two sisters. I’m the oldest.

Everybody thinks I’m either the baby or an only child. I don’t know why.

On my mum’s side, we’re all small. Fun size! I call myself “the Mini Trini.” sometimes. Because people see me in pictures and then, when they see me in real life, they’re like, “Oh! You’re
that small!”

I love the idea of settling down and having a family, but career comes first.

I want to enjoy my children if I have them. Before age 35 for the latest.

I went to Blackman’s Private School.

Mrs Blackman is a definite character. You learn some interesting things for life from her. She’s very extroverted. Really crazy!

Right after leaving Providence I did an internship with Question Mark Entertainment. Simon Baptiste and Carolyn Pasea. Really nice people.

When I just finished high school, I did a feature film called Between Friends. It was in the TT Film Festival.

Being aged 17 and doing your first film was a great experience. The cast was cool and the crew was from all over.

In 2015, I did my first feature film I was the lead actress in, called Moko Jumbie. Vashti Anderson was the director.

It’s a very mixed genre: suspense, romance, a bit of comedy in there.

I spent a whole month in Cedros and that was a life-changing experience!

It’s not that I don’t like being a model, it’s that I don’t like being called one.

Because models are told what to do and can be like hangers (for clothes). It’s not an airhead occupation – I know a lot of models who are smart – but I just don’t think that “model” is fitting of my personality.

My first song release was on an underground independent label called Kult Records.

My first release was a deep house song called Feels Good, produced by LAZAbeam.

It was really good. You can YouTube it and see videos of me shaking my waist.

I do a lot of film production stuff on films, short films, ads. I’m helping the Viscuña Bros, who did the Digicel ads.

I do a lot of running around. I like hard work.

I listen to everything: Gypsy Kings; Alanis Morrisette; Lauryn Hill; Vanessa Mae; trance. I love all of Daft Punk soundtrack music.

I used to be a gamer but I had to stop. It was taking up all my time!

I could eat a whole pizza by myself. I eat, like, six pancakes, six doubles at a time.

I’m very active. I do wake-boarding with Liquid Adrenalin, Berkeley Bharath, Michael Wiltshire and they’re great. It’s a full body workout.

I eat healthy, too, like banana smoothies.

We call paddle-boarding “supping” – standup boarding. It’s a cool term for it. I have done it, with Brett Kenny from Radical Sports, but it’s not my favourite thing.

Barbados is my second home. It’s so clean! And nice.

But my favourite place in the world is Camden Town in London. It’s like an adventure, like all of the world in one place. I love the food court there: Thai food, Malaysian food, all kinds of food.

I sing and dance with the duo Just Now: a guy called Sam Chadburn in Bristol, and the other half is a Trinidadian called Keshav Chandradath Singh (aka LAZAbeam).

All my careers complement each other and I’d love to be able to continue doing all of them.

I’d like to direct my own films one day. Very weird films about stuff that really happens.

My top filmmaker is James Wan. I think he’s the Alfred Hitchcock of our time.

I love a lot of Italian and French films. I can’t remember the names but I love to watch them.

I’m very selective about who I work with. I’ve had situations where it’s been a complete headache. Where they don’t pay you what you deserve as a model.

But it’s very fun. I love what I do.

I was by myself in Turkey for one night and that was something else. The men over there are, like,
really aggressive!

I’ve lost a lot of friends in car accidents. It’s sad.

I don’t take life too seriously but, right now, life is very good.

I think of situations. I don’t, like, live too heavy. I try to take things light, stop and smell the roses.

I try to stay away from politics.

I’ve never voted. I’m usually not in Trinidad at election time. I’ll read the news and see what’s going on.

I’ve worked local elections, in the campaign, for the Congress of the People. After that experience, so much bacchanal, I was turned off.

For me, being a Trini is being mixed. In everything. There are so many influences: music; food; dance.

I’m very, very mixed. My mom is Indian, my dad is everything rolled into one – French, black, Portuguese, Chinese.

Trinidad and Tobago will always be home to me. No matter where I go.

And I’ve been to India, Turkey, all of the UK, all over. You meet all these beautiful people and you just miss home!

Read the full version of this feature on Friday evening at www.BCPires.com