Jennifer "Gin" Cooley is an American model,

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and vocalist. Cooley has appeared in several popular music videos, including cameos for

Casey James Casey Everett James (born May 31, 1982)"Happy Birthday, Casey James and ...

’ "Let's Don't Call it a Night"

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

’ "Take a Back Road,";

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog-U ...

’ "Take It Off";

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

's "

Take a Little Ride "Take a Little Ride" is a song written by Dylan Altman, Rodney Clawson and Jim McCormick and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released on July 16, 2012, as the first single from his fifth studio album '' Night Train'' ...

" and landed the lead role for

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

’s hit song " Wanted You More." Her music video, "''Pocket Full of Hope''" was an Official Selection and "Royal Reel Award" winner at the 2013

Canada International Film Festival The Edgewater Casino is a former casino that was located at 760 Pacific Blvd South Vancouver, British Columbia. It was in operation from 2005 to 2017. History The Edgwater Casino opened in February 2005. In 2006, the casino was acquired by Para ...

in Vancouver, Canada.

Early life and education

Gin is a native of

Paris, Tennessee Paris is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,316. A replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the southern part of Paris. History The present site of Pari ...

and is the daughter of Tammy Muench. She graduated high school at 16 from Gateway Christian Academy and attended

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

where she studied

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

but suspended her studies to focus on her modeling career. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Business and Organizational Management magna cum laude from

Bethel University (Tennessee) Bethel University is a private Christian university in McKenzie, Tennessee with satellite campuses in Memphis, Nashville, Jackson, Paris, and Clarksville. It is accredited to award degrees up to the master's level. History Founded in 1842 as ...

as well as a master's degree in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

with a focus in Clinical Mental Health from the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphis ...

. In 2019, Gin was accepted into the

Doctor of Psychology The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D. or D.Psych.) is a professional doctoral degree intended to prepare graduates for careers that apply scientific knowledge of psychology and deliver empirically based service to individuals, groups and organization ...

program at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

, with focus in applied psychology.

Modeling career

2002–present

Cooley started her modeling career at 16, signing with BMG Chicago. Two months later she dropped BMG and signed with industry expert and manager, the late JJ Cortez in New York City. At 17, she signed with

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

Singapore, which launched her international career. She walked for

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

's "Hardcore" show not even 3 months on the scene. She was represented by LookNow in Milan, Italy and later signed with Riccardo Gay walking in

Milan Fashion Week Milan Fashion Week ( it, Settimana della moda) is a clothing trade show held semi-annually in Milan, Italy. The autumn/winter event is held in February/March of each year, and the spring/summer event is held in September/October of each year. It ...

seasons 2003, 2004 and 2005. She also had representation in Shanghai, China (ENVY Models),

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

(FMI) and New York City (

Women Management Women Management is a modelling agency based in New York, Founded by Paul Rowland in 1988, Women Management has two sister agenciesSupreme ManagementanWomen 360 Management which are also part of the Women International Agency Chain. Women Manage ...

). She resided in Italy during the height of her fashion career and worked exclusively in the European market until her return to the United States. Gin appeared in various editorials for designers including

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The name ...

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

and

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

. From 2009 to 2016 she was based out of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

with

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

/Dan Agency and was a featured cameo in several top country music video hits.

Filmography

Music videos

Film Festivals

Premieres and screenings

"Pocket Full of Hope" is a music video for a song that Gin composed and produced herself with the most nominal, obsolete equipment in rural West Tennessee. It is directed by indie film maker Jeff Wyatt Wilson and was an Official Selection and "Royal Reel Award" winner at the 2013

in Vancouver, Canada. Gin plays herself in the vide
"Pocket Full of Hope"
also screened as an Official Selection at the 2013 Memphis International Film and Music Festival at Purple Haze on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. "Oval Room" is a musical short which Cooley co-directed by Jeff Wyatt Wilson, world premiered at the 2015 Mykonos Biennale on July 4 in Mykonos, Greece . Gin recorded and produced the song herself with "yardsale electronics" in rural West Tennessee. "Oval Room" was originally written by

Blaze Foley Michael David Fuller (December 18, 1949 – February 1, 1989), better known by his stage name Blaze Foley, was an American country music singer-songwriter, poet, and artist active in Austin, Texas. Background Foley was born Michael David Fuller ...

. She plays herself in the video. "Oval Room"'s Canadian premier was held on September 10 at the 2015 Toronto Independent Film Festival at the Carlton Cinema in Toronto, Canada. The U.S. premiere of "Oval Room" took place at the

Harlem International Film Festival The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) is an annual five-day film festival in Harlem, New York. The first festival took place in 2005. Michael Franti's ''I Know I'm Not Alone'' was named Best International Documentary at the festival that ye ...

on September 12, 2015 at the Maysles Cinema in New York City. Oval Room screened at the San Pedro International Film Festival on October 11, 2015 in

San Pedro, Los Angeles San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

at the legendary

Warner Grand Theatre The Warner Grand Theatre is a historic movie palace that opened on January 20, 1931. It is located in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, at 478 West 6th Street. The design of the Warner Grand Theatre was a collaboration by architect B. Marcus P ...

. In February 2016, "Oval Room" was an Official Selection in the Honorable Mentioned category at the 11th Annual Socal Film Festival in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

Discography

Awards and nominations

Philanthropy

In 2016, Gin founded a

child advocacy Child advocacy refers to a range of individuals, professionals and advocacy organizations who speak out on the best interests of children. An individual or organization engaging in advocacy typically seeks to protect children's rights which may be ...

group "Gin Cooley's Fine Art Revival" which consists of a celebration and collaboration of visual arts through fine and expressive art mediums to raise funds, awareness and provide information to victims of child abuse, children in high risk situations and various children's charities.

External links

Gin Cooley's Official Website
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Gin Female models from Tennessee American women singers Living people People from Paris, Tennessee University of Tennessee at Martin alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women