Check Out Cara Clegg’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Clegg.

Hi Cara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up with what most would call a rough childhood. I was heavily bullied, and as a teenager, I turned to self-harm as a way to cope. I had so many feelings I didn’t know how to express until I discovered I could spill them onto a page that’s when my love for writing was born. It came naturally, like breathing.

At 15, I found out I was pregnant with my first child a beautiful baby girl who became my anchor. She grounded me and gave me a reason to reach for the stars. As a kid, I always dreamed of being on TV or becoming a model. When I was 18, I finally did my first photo shoot. It felt strange at first, but when I saw the photos, I was amazed. I realized I could create art through myself something I never thought possible.

At 19, six months pregnant with my second daughter, I packed up and moved to California the city of dreams, whether they’re alive or buried. I was determined to make mine bloom. About seven years ago, I did a shoot that changed everything. It reminded me to focus on myself for my girls, for my growth, and for the woman I was becoming.

Eventually, I had my third daughter, and as soon as I could, I jumped back into modeling. Since then, I’ve been published over ten times and have even made connections that helped me chase another passion special effects makeup, or as some call me, the “Gore Queen.”

Every dream I have, I run toward it. Because dreaming isn’t just about making it it’s about the climb, the courage to keep going, and how much you’re willing to fail before you finally succeed.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I’ve had to grow up faster than most, face heartbreaks that felt impossible to heal from, and learn how to rebuild myself more than once. Being a teen mom came with judgment, pressure, and moments of deep isolation but it also taught me strength, patience, and unconditional love.

There were times I questioned if I was enough as a mother, as a woman, and as a dreamer. Balancing my creative goals with real life, working, raising kids, and trying to heal from old wounds hasn’t been easy. I’ve battled mental health struggles, toxic relationships, and moments where I lost sight of myself completely.

But each obstacle shaped me. Every setback became a lesson. I learned that failure isn’t the opposite of success it’s part of the process. I learned to keep showing up for myself and my girls, even when I didn’t feel strong. My struggles are what made me real, and that realness is what I bring into everything I do from modeling and writing to motherhood and healing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve always been drawn to expression whether it’s through words, imagery, or transformation. I’m a published model, writer, and spoken word artist, but my creativity doesn’t stop there. I also work as a special effects makeup artist, costume designer, and scare actor for haunted attractions. Each part of what I do allows me to tell stories in a different language sometimes it’s beauty, sometimes it’s fear, and sometimes it’s raw emotion.

Writing was my first love the place where I learned to turn pain into poetry and silence into strength. Modeling became a way to bring that same emotion to life visually, to tell stories without saying a word. My work in special effects and haunt performance opened another side of me the part that embraces transformation, depth, and the art of becoming someone (or something) entirely new.

What I’m most proud of is how I’ve turned every challenge into creation. I’m a mom, an artist, and a survivor and my art reflects all of that. I don’t create to impress people; I create to inspire them, to remind others that healing can be messy and beautiful at the same time.

What sets me apart is that I lead with heart. Everything I do from modeling to makeup to writing comes from a place of truth and transformation. My story isn’t perfect, but it’s real. And that’s where my art lives in the space somewhere between the scars and the shine.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love most about Los Angeles is the feeling it gives me that mix of hope, ache, and possibility all wrapped in one skyline. The first time I ever looked across the city, it felt like I was staring straight into my own future. It was that view that changed me.

Los Angeles became more than a city to me; it became a mirror. It reflected both who I was and who I was becoming. It taught me to take risks, to chase my art, and to rebuild myself through creativity.

What I like least is how easy it can be to lose yourself here. The pressure, the illusion of perfection, the constant noise can drown out your truth if you let it. But for me, that’s part of the beauty too. This city forces you to dig deeper, to find who you really are beneath the lights.

Los Angeles gave me both the dream and the climb and I wouldn’t trade either.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taurus_smoke_queen?igsh=aThoa2ZjNnZpNjRn&utm_source=qr
• LinkedIn: https://linkedinocean.com/website_1dbe8201/?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwNWC79leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpzRu4wfjio8bGvNITofNVX4mKD7LL4JP-sgfqUko6XLSr6puSLtw7RLti4eZ_aem_sAYxkI9dW6YZ3MqZF8JbyA