Lola Monroe

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Alpha Female: Mila J
@milaj
Photographer: @shannonlaurine



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Alpha female - LisaRaye McCoy | @thereallraye
Hair by : @whoisvickyb
Makeup: @makeupbyglara
Creative Director: @nikatnite
Styled by - @hollylarry_
Outfit - @jessicarichcollection
Photographers- @aaronlacy
Retoucher - @aarondsmallsphoto
Heels by - @jessicarich




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Alpha Female - Syleena Johnson
@syleenajohnson
Photographer: @aarondsmallsphoto
Styled by @alphamagazines




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Alpha Female - Garcelle Beauvais | @garcelle
Styled by : @ashleyseanthomas
MUA : @kymmyizabeauty
Photographer: @gilsphotography
Editor / Retoucher : @aarondsmallsphoto
Assistant: @csrphoenix_classic





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Alpha Head Of Review:
Lola Madonna ( @lola_madonna)
Hair/ Styled by: @lola_madonna
Photographer: @demarcusadamas



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Alpha Female - Garcelle Beauvais | @garcelle
Styled by : @ashleyseanthomas
MUA : @kymmyizabeauty
Photographer: @gilsphotography
Editor / Retoucher : @aarondsmallsphoto
Assistant: @csrphoenix_classic





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Alpha Female CNN XIXI YANG





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XiXi Yang: Alpha Female Magazine Article

To the world, XiXi Yang is one of the most watched millennial television personalities.
Internationally, millions of viewers around the world have watched her anchor “Live From the
Red Carpet” for the Associated Press from some of the most glamorous nights in Hollywood like
the Oscars, Grammys, and more. Domestically, she lends her pop culture expertise on-air for
shows like “On the Story” and “Across America” on CNN and HLN. Digitally, she’s one of the
most prominent Asian-American bloggers in media and fashion. Yet underneath all her glowing
achievements and industry accolades, XiXi is just my older sister.

For as long as I can remember, XiXi has always been my “famous older sister.” It was almost
like stating a fact, nothing special about it, just something I grew up knowing. I would always
chuckle whenever my friends would ask me if I had any siblings because I knew as soon as I told
them about her, they would ogle at her social media following and all her fabulous selfies with
celebrities. But maybe that’s because beneath all those layers of fame and admiration she
receives, she’s a real person, with so many amazing, down-to-earth qualities that make me proud
to call her my sister.


Now, 19 years later, I’m sitting across from her, interviewing her for the very first time for her
first magazine cover. So you can imagine how nervous I was about this interview and this article
because I wanted do justice the XiXi I knew. So I decided to first do what we do best: crack a
joke. I bet none of you reading this right now know that my sister has a weird obsession with
Tabasco!

Erika (Q): So XiXi, what do you love more - me or Tabasco?
XiXi (A): Well, Tabasco lasts longer and goes with more things!

Erika (Q): Ha! I see how it is. Since somebody wants to get all saucy, let’s dive right into it. ​So
when and how did you know you wanted to go into the entertainment media industry?

XiXi (A): ​For as far as I can remember, I’ve always rampaged our mom’s closet, playing
dress-up and just having fun with it. I think the day that I discovered our family’s karaoke mic
was a changing moment, especially when I realized that with the press of a button, my voice
could echo through all the thin walls! And from there on out, there was not one family gathering
where you wouldn’t find me performing mock interviews with our family members. When I
reached middle school, I discovered my newest obsession in life - a little show called TRL on
MTV! This was back in the era of original VJ’s and everyday I would run home from school to
catch the latest music videos and celebrity interviews. I wanted to be a VJ so bad back then. I
really thought they were living the dream! Not only did they get to be on TV and befriend all the








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coolest celebrities, they also brought so much joy to people’s lives. TRL has really be there for
me throughout the years. All I ever wanted to do in live was to be a VJ but I didn’t feel like it was
an attainable goal because I couldn’t find a lot of ethnic face like mine on TV.


Erika (Q): ​So having never seen any faces similar to your own, did this discourage you and how
did you go about facing this challenge?

XiXi (A): ​I was discouraged in the beginning but I’ve had to learn to own it and accept who I
truly am. I remember the first year I moved to LA, I landed a big meeting with one of the top

broadcasting agencies in town. I walked in with stars in my eyes and within seconds, the head
agent took one look at me, one look at my resume and said, “We can’t represent you unless you
change your name. Middle America won’t trust a name they can’t pronounce.” But even if I
changed my name, I still won’t be able to change my face! They’re still going to see this Asian
fierceness walk in! After going to countless auditions and meetings, I ended up getting very
frustrated. I couldn’t book jobs because I didn’t have the experience they wanted, but how was I
supposed to get more experienced if I wasn’t working? I couldn’t wait for the “dinosaurs” to
feel like the time was right to give a fresh face like me a shot. I decided that I was going to be the
change I wanted to see. Before opportunities came knocking, I had to build the door first.

Erika (Q): ​Explain to me more in detail about your journey to becoming the journalist and media
influencer you are now.

XiXi (A): ​Well, I’m sure you know that in the beginning, even our own mom and dad weren’t
really sure what I was doing! Shoot, I didn’t know. I didn’t know where I was going or how I was
going to get there. All I knew was that I was going to give it all I’ve got. At the age of 19, I
moved across the country to start my career in media. I transferred from NYU to UCLA because
I knew I had to be in the city where everything was happening. It was my dream to work for a

network back then, but after hundreds of auditions, I was told I wasn’t good enough. I decided to
start my own independent media company. I saved up a few hundred dollars and invested in a
handheld camcorder and a cheap karaoke mic. Yes, you read right - a karaoke mic was all I
could afford. I went around LA and interviewed everyone and anyone I could get my hands on! I
put all my exclusive interviews on a blog site and within months, I was getting so much traffic I
had to get a better server! As more publicists and managers took notice of my interviews, the
requests for interviews came pouring in. I got a few workers on board and just like that, with no
prior experience in business, I turned my side hustle into a profitable LLC. Don’t get it twisted!
Being a young CEO was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done my whole life. For every
second of glamour, there were eight hours of hard work behind the scenes. I had to learned all
levels of operation - shooting, editing, producing, selling ads, pitching, payroll… shoot, I even







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