The model in the minivan – Nichole Gregory balances fashion and family

Who is this gorgeous woman strutting across the school yard in ankle boots and skinny jeans, her silky chestnut hair floating in the breeze, her classic face perfectly painted as she pauses to pick up her kids from school?

It’s just another day for Nichole Gregory, a Baton Rouge-based fashion model who books jobs from New Orleans to New York. She’s either coming from or going to a photo shoot.

She’s a model. She’s a mom. She’s a model mom, volunteering for several school efforts, cheering from the stands at ballgames and supporting the other mothers in her close-knit group with a ready hug and fashion hints, too.

At the end of the day, she’ll tell you it’s not easy. Like many working moms, Gregory strives for balance. But balance might only work for strutting in high heels on the runway.

What works for Gregory might not be called balance as much as the ability to adapt constantly.

On the Friday of her son Merric’s fifth birthday, Gregory flew in on the redeye from a gig in New York. Sliding into the house, bags in hand, she found a few piles of laundry and a perfect row of empty boxes on the counter, a silent hint from her husband, Shawn Gregory, who had held down the fort all week. These were the items they needed from the store.

“I was so exhausted,” she said. “I really wanted to take a nap. But instead, I snapped into full-on Mommy mode.”

Gregory hopped into the minivan, fled to Albertson’s, stocked up on cereal, snacks and drinks, balanced the cupcakes for her son’s class birthday party at the top of the heap, drove home, put away groceries, turned around and made it in time to sing “Happy Birthday” with the entire pre-K class.

And then it was family festivities and a full weekend of bonding. The next weekend, she’d be on her way to New Orleans to a runway event for the Super Bowl.

At 40, Gregory is finding plenty of work. NOLA Fashion Week hit at the time preparations for her children’s school fair were bustling.

She stayed in step with it all.

“I am proud that she has continued to work and evolve as a model in an industry where many her age have hung up their pantyhose,” says Beth Phillips, who hired Gregory to model for Maison Blanche in the 1990s.

“I have always been impressed by Nichole’s beauty and talent, but it is her great willingness and work ethic that have developed her into a first-class model,” Phillips says.

Raising a family and pursuing your dreams takes focus, determination and a good dose of support.

“It is a struggle, but I have to take it one day at a time and not stress if the laundry doesn’t get folded right away,” Gregory says. “Keep calm could be my daily mantra.”

In the Gregory household, the goals of each family member are weighed and balanced. If something is important to one, the rest do what it takes to cheer them on and to pull the household weight of anyone who gets extra-busy.

“Since way early on in our relationship, we’ve been of the same mind,” says Shawn Gregory, an information technology manager at a local company. When his wife is out of town, he gets off of work early to pick up the kids from school. The two trade places when he travels for work.

Gregory realized she wanted to be a model at a very young age. Her height—6 feet—and the ability to exude both warmth and stunning beauty made her stand out.

“It’s impossible to take a bad photo of Nichole,” says photographer Tate Tullier.

Gregory worked for Maison Blanche then headed to Miami, where she was a runway model for Irene Marie. She came back to Baton Rouge to go to college and met Shawn at LSU.

Motherhood was important to Gregory, and she poured herself into that calling. But she always knew she’d get back on the catwalk.

“I modeled when I was expecting my first. I did a maternity article for the local newspaper at seven months pregnant,” she says. “After I had my second son, though, I started back when he was a little over a year old.”

A sharp wind kicks up at today’s photo shoot. It’s record-setting cold, but the sun is out and the light is good. So Mom, decked out in a summer gown by Tarik Ediz—a new designer from Turkey—that Chattabox boutique provided for the shoot, gets to work. Hair stylist Jason Keller and makeup artist Emily Little fuss over Gregory. Her lucid, haunting eyes pierce the lens, and then she breaks into that smile.

Nearby, her sons, just out of school, cut up. Their kinetic energy and the frigid air don’t keep her from gracefully moving the muscles of her face into different expressions, reflections of a myriad of deep, interior human emotions that viewers might sense when they look at the glossy results.

Those who have worked with Gregory say she’s incredibly expressive in the way she presents herself to the camera.

It’s more difficult than you’d ever imagine.

“Do you think what Mommy does is fun? Would you like to do that for work?” her sons are asked.

“Yes!” says Merric.

“Nope,” quips Khoen, 8, as he runs and then skids across the floor.

Back in street clothes, Gregory’s artful hair and makeup remain, but she’s already thinking about dinner, homework and ball practice.

She’d better get to bed early, too. Her calendar is filled for the next several months.

“Her look is very classic and commercial,” says Lee McKenzie, who books Gregory on behalf of fameagency. “Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but [she] has a wonderful professional demeanor and attitude that is a winning combination for our industry.”