In the eighties and nineties, Dawn Gallagher was on the cover of hundreds of magazines around the world. Her modeling career was something many girls only dream about. “At 16, I was watching a parade in shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt. A modeling scout approached me and said, ‘I think you have the potential to be a model.’ He gave me his card. My brother and I thought he was crazy.”
“OUR BEAUTY WITHIN IS OUR ESSENCE. IT’S WHO WE ARE, OUR STRENGTH, OUR CONFIDENCE, OUR INTELLIGENCE.”
“Two months later, I read a newspaper article about the same scout, who’d discovered Kim Alexis and Beverly Johnson. I still had his business card, crumpled in one of my drawers. My parents called him, and I did a photo test shoot. I really enjoyed modeling. It was a great opportunity to travel around the world for free.”
As Dawn travelled and pursued her modeling career, she became interested in every culture’s definition of beauty. “At first, my interest was just for my own vanity. Coming from the world of modeling, everything was about cosmetics and makeup, but I wanted to know their natural ingredient secrets. I began keeping a journal of my conversations with women in different countries. I would ask them, ‘What makes you feel beautiful?’ ‘What beauty secrets do you have to share?’ or ‘Why is your skin so gorgeous?’ The women in Tahiti had beautiful hair. I discovered they used coconut oil as a beauty product, plus they ate and cooked with coconut every day. I learned there were so many inexpensive things you can do in the convenience of your home.”
In 1998, Dawn’s first book, Naturally Beautiful, was published by Rizzoli Universe Publishing. “Now there are a lot of these types of books, but then, it was a new concept. It did really well, and I was on all the talk shows, Regis and Kathie Lee, Good Morning America. I discovered I loved being on television, talking about beauty, and I learned how to sell.”
After Dawn got married, and her daughter was born, she did another book, Nature’s Beauty Secrets. In this book, she takes readers to five star resorts around the world and shows them how to create their own spa treatments at home. From there, Dawn became brand ambassador for Sanctuary Spa on QVC; she represented Savannah Bee’s 100% bee products and did three television pilots. WebMD did a series of 10 online episodes with Dawn about creating spa-like beauty treatments at home.
“I see my future on television and the internet and building an infrastructure and a portal with my website. I’m working on creating a television show called The Beauty Within. Our beauty within is our essence. It’s who we are, our strength, our confidence, our intelligence. It’s our life experiences. That’s what beauty is to me. It’s not a physical feature, the right lipstick, or did you get your eyes done. It’s about who you are and sharing your experiences.
