{"id":24289,"date":"2024-12-14T17:33:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T00:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-native-nanabah-sam-makes-a-name-for-herself-as-a-model\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:51:19","slug":"cortez-native-nanabah-sam-makes-a-name-for-herself-as-a-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-native-nanabah-sam-makes-a-name-for-herself-as-a-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez native Nanabah Sam makes a name for herself as a model"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nanabah
Nanabah Sam, known in fashion circles as Nanabah Grace, models for designer K. Lookinghorse during New York Fashion Week. (Courtesy Veronica Huerta of Visual Photography)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Although Nanabah Sam can be seen walking the runway at New York Fashion Week, she was once a Cortez girl who modeled just for fun.<\/p>\n

Sam, known to the modeling community as Nanabah Grace, had just finished a sunrise shoot in Los Angeles, something she described as a \u201cpunk industrial shoot\u201d to continue building her range and portfolio as a model.<\/p>\n

Modeling for labels like Ralph Lauren and appearing in an upcoming Netflix show, Sam said she never would have imagined she\u2019d be modeling at the level she is today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh school me is definitely screaming,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Before graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2019, Sam modeled with local photographers as a hobby. She attended Grand Canyon University in Phoenix with the goal of becoming a therapist. At that time, modeling wasn\u2019t even on her radar.<\/p>\n

\u201cModeling was very intimidating to me, because there just aren\u2019t a lot of Indigenous models, so I really didn\u2019t think anything of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI still just did it for fun \u2026 but I never thought I could make a career out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cortez
Cortez native Nanabah Sam, known in the modeling community as Nanabah Grace, on the set of Netflix\u2019s \u201cAmerican Primeval.\u201d (Nanabah Grace\/Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

During her sophomore year of college, however, she was scouted. A woman from Ignacio reached out to Sam during the COVID-19 pandemic and asked her if she\u2019d be interested in modeling. After they talked, she sent Sam\u2019s photographs to an IMG scout.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2021, IMG Models, a top modeling agency, reached out to Sam and convinced her to give modeling a try.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey kind of talked me into it,\u201d Sam said. \u201cI explained to them, I\u2019m going to school. I have a plan. I wanted to get my master\u2019s degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

After researching the modeling industry and reflecting on past experiences modeling for fun, Sam decided to give it a shot and signed with IMG in November 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that if things went well, I would love to do it,\u201d Sam said. \u201cI decided to send it. I was like, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m young. I might get to travel, who knows what will happen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s first runway show was in March 2022 for a Jacquemus show in Hawaii. Sam was still in college at that time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first bigger modeling job,\u201d Sam said. \u201cI think I wrote two essays in my hotel in Hawaii.\u201d<\/p>\n

In-between graduating from GCU and moving to Los Angeles, Sam split her time between Cortez and wherever she got a modeling job. She also worked at FB Organics<\/a> and Run + Hike<\/a> between modeling gigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelanie and Darren, the owners, were such a big help at the start of my career because they allowed me to just drop things and go,\u201d Sam said. \u201cThey were such a big support through that whole process while I was still living in Cortez, and honestly without them I definitely wouldn\u2019t have been able to move to LA\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2022, Sam was picked up by the film agency Elevate Entertainment, despite not having acting experience. Soon after, Sam started going to acting classes on top of modeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very down to push myself out of my comfort zone,\u201d Sam said. \u201cThere was a point in my career I got so nervous and had to tell myself, \u2018Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Sit in the uncomfortable and it will become comfortable.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From
From left: Jeremy Gauna, Tokala Black Elk Clifford, Nanabah Grace, Saura Lightfoot Leon and Derek Hinkey. (Nanabah Grace\/Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Within five months, Sam had landed the role in the Netflix series \u201cAmerican Primeval,\u201d which is directed by Peter Berg. The show will be released Jan. 9 on Netflix. Sam plays the part of the Shoshone warrior Kuttaambo\u2019i.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s real mean, I\u2019m going to be honest,\u201d Sam said. \u201cIt was very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

To fully fit the role of Kuttaambo\u2019i, Sam said she had to gain 25 pounds in three months. They filmed from March 2023 to June 2023, but the writer strike in Hollywood kept the show from finishing until February of this year.<\/p>\n

Once filming ended, Sam dove back into modeling for brands like Quay Eyewear, Ralph Lauren, Grace Ling, K. Lookinghorse, Jacques Marie Maj, LoveShackFancy, Maybelline, Ed Hardy and more.<\/p>\n

She also recently modeled for Wonderwest by Bootbarn, which will also air in January, and modeled in a Vogue<\/em> issue with Quannah Chasinghorse. She hopes to begin modeling for more high-fashion brands in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten to meet so many wonderful, wonderful people, photographers, makeup artists, hairstylists, creative directors, who are just so brilliant and amazingly talented,\u201d Sam said. \u201cI never would have imagined that this is where I would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

While learning the ropes of modeling and living in Los Angeles, Sam said a special group of people have helped encourage her to keep going.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a journey, for sure. I\u2019ve had my ups and downs, my moments of, \u2018Do I want to keep doing this?\u2019 The industry is hard and I\u2019m a sensitive, sensitive person,\u201d Sam said.<\/p>\n

The Indigenous modeling community has continuously picked her up and supported her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I stepped into modeling, especially as an Indigenous model, I\u2019ve been able to meet other amazing Indigenous jewelers and fashion designers that are leading the way in showing that we\u2019re here too,\u201d Sam said. \u201cThere\u2019s just something that\u2019s just so beautiful about working with Indigenous designers \u2026 there\u2019s a different energy about it, like Native excellence, and it brings a smile to my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam has also been nominated for outstanding runway model by IndigenousTV.<\/p>\n

After experiencing what she has in the few years since she became a model, Sam hopes that other young people in Cortez will chase their dreams and believe in themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can really do anything you want to as long as you\u2019re willing to push yourself a little bit further out of your comfort zone, to broaden your perspective,\u201d Sam said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that\u2019s challenging, but nothing\u2019s fun without a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite moving away from Cortez to pursue her dreams, Sam expressed gratitude for her hometown.<\/p>\n

\u201cCortez is always going to be my home, but it\u2019s been a beautiful process of meeting people and broadening my perspective on so many different things in the world since just moving to LA,\u201d Sam said. \u201cPeople would be surprised about how many people know where Cortez is. Cortez is well known and people love it just as much as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nanabah Grace in modeling community, she\u2019s also cast member in upcoming Netflix show<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[363,21,28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arts","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78471,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24289\/revisions\/78471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24289"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}