Accra, Aug. 02, GNA – Versatile model Zino Lexili Ogazi has staged a comeback to familiar circles after a long habitation.
The model boss also known as Queen Zee told the Ghana News Agency that, she has come back, more stronger and determined than ever.
The Model, Diplomat, Goggle digital Marketer entrepreneur, Humanitarian and coach is kicking her career back into high gear with one high-profile campaign and photoshoot after another, poised to make what can truly be called a comeback.
Zino Lexili Ogazi has signed a 5 Year Contract with Heaven insecticide Spray, Starring in the insecticide’s latest campaign and Tv Commercial, in what appears to be the first modelling project she’s done since her return.
In the Tv Commercial, she was costumed to look older and played the role of a wife and young mother of two.
Others in the campaign are Anita Akuffo , Dr likee amongst others.
In front of the camera, Queen Zee has always known exactly what to do and what character to portray. But as she picks up where she left off few years ago, the difference is that this time around, she knows who she is away from the camera, too.
When Queen Zee was 12, she said, “everyone around me except my family started telling me that I should be a model because of the way I walk and because I love posing for the camera a lot.”
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Her debut was a billboard for a plaza.
At 13, One afternoon during the holiday, when she casually went to take passport photographs at a photo studio for School, the photographer decided to take test shots of her after the passport photo session.
He was certain the teenager had the makings of a model. Her first booking was for a billboard for a plaza from that shoot. “I remember just having this feeling that something Great was happening even without having a clear view, It was such a moment for me, like I’m actually modeling!”
“However,” she continued “my biggest challenge was convincing my family, leaving the house for shoots etc because, it was nearly impossible for me to leave the house alone but I’m somewhat a daredevil and So, I thought to myself, Hey! Maybe I can be a model after-all and face the consequences, ” she said.
Three years later, she excitedly remembered meeting Ghanian renowned commercial and fashion photographer for the first time – the late Bob Pixel, in his studio at Achimota, Accra – Ghana. Immediately she walked into Bob’s big studio, which had several photographers and a makeup artist.
“Before I even said hello to him, he walks straight up to me and says, ‘Hi, I’m Bob, and I think you’re great.’ After that, he immediately asked the makeup artist- Maquillage by Abyna to quickly make me up and costume me, I was still shocked because, I mean that was the legendary existence himself, he was the Godfather of photography in Ghana. I had simply come to see if he would have my time, so that I could quickly pay and book for a shoot and build my portfolio.
He was a celebrity photographer and It was difficult to get hold of him but now, he was shooting my professional photos for Free and even immediately, I was overjoyed and speechless. During the shoot, Uncle Bob said to the people “This girl’s got something, Immediately I could tell, within a couple of clicks, she’s nailed the shoot :” They don’t come along often.”
“She’s such a professional, She really knows what she’s doing. He said by the end of the shoot”
“He was very kind to me and there was this positive energy, buzz and excitement in the studio. ” Zino added.
He called her “a rare beauty with great facial expressions and body language” when the photographs were out, he said “they came out nice, you commanded those photographs”
He tried to push her into the spotlight then but she wasn’t ready to fully commit.
Next she got a Glo Tv Commercial contract, then an OLX now Tonaton Tv commercial. She was booked for several clothing brand photo shoots and also contested in beauty pageants etc
Encouraged, Queen Zee took a few more tentative steps venturing into the modeling world to try out runway modeling but some of the casting directors at auditions said she was small for a model, because she is only five eight.
She was a bit shell-shocked, “ I didn’t want them to succeed in making me feel small about myself and I didn’t want to feel bad about myself in the modeling space either because, I know I’m really multi talented and good about the other things I do, it’s not pride it’s just confidence and also for the sake of my mental health”
“It wasn’t easy at all,” she acknowledges. “But it needed to be done, I needed the big Break and it pushed me into these new career paths, I’ve ventured in, I’m grateful for the rejection, which redirected my footsteps”
So she took a step back from the demanding side of modeling to focus on other life goals.
During her hiatus, she decided to channel her passion for modeling into opening a modeling Agency as a Teen with trepidation- it was called Unique Classic Agency but was later rebranded and Registered as Supreme Dynamic Agency, where she could also encourage and help young girls like her and even boys to chase their dreams regardless.
She joined the Models Union of Ghana (MODUGA) where she started out as a Greater Accra Guidance Counselor and gradually got promoted to other positions before becoming the Vice President and ultimately the Current National President of the Models Union Of Ghana.
She also became a google digital Marketer, coach and entrepreneur, she ventured into entrepreneurship, she founded a Global Awards Organization and a Talent Academy.
Together with Eric Michael Ogazi, her brother, they established Supreme Dynamic Talent Academy Awards (SDTA Awards) and Supreme Dynamic Talent Academy, she joined the United Nations Youth Association of Ghana and was appointed the UN Youth Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture and now currently the Deputy Country Head of the International Youth Network for UNITED NATIONS Security Council Resolution 2250 – (IYNUNSCR2250).
She has a foundation – Urban and Rural Dream Foundation and manages another charity Foundation, The Sharon Legacy Foundation.
Back in the Picture! – Now in 2023, now in her twenties, supercharged and full of optimism, she has decided to return. “I have an unfinished business with modeling, I’m happy to return, the fashion industry has also become a more positive and inclusive space.”
“There are now models of all heights, shapes and weight on the runway & so, i look forward to my first ever runway show, I’m excited! This is the dream, I decided to have strong and powerful confidence in myself. I think I was proving to myself my strength and my ability to thrive.”
“At the end of the day, I’m living out my childhood dreams, that’s what’s important. And now,” she said, “I’m ready, it’s game on, this time around, i know who I am away from the camera, too.”
“She is busy making decisions and feels happy and more settled than she has in a long time, She feels a sense of renewal with newfound energy and a happy future outlook,” a source told GNA.
“It always rang in my head, if I can no longer model, then who am I?” It’s just so amazeballs to actually find out the other things I do love, and who I am, outside of modeling, I’ve realised there’s more to me than modeling, though it took a while to figure out how to go about them, because they seemed almost impossible for me to attain but I have realized, as long as you persist, there will always be a way and I am glad I finally surmounted the challenges and achieved those dreams, though I still have a couple more on my Bucket list.” Queen Zee, concluded
Her growth is phenomenal and her works speaks for her.
GNA