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boarding school in England, she always felt very self-conscious. “I was
five-foot, nine-inches by the time I was fourteen, and I was always the
tallest girl when the girls were taller than the boys. I was awkward, too
skinny, too tall, dark skinned. So, I didn’t always feel comfortable with
myself,” she said. The pageant helped transform her self-perception.
Although she didn’t win, she did come in first runner-up to a woman
who went on to participate in the Miss Universe Pageant.
Fashion Week) with co-founder and St. Louis Art Institute Fashion
Merchandising Professor Kristy Lee. Cillah said that all of her experiences have helped her grow and become the woman she is
today, and she wants women to realize that overcoming adversity
is the way they will find true success.
“I felt defeated and was very self-critical when I was first divorced, but eventually, I learned to love myself again,” she said.
“You can always reinvent yourself. The only thing
that stops me (or anyone) is having a vision, being
willing to believe, and being willing to give it a try.”
“That really helped my self-esteem, but it also led to bigger
dreams. I wanted more. I wanted to travel the world,” she said. “I
begged my parents to let me come to the United States. I had a
friend who was attending the University of Missouri in Columbia,
and I wanted to attend the School of Journalism.” Packing her bags,
and armed with only $136, she flew halfway around the world on
her own. Living in a basement apartment, she worked minimum
wage jobs before being drawn to modeling. She worked as a runway
model for three years, then gave it up to start a family. “I fell in love
and gave up my modeling career for marriage,” she said.
With the fashion runways behind her, Cillah returned to school,
earning a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in communication cum laude
from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Upon graduation she
landed a job as a production assistant at KSDK-Channel 5, before
working at KPLR-TV-Channel 11 as an associate producer and assignment editor. When she returned to KSDK-Channel 5, it was as
morning news producer for “Today in St. Louis with Art Holliday
and Jennifer Blome.
“Being a morning news producer was always challenging, so it
was invigorating. I love a challenge, but I was often working all
night. My husband and I had opposite schedules,” she said. “We
were married for ten years and produced two beautiful children,
but our lives changed, and we simply grew apart.” At the age of
thirty, she moved out of the family home to an apartment and
started from scratch, again.
“It was hard. Divorce is difficult. I was a single mother, and
working in television news was just no longer feasible,” she said.
After hearing thousands of public relations pitches as a producer,
she trusted her instinct that she could do a better job, and she decided to start her own public relations business. Five years ago, she
founded Xanadu Public Relations, with offices in the Central West
End, where she fulfills her passion for public relations and event
planning. Early on, she was fortunate to work with celebrities like
Murphy Lee and Nelly; organizations like the Pujols Family Foundation; and high-profile business clients that helped lay the foundation for the St. Louis-based firm that represents companies,
corporate CEOs, established entrepreneurs, and athletes. “It has
really begun to snowball, but I’m still building my business every
day,” she said.
After founding Xanadu, she also worked as editor-in-chief of St.
Charles-based “StreetScape Magazine”, where she became known
for her Q&A-style celebrity features. She co-founded the
“StreetScape Show”, a television program that aired on KDNLChannel 30 and STL-TV. But, she didn’t stop there. She went back
to her modeling and fashion roots to produce St. Charles Fashion
Week, eventually founding Missouri Style Week (formerly Missouri
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“That’s important for all of us!” With all of her hard work, she takes
care of herself, eats right, spends time with her children and reserves time to spend with old friends she met when she moved to
the United States eighteen years ago. “We get together, and nobody
cares what you do or where you’ve been. They’re just your friends
that you can relax and be yourself with,” she said. “They are the
‘chicken soup’ for my soul.”
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