Modeling and Talent Agencies

You can do a GOOGLE search for Chicago Talent agencies and a list will come up. You can also buy something called the Act One Reports (call Act One Studios) which lists all the talents agencies and their requirements for submissions. There's also a book that you can probably find at your library called THE KIDS BOOK: A Guide to Acting for kids in Chicago.

Do NOT respond to any solicitation you receive randomly in the mail, or attend a giant "open call" where they tell you your kid is amazing and then say they have to have professional pictures taken and ask you to pay fees to join their agency. Be wary of anyone who promises to make your kid a "star". These are scammers who prey on the vulnerabilities and pride of gullible parents. And there are LOTS of them out there.

For your child to work, you must have a flexible schedule and be willing to do a lot of traveling on quick notice to downtown Chicago. There are lots of auditions and lots of waiting around. You might go to auditions where they are seeing 200 kids and you just have to wait your turn. So your daughter in addition to her looks needs to be patient and have a good and open personality. My kid is totally photogenic but if he had to wait for any length of time (and trust me, I'm an actor/model - there's LOTS of waiting) he'd be a basket case. He just doesn't have the temperment that's required.

Also they make sample sizes for kids in size 3T. So if your kid isn't a normal clothing size the odds are stacked against you.

But if it's just you and your girl with nothing to do and she seems like she could do the job then by all means pursue reputable agencies who handle kids and don't make empty promises. And don't shell out money. Period. Quality snapshots should do at this age.

Good luck!

You purchase headshots at first and thats it. You should not pay for anything else and the representation fee is bologna. They get paid if they get you work and they should help build the portfolio and set up headshot updates for you.
other than that just a question...I was in the industry as a child and HATED my mom for it for years...are you really sure about your intentions here? why do this to your kid???

At 2 years old you shouldn't even get any photos professionally taken. Take some snap shots of your daughter and get multiple images printed at kinkos or walgreens just until you know this is gonna really take form. You call Lily's, Stewart, Ambassador & Arlene Wilson and ask them for submission guidelines to send your daughters snapshots to them to ensure that she's even representable. Make sure your daughter can be herself without you around. Once meeting with an agency they will ask you to leave the room to see if your daughter can be herself. Please don't force your child into this business, hopefully it's something she'll enjoy doing.

elite chicago has a children's division -
just a note - as the mom said below - you should never be paying for things when your signing up your daughter - contact sheets yes - but lessons - um, not that's not legit.

We've heard that Lily's is the place to go: http://www.lilystalent.com/core/index.php

One thing I can tell you, do NOT go to JRP. They will make you sit through a two hour meeting, then tell you your kid has "promise" but needs their classes which are like $700 I think. I've heard similar stories about Barbizon too.
I took my daughter to Adkids because we got a letter from them. They wanted $500 to represent her for 2 years. In addition, $25 every 6 months for head shots from their photographer. And of course, there is no guarantee that the kid will get work. I thought the $500 fee sounded sketchy, so I asked my cousin who used to book talent for the catalog One Step Ahead. She said they used Lily's Talent Agency, and recommended it to me. www.lilystalent.com
They ask you just to send in snapshots, and don't charge a fee for representation, but if they agree to represent you, would require you to get your own headshots which can run hundreds of dollars. So I guess that's the better option; haven't tried it yet, because now my husband's convinced everything's a scam.