Photographed by Raen Badua.
We spoke to Charissa Bigornia about her Filipino-Hawaiian upbringing and newfound motherhood that led her to Vogue Open Casting.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii from just eleven months old, Charissa Bigornia is the ultimate island girl, a child of two tropical cultures that nurtured her warm and welcoming disposition. “Both sides of my family are from the Philippines… then they came over to Hawaii, and that’s where they wanted to build their family,” she says. Her parents planted roots in Oahu after marrying in Manila, raising Charissa and her older brother in a home infused with the Aloha and Filipino spirit. “It’s been all I’ve known,” she explains with a smile lighting up her face.
Like many in the creatives, playing dress-up with her best friend and rummaging through Life-Size wardrobes was a formative experience, sparking an early love for transformation. By the age of four, she expressed her interest in becoming a ballerina to her mother, and the 500-year-old art form quickly became her world. “There was no plan B,” she says. She trained for 12 years until a knee injury from volleyball forced her to step away. The loss was devastating, but it shifted something in her. “I think my soul kind of found modeling to be what I can’t get solved with ballet,” she says. She explains that both art forms rely on precision and presence. “It is like dancing, really.”
Education remained paramount. At 17, she modeled briefly in Manila before returning home to finish high school, later taking up a joint Arts & Marketing degree at Hawaii Pacific University. After school hours, she took choir and voice lessons until COVID disrupted everything. The pandemic pause sent her to Arizona, where she worked for an airline. “I had flight benefits,” she laughs. “My dream was modeling. I would use it to fly everywhere and go to castings and do jobs.” Arizona became, in her words, “the perfect place to make connections,” close enough to Los Angeles for the dream to feel real.
The path to Vogue Open Casting began with an Instagram ad, a tiny algorithmic nudge that felt almost like a sign from above. “I was like, oh no way, they’re doing it again.” She had seen the casting years before and had been inspired, though she didn’t feel ready then. This year, after building her portfolio, she felt “a little curious,” despite being “so doubtful” and “so nervous.” She downloaded the Vogue app and read through the submission list: a short bio, experience, agency status, profile images (three-quarters, full body), and a brief introduction clip.
But between motherhood and overthinking, she procrastinated until the final day. When she opened the app expecting to have missed the deadline, she saw it had been extended. “I think that’s a sign,” she told herself.
Considering her son’s schedule, she hurried to a mall to film her videos against a plain wall. “It’s so hard to find a white wall sometimes,” she laughs. She submitted her clips, hoping for favorable results. When the semi-finalists were announced, and Vogue mentioned “a new mom” among the contestants, she realized they were talking about her. “It was heartwarming to see that they included that,” she says.
Motherhood has become one of her strongest motivations. She gave birth to her son Asa last December with her husband, whom she met at a Dominic Fike concert. “He’s going to be a year in two weeks,” she said during the interview. The name came to her in a dream. Later, she realized that pag-asa in Tagalog means hope. “He definitely is like a little light to us,” she says.
She delivered Asa “completely naturally and without any medicine,” something that left the hospital staff amazed and one of her biggest personal achievements. “They were like, this is the calmest, most peaceful birth we’ve ever witnessed.” Now she hopes to “spread more awareness” about positive birth experiences and holistic health. Her daily habits reflect this: whole foods, no processed sugars, drinking lots of water, fibre and protein, gentle movement, dancing when she’s happy, constant walks, and as much beach time as possible. “I’m always at the beach… getting vitamin D and nourishing my temple.”
Her days in Makaha on the far west side of Oahu follow an acoustic rhythm. She wakes around six or seven and takes Asa outside immediately, either for a walk or to the beach where he crawls in the sand. Breakfast follows, along with reading time. In the afternoons, she might leave Asa with her family and drive to the North Shore to collaborate with photographers. Later, she returns for an afternoon walk, a simple beach visit, or a gym session with her husband. “Every day is so different,” she says. “I almost have an almost toddler.”
Faith guides her through difficult times. “Honestly, my faith,” she says. “Looking at Jesus… gives me all the inspiration.” Her Filipino upbringing and Hawaiian environment taught her to value generosity and hospitality. “I’m always thinking about the people I’m working with. I see them as a second family.”
In the modeling world, she admires models Anok Yai and Bella Hadid, and she would love to walk for Miu Miu at Paris Fashion Week someday.
If she could leave readers with one idea, it is that her journey unfolded out of view. “All of this success was built in the quiet. It was built in the stillness,” she says. She believes that self-development begins with honesty. “It’s about getting still with yourself and realizing your dreams and goals, then backtracking. What can I do to make that happen?”
