Tracy Spiridakos Reveals the Cruel Modeling Experience at 17 She Still Remembers Today

Long before Tracy Spiridakos became known to millions as Detective Hailey Upton on Chicago P.D., she briefly considered a very different career. At 17, the future actress won a modeling contest and traveled with her brother to meet representatives from a major agency.

What should have been an exciting opportunity instead became an experience Spiridakos says stayed with her for years. During a new appearance on the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast, she recalled an agent photographing her in a bikini, marking areas of her body with a Sharpie and telling the teenager where she supposedly needed to lose weight.

A Modeling Contest Seemed Like a Major Opportunity

Spiridakos was living in Winnipeg, Canada, when she won the modeling contest at 17. She and one of her brothers subsequently traveled for a meeting with a modeling agency.

Once she arrived, Spiridakos said she was given a bikini and instructed to change into it so photographs could be taken.

The agency took Polaroids of the teenager and placed the pictures in front of her. What happened next transformed what appeared to be a promising career opportunity into an upsetting experience.

An Agent Circled Her Supposed ‘Flaws’

Speaking on the podcast, Spiridakos recalled that an agent took a Sharpie and began circling areas on photographs of her body.

According to the actress, she was then told she would have to lose weight in those specific areas if she wanted to pursue modeling professionally.

Spiridakos described hearing the comments as “like a gut punch.” She was only 17 and said she didn’t really know how to respond in the moment.

She did, however, have someone beside her who was prepared to respond.

Her Brother Immediately Defended Her

Spiridakos said both of her brothers have always been protective, and the brother accompanying her to the agency quickly challenged what was happening.

He questioned why the agency had brought his sister there after telling her she had won a contest only to criticize her weight.

Spiridakos recalled being told that she was attractive in an everyday sense but would need to lose weight if she wanted to succeed in the industry.

Her brother had heard enough. They walked away from the opportunity, and Spiridakos remembered him telling her that her modeling days were over and that he was going to tell their mother what had happened.

The Comments Stayed With Her for Years

Although the meeting happened when Spiridakos was a teenager, she acknowledged that its impact didn’t simply disappear when she left the agency.

She explained that she can still look in the mirror and notice the same areas that had been circled on those photographs.

Importantly, Spiridakos now recognizes that those areas aren’t actually “flaws.” Her reflection instead illustrates how criticism received at an impressionable age can become difficult to forget.

The actress said being so young contributed to how deeply the experience affected her perception of herself.

Acting Soon Offered Her a Different Path

Walking away from modeling certainly didn’t prevent Spiridakos from finding success in entertainment.

Her early screen credits included a 2007 episode of Supernatural, followed by appearances on television series including The L Word and Psych.

A much bigger opportunity arrived when she was cast as Charlie Matheson in NBC’s post-apocalyptic drama Revolution. Her performance earned her a Saturn Award nomination and gave Spiridakos a prominent leading television role.

That success eventually helped lead to the character with which many viewers now associate her.

Hailey Upton Made Her a Chicago P.D. Favorite

Spiridakos joined Chicago P.D. during its fourth season as Hailey Upton, initially appearing in a recurring capacity.

She became a series regular beginning with Season 5 and remained a major part of the NBC police drama through Season 11. Upton developed into one of the show’s central characters, with storylines involving both her difficult personal history and complicated relationships within the Intelligence Unit.

Spiridakos departed as a regular at the end of Season 11 but later returned as a guest during Season 13.

A Painful Memory With a Different Perspective Today

Spiridakos’ recollection stands out because she isn’t presenting the modeling meeting merely as an unpleasant industry anecdote.

Instead, she is acknowledging the lasting power that words can have when directed at someone young enough to internalize them.

At 17, she was told that parts of her perfectly normal body represented obstacles to professional success. Years later, despite establishing a successful acting career, she can still remember exactly what the agency identified.

The difference today is that Spiridakos can recognize those supposed imperfections for what they were: not flaws at all.

Her brother’s immediate reaction also takes on additional meaning in retrospect. Rather than encouraging his teenage sister to change herself to satisfy an agency’s demands, he simply took her away from the situation.

And while that effectively ended Spiridakos’ brief attempt at modeling, another career was waiting. Before long, television provided the opportunity that eventually made her a familiar face to audiences around the world.

Featured Image: instagram.com/spiridakos