Nashville Lifestyles' 25 Most Beautiful People 2018

Mallory Ervin | 33, Social Media Influencer and YouTuber

Don’t let that title fool you. Mallory Ervin, a former pageant titleholder, puts her influence and social media skills to good use.

“I’m able to mentor people through this outlet,” the YouTube entertainer says. “So many women look to influencers for happiness or inspiration and leave feeling less than. I strive for my content to leave them feeling good about themselves.”

Having been on The Amazing Race three times, Ervin says one of her biggest influences is her father, Gary, who at age 60 decided to climb all seven summits, including Mt. Everest.

“He’s super accomplished but simple, all at the same time. I love that,” she says.

Boluwatife Akinyode | 24, Professional Soccer Player

Bolu, as he’s known to his teammates, wasn’t predicted.

“My parents actually expected me to be a girl,” the Nigerian midfielder for Nashville SC says. “They named me ‘Boluwatife,’ which means ‘how god wants it.’”

Call it Providence, then, that he ended up in Nashville just as the city’s Major League Soccer bid was approved for the 2020 season. But while you might find him occasionally on Lower Broadway, Akinyode is more often sacrificing a social life for his divine gift of soccer:

“People never get to see the behind-the-scenes work we put in,” he says. “They only see the end product.”

Aleah Smith | 26, Public Relations Professional

Aleah Smith may have followed her college sweetheart to Music City (Preds right wing Craig Smith), but she’s quickly found her own place in the city through activism-based projects. With the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee program Count It! Lock It! Drop It!, she helped target the state’s opioid epidemic. But it’s the native Wisconsin pair’s volunteering with organizations YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee and the Nashville Predators Foundation that are the most rewarding:

“I’ve loved being able to do hands-on work to support the lives of youth and families right here,” she says.

Wirth Campbell | 26, Entrepreneur and Model

Wirth Campbell may look like he’s carved out of wood, but he admits it was a chubby childhood that pushed him toward his passion for fitness:

“I’ve never looked back,” the Auburn alum and former collegiate football player says.

Citing health icons like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for inspiration, Campbell owns his own gym, the Tim McGraw-branded Tru Mav Fitness, even as he continues to model in New York and star in the reality show Very Cavallari. Still, with the words “Family Over Everything” tattooed on his shoulder, he makes time for relationships.

“I couldn’t imagine growing up without their endless support,” he says.

Lucy Hatcher | 58, Model and Horse Trainer

Ask Lucy Hatcher where her passion lies, and she skips over a 43-year (and counting) career as an actress and model. Instead, she hones in on her work with horses—and their owners.

“I like to call it horse development,” the mother of two says.

Rather than breaking broncs in the ring, Hatcher works with mature equines and their human partners to smooth out the rough edges of their relationships.

“We’re meat eaters and they’re prey animals,” she explains of the animals. “I help them understand their horses’ behavior to keep that partnership intact.”

Ryan Griffin | 34, Songwriter and Country Artist

When he’s not touring the U.S. or locked in a writer’s room, Florida native Ryan Griffin wants to be out to sea.

“Fishing and anything that involves water has always been my favorite way to unwind,” he says.

But Griffin is now spending those aquatic moments with his growing family: wife Talia and son Levi.

“My son is my heart,” he says. “He changed what love meant the day he joined our family.”

Expect big things from Griffin, who signed a development deal with super-producer busbee, who struck gold with his first emerging artist, Carly Pearce.

Torri Yates-Orr | 31, Actress and TV Host

“A colleague told me that after talking to me, they feel like they can take over the world,” says former CW host Torri Yates-Orr. “If I can make everyone feel like that, I will have succeeded.”

Talking to the Nashville native, one can’t help but believe her. It makes sense then that, when not reading international affairs textbooks for fun, and binging on professional wrestling, she would use her supercharged pep talks for good with Girls on The Run of Middle Tennessee.

“Empowering girls to be their full confident selves is my personal mission,” she says. “When women come together, we can be unstoppable.”

Brittany Farrar | 28, Director and Co-Owner, SHED Fitness Gulch

For Brittany Farrar, beauty goes far deeper than what you see on the surface.

“As a personal trainer, I do my best to motivate and encourage my clients every day. It is so much more than just getting people in shape,” she says. “When I see someone’s confidence change because of the work we’ve done, that’s the most rewarding feeling in the world.”

In her own life, that also means looking at her own workouts as more than work.

“I look at working out as an opportunity to feel alive and strong, not as something I have to do,” she adds.

Plus, she understands the balance—a good glass of wine at the end of the day is just as good for her motivation.

“There’s no problem a good glass of wine can’t solve,” she laughs.

Nicolle Galyon | 34, Songwriter and Producer

“I’m probably the last person in all of Nashville who doesn’t know how to play guitar,” says Nicolle Galyon, laughing.

But the mother of two is doing just fine with her piano, notching cuts with Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, and Florida Georgia Line, among others. While daughter Charlie and son Ford take up many of her non-songwriting moments, Galyon still secrets away a few for herself, which she finds essential. Find her at the RH Café inside the new RH Nashville | The Gallery at Green Hills.

“Anywhere I can drink champagne at 11 a.m. in stretchy pants is my jam,” she says.

Robin Hobbs | 34, Pediatric Dentist, Snodgrass-King

As a doctor serving children, Robin Hobbs says that it’s the daily accomplishment of helping kids get over their fears that brings her joy.

“Seeing [them] leave with smiles on their faces makes me the happiest,” she says.

Outside of her day job, she commits to working with teens in another way, too. She and her sister, Dawn, launched the SMEARED Campaign, “an online resources center and blog that promotes positivity, encouragement, and support from the effects of bullying and cyber bullying,” she says.

“Being a victim of such harshness myself, this project has allowed me to speak my truth to help others in need and create healing for myself,” she adds.

Hal Cato | 53, CEO, Thistle Farms

Having founded Hands On Nashville at age 25, worked extensively with Oasis Center, and now leading the operations of Thistle Farms, Hal Cato has worked for, or in collaboration with, a high number of the city’s nonprofits. He has an innate ability to see opportunity where others don’t, and then rally people behind it.

“But, I have to say that, the love I feel everyday from the survivors at Thistle Farms is beyond anything I ever thought was possible in a job.” And he can’t help but enjoy watching people graduate—from anything, he says, that he knows, “took grit far beyond what I possess to get there. For many years, I tried to never miss a high school graduation. And there is nothing more amazing than a Thistle Farms graduation. It is joy unleashed.”

Billy Dec | Actor and Restaurateur

In a true rags-to-riches story, Billy Dec, son of a Filipino immigrant, earned a law degree; appeared on the shows Criminal Minds, Empire, and American Crime Story; and was named to the Obama administration’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He currently helms the Asian-fusion eatery, Sunda, in the Gulch, the restaurant’s second location after its Chicago start.

“I’ve been told I’m relentless,” he says.

In his spare seconds, Dec is hunting for his own homestead:

“Fifty-plus acres,” he says, “with a pond or river to fish, room to farm, and space for chickens and pigs.”

Brie Thiele | 32, Broadcast Journalist

While Nashville may know Brie Thiele as the fresh-faced traffic reporter on WKRN’s “Good Morning Nashville,” the San Diego native has a secret: she’s a die-hard sports fan. A former Fox Sports talent, she cut her teeth covering the NFL and MLB. But it’s hockey, which she discovered back home, that currently stands as her favorite.

“I’ll be a lifelong fan,” she says, looking forward to the start of the Preds’ 2018-19 season.

Her latest segment, which profiles diehard Titans superfans, returns to her roots.

“What I love about my job—and about life—is connecting with people and hearing their stories,” she says. “Everyone has a story.”

Derrick Henry | 24, Running Back, Tennessee Titans

From Yulee, Florida, to the University of Alabama, to his position playing for the Titans, Derrick Henry has been fueled by a fierce competitive streak. Growing up, it was game after game of 21, played with his cousin in the driveway, or endless rounds on the PS2, trying to beat whoever he was matched against. At school, he hit a high, winning the Heisman Memorial Trophy. But underneath that competitive front lies humility, and the soft soul of a man who’s tight relationship with his grandmother influenced who he is today.

When she passed in 2016, he says, “it was like my whole world crashed down.”

Today, he does what he can to pay her love forward, acting as a mentor and role model to kids through the Boys & Girls Club of Franklin.

Lauren Akins | 28, Homemaker and Philanthropist

When Lauren Akins met her daughter, Willa Gray, she was living in some of the worst conditions she’d ever seen, in Uganda. But from it, Akins has witnessed her daughter blossom:

“Even the darkest places of our world cannot dim her bright light and strong spirit,” she says.

With country-star husband Thomas Rhett, Willa Gray, and second daughter Ada James, the young family spends much of its time on the road. Still, when home, they’re decidedly normal: A dinner at bartaco, ice cream at Jeni’s, and a walk around the neighborhood before watching the stars from two deck chairs at the edge of their property.

Arielle St. Pé Ricci | 29, Founder and CEO, Nellamoon Candles

Originally from Mississippi, Arielle St. Pé Ricci spent two summers interning for Ralph Lauren’s creative styling team in New York before mastering the art and science of candle making and launching her own line, Nellamoon. Both she and her husband, Chris, lost their mothers to cancer, so she donates a portion of proceeds to charities, like the Nikki Mitchell Foundation, a local, music-based organization that helps raise awareness around pancreatic cancer. Inspired by her mother, who passed way when St. Pé Ricci was 11, the entrepreneur and creative strives to help others shine.

“We use Nellamoon as a force for good and believe that giving back is one of the most powerful, impactful things you can do,” she says.

Kane Brown | 25, Singer-Songwriter; Entertainer

He might be a chart-topping artist with the third most streamed country song of all time (“What If’s”), but Kane Brown keeps himself grounded, even on tour. Having played four varsity sports during high school, he still plays basketball every day, especially while on the road—and he can still hit the three-pointers.

“The last few tours we had a routine where we’d get up and play with all the acts on the road together,” he says, a tradition he’ll continue when he heads out this January on a headlining tour.

When he’s off the road, Brown takes time to be with his wife, Katelyn Jae, to sleep, and occasionally to hit a few rounds at Topgolf.

“I’d be there every day if I could,” he adds with a laugh.

Savana Hodge | 25, Operations Analyst; Reality TV Star; Miss TN USA 2019

With arresting looks and a charming personality, Savana Hodge took the country by storm via the reality show Music City. Still, she’s decidedly down to earth, citing her sister and mother as some of her biggest influences, along with a passion for beekeeping, “because it’s the sweetest,” she says. Her taste of 2018 fame may be just the start of her future, with a destination unknown. But Hodge isn’t worried about where she’ll land:

“I am most proud of where I am right now,” she says. “This is a season of growth where I feel myself being stretched in ways I have not yet experienced.”

>>> MORE WITH MISS TN USA 2019

Minnette Jackson | 33, Interior Designer

Before Minnette Jackson decided to pursue design professionally, she worked as a licensed broker in New York. But after reading a quote by famed interior designer, Albert Hadley, she switched gears. It read: “Decoration is really about creating a quality of life, and a beauty in that life that nourishes the soul, that makes life beautiful.”

That quote, she says, “is basically what made everything click into place.”

It was her grandmother, a portrait artist, who first influenced her thoughts on topics like color and “flair,” she says.

“All of those little things stayed with me and have shaped how I look at the world around me, and given me an eye for design and color, and an appreciation of the unusual,” she says.

Brad Ramsey | 40, Interior Designer

Ask Brad Ramsey what he’s most proud of, and he’ll tell you easily: Owning Brad Ramsey Interiors for almost six years. It’s representative of the interior designer’s ethos: little by little, detail by detail.

“In my life, I strive to love well, honor those around me, and give back when I can,” he says.

While long brunches and carefully manicured nails were once part of his relaxed weekends, Ramsey can now be found with new pup, Linus, a rescue dog with a whole lot of energy.

“Puppy cuddles round out the perfect day,” he adds.

Stephanie Silverman | 47, Executive Director of the Belcourt Theatre

In her patron-facing role with the Belcourt, which underwent a massive renovation under her leadership, one might think that Stephanie Silverman is a people person. Not so:

“I’m very introverted and have to work at being more outgoing,” she admits.

Even with her theater seeing record attendance, Silverman is expanding her reach, currently chairing the board of the League of Historic American Theatres, a national organization that champions preservation, restoration, and operation of historic theaters.

“It’s an amazing and committed group of people and I just love being a part of it,” she says.

Loraine Segovia-Paz | 40, Owner, Casa Segovia-Paz

Raised in Peru and Bolivia, Loraine Segovia-Paz holds her native lands close—and introduces them to others often through her business, Casa Segovia-Paz, which makes and sells empanadas.

“Having been one of the first to have introduced empanadas to the Southern U.S. market has been a challenging, exciting, and educational journey,” she says. “Our city is opening its heart and arms to new and different flavors more and more each day.”

A dedicated member of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Paz supports her community.

“Nashville has been my home for the last 16 years and I want to make sure I am a positive force in the formula for [the] new Nashville we are all creating,” she adds.

Raleigh Keegan | 28, Singer-Songwriter

Throughout Raleigh Keegan’s life, it’s been hard work, on top of talent, that’s driven his success. In college, he played football while getting an exercise science degree, which landed him a job as a personal trainer. But music always called to him.

“I couldn’t stop writing songs in my head when I should’ve been teaching squat formation,” he says.

That work ethic comes from a place of gratitude.

“I was born in a prison and adopted a few days later,” he says. “I’ve had a life that I would’ve never been able to have otherwise. I support [adoption causes] and can only hope for more people to be rescued from rough situations like I was.”

Suzanne Crook | 53, Mom; Jewelry Designer, Carden Avenue

“I genuinely enjoy people,” Suzanne Crook says. “Saying 'I never met a stranger' would be trite—but true.”

A jewelry designer with Carden Avenue, Crook is also passionate about her work designing and creating new pieces.

“My business partner, Carolyn, and I always say, 'We never seem to run out of ideas, only time.' I’m so thankful to [have built] a business I love,” she adds.

When she isn’t creating—or repairing—things (she’s proud to say she has her own toolbox), the mother of one can be found hanging around 12 South, eating ice cream for lunch (don’t judge), or on her bike, “riding all of the greenways in Nashville.”

James Shaw, Jr. | 29, Community Hero

After the Antioch Waffle House shooting in the early hours of April 22, during which James Shaw challenged, charged, and disarmed a mass shooter who had already killed three, the North Nashville native saw his life change forever. As a man of faith, Shaw has come to understand that there are bigger plans for his life than he’d ever considered prior to that Sunday morning. He’s back at his alma mater, Tennessee State University, finishing an interdisciplinary degree in psychology and criminal justice.

“I feel like if I’m gonna talk about it, I need to know about it,” he explains.

And his plans, while ambitious, are what a man given a new life might aspire:

“I’ve really been thinking about being mayor, then senator, then president,” he says. “But one of my real goals is the Nobel Peace Prize.”

>>> MORE WITH JAMES SHAW, JR.

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