Hinsdale's Got Talent? Babes 'N Beaus Will Let You Know

With the ubiquity of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, this is certainly the era of self-promotion, but most of those interested in modeling or acting need representation now, more than ever.

“We are seen as the pre-screeners now by our clients [whom we provide talent to],” said Don Underwood, owner of in Hinsdale. “It is actually more difficult now than it used to be.”

Don and his wife, Joanna, began Babes 'N Beaus together in 2003 after originally entering the industry on the talent side. In 1997, the couple's daughter, Nadia, attended a model search and was selected to model in Japan. Joanna and Nadia lived in Osaka, Japan, for a period and Nadia is still a model today, although she is focusing on acting.

“An agent we worked with was leaving and we thought, 'Hey, we can do this, we know a lot of the people in the industry now,'” Don said.

The Underwoods found success, originally focusing on just younger talent. Don said it was not long before they started receiving calls from older people looking to give it a shot. They now handle all ages.

“We have clients in their 70s,” Don said.

He said one of the first things he tells clients is the reality of the business.

“Your children probably are not going to send themselves to college with the money they make for this. For adults, it won't be a new career,” the former stockbroker said. “Sometimes people get called once every few weeks, some every few months and some are never selected—it's all about chasing dreams.”

But dreams do come true and some area talent has found recent success, such as two west suburban boys cast in the now-filming "Superman" movie, and Hinsdale sisters Katlyn and Madilyn McMahon.

The McMahon sisters have worked with American Girl and Katlyn even had a commercial shot in Los Angeles.

Joanna said when it comes to what clients are looking for in talent, they never know what will come up.

“Projects generally first specify gender, age and ethnicity, but after that you never know. They've asked for skills ranging from double-dutch jump rope to video gaming to you name it,” she said. “Often we will send out a general email to clients who fit the core criteria.”

Don said in Chicago, clients are often looking for “just a regular person” and it's not only supermodels that have a shot in the industry.

Joanna even got some work for herself once—or at least for her legs.

“They just took a picture from my legs down and I ended up getting it,” she said. “It was for Cymbalta. I was supposed to suffering from leg pain—pharmaceuticals are common placements for those over 55.”

Don is on the air, too. He can be found on WJJG-AM 1530 as host of "Big Don's World."

"We talk about modeling and the industry, along with anything else that comes to mind," he said.

As for the future of their business, the couple said business has picked back up and they plan to continue as-is.

“It is driven by the economy and things were bad in 2009, but they have picked back up,” he said. “We have no plans to do anything different.”

Babes 'N Beaus is located at 104 S. Washington in downtown Hinsdale. The full-service talent agency sees clients of all ages by appointment.