Savannah was born and raised by a single
mother and her grandma in Hico, Texas (pronounced (HIGH-co), just outside of Dallas. It was a small town with a big heart and a signature motto “Where everybody is somebody”. Your neighbors were probably related to you in some way, and on the way to the supermarket, you would probably pass by at least five of your close friends. It was a joyful and quaint little town, and no one ever seemed to leave. A country girl through and through with the cowboy boots to show it, Savannah was perfectly content in her small little world, and had no intentions of changing anything.
As a child, Savvy didn’t give many questions to why she didn’t have a father. To her, her mother was a superhero and didn’t need anyone’s help to fight her battles. But every year at their church’s annual father/daughter dance, she’d watch longingly as every other little girl paraded around with their dad, and every year it hurt more and more. At age 14, Sav approached her mother with a simple request: A name. All she wanted was proof that her father truly did exist. Her mother, knowing this day was inevitable, sat the teenager down and gave her what she wanted, and a little bit more.
Not only did she give her a name, but she also gave her a stack of photographs, as well as a phone number. Savannah learned that her father was named Jackson Harper, and was a famous and respected producer out in the Beverly Hills area. Sav’s mother, Leanne, tried to make it as an actress in California, but instead of work, she found Jackson, and they had a short-lived relationship. Leanne never told him about the baby, since he had so much on his plate, and she moved back to Hico to live with her mother, leaving him only a note and no other trace of her being there. Immediately after this conversation, Sav made contact with her father, who was shocked to hear he had a daughter, and they scheduled to meet the next month. It was overwhelming and exciting at the same time.
Savannah and Jackson hit it off immediately. They shared some of the same passions, had many of the same mannerisms, and even discovered they had a mutual dislike for cherry flavored candies. It was something out of a fairytale. Over the next couple of years, they kept in touch, talking on the phone every other day, and texting whenever they could. She would travel to LA for school vacation, and he would come to Hico for Thanksgiving and Easter. Sav was thrilled to finally have a father figure in her life, but there was once again a piece missing.
For Christmas her Sophomore year of High School, she asked for something major: to move to Beverly Hills and complete her high school education there in the presence of her father. Her mother, albeit a bit shocked, obliged, knowing that this was what her daughter had truly wanted for many years, as well as her father would take great care of her. Sav could tell that she was breaking her mother's heart slightly by picking up and moving, but she believed it was the right thing to do. The following June, right after her 17th birthday and the summer before her Junior year, she packed her bags and moved in with her father and his fiance, starting a new life on the West Coast.
The transition was
not easy by any means. Beverly Hills was a complete 180 from Hico, and Sav didn't expect for it to be as difficult as it was. The redhead was plucked from her small town roots and thrown into the glamorous city life, and most of the time she felt like a complete fish out of water. At first, she thought she had made the wrong decision by moving in with her father, not believing she was cut out for this type of life. But over time, she adjusted and began making things work in her new surroundings, trading in her cowboy boots for heels, and her modest wardrobe to the latest trends.
After being scouted by one of her father's friends, she jumpstarted her modeling career, which was a big step in her happiness, but also slowly became a major stressor. Even though it is a career that she loves, there are parts of it that are less appealing and glamorous. A highly competitive industry, Sav tries her best not to crack under pressure but feels as though it may be starting to get to her. She wants to make everyone happy, including her father, but at the same time, she is realizing that she is losing parts of herself that she used to love. Mentally, her carefree and spontaneous nature has vanished, and physically, she has become incredibly conscientious about how others perceive her. Burying these feelings under a bright smile, Sav tries incredibly hard not to let these thoughts show to her classmates and especially her father, which is why she tends to float from group to group, as a way to only let people in skin deep.