Why did you choose the name "Penny”?
My stage name was originally “Penny Dreadful” after the illustrated periodicals sold in victorian-era England. They were short stories usually about horror, sci-fi, or mystery. When I first started modeling I was specializing in gothic modeling and had dreadlocks, so Penny Dreadful seemed an appropriate name. I had also gone to college and majored in illustration where I had researched the penny dreadfuls as well and felt matched with their darkness. When I officially became a SuicideGirl I swapped the “Dreadful” part for “Suicide” in my stage name becoming Penny Suicide and abbreviated my name to just Penny on the site.
Where are you from?
I grew up in the Midwest in the USA and I call soda “pop." That should be a sufficient clue.
How long have you been a SuicideGirl?
Since 2016, so going on five years now.
What are some of you favorite video games?
I love almost anything MMORPG/RPG, button mashing, or side scrolling. I was obsessed with Ragnarok Online. I also enjoyed these series: Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, Diablo, Divinity, Resident Evil, Super Smash Bros. (Melee), Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines, and Mortal Kombat. As well as stand alone titles: Dragon’s Crown, Bloodborne, and Skyrim.
Are you an anime fan? If so, watching anything currently?
Yes! I’ve been an anime fan forever. I grew up watching Toonami on Adult Swim when they would play the anime shows late at night on the weekends. And then I would get the manga and read the series. I don’t have a lot of free time to watch anymore unfortunately, but my last big series binges were Death Note, One-Punch Man, and Gurren Lagann. Forever will love Sailor Moon, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach, Hellsing, Inuyasha, Outlaw Star, Rurouni Kenshin, Tenchi Muyo!, Trigun, Yu Yu Hakusho, Wolf’s Rain, and Ranma 1/2 to name a few.
Do you cosplay? If so, planning any cosplay currently?
I do have some cosplays! For SuicideGirls I have done Deadpool and Sailor Mars, which have both done really well on the site! I went to the last San Diego Comic Con with my Deadpool cosplay, which people loved. Misa from Death Note, Catwoman from Batman, Selene from Underworld, and femme version of Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z I have done at past conventions that people all really enjoyed. I have gone as Jessie from Team Rocket to C2E2 and that was fun and people loved that too.
I also have cosplayed famous goth characters like Morticia Addams and Elvira. I would love to plan more cosplays! I have an unfinished Mandalorian cosplay that needs to be shot, but is in the works. Future cosplays I could see myself doing are a female version of Edward Scissorhands, Raven from Teen Titans, some iteration of Harley Quinn more on the red/black color scheme, or Death from Sandman.
Tell me a little bit about the different tattoos that you have.
Oh gosh. That's a lot! I have quite a bit tattooed on me now. My chest tattoo is a vampire bat with a victorian heart shaped locket over my heart, and there are roses and smoke surrounding it’s wings and my under boob tattoo says “Spooky Girl.” Those I drew and designed myself as well as the black angel wings on my back. My left sleeve is black lace filigree into a black out on my forearm and hand with a skull poking through. My knuckles say “Doll Face” with a dagger and a pink bow to commemorate turning pink and becoming an official SuicideGirl. My stomach is a large skull with floral designs wrapping down my torso. On my spine I have anatomical/biomechanical spine bits that were inspired by an H. R. Giger painting he did of his wife. I have a witch’s face on my lower back.
And my sides, butt, and thighs are one large art nouveau floral pattern with black out elements in the filigree that tie my eventual bodysuit together. I plan to be covered from the neck down one day when I finish. I have a very crappy wolf tattoo on my top part of my right foot that healed poorly but I’m too afraid to laser or cover up because it was probably my most painful tattoo! Haha. But I really love how my tattoo collection is going! They all essentially fit into my ideal of “dark beauty”.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of cosplaying?
I think the hardest part is making sure the costuming looks accurate, polished, and finished, I pride myself on my cosplays looking well thought out. Poor execution is not acceptable for me. I either have to commit to a character and do them justice or I will scrap an idea if I don't think I would be proud of the outcome. The details, materials, etc. everything has to be right for me.
Are there any other cosplayers, or just models in general, that inspire you?
Oh gosh! Tons! I love so many amazing cosplaying models. I love fellow SuicideGirls that cosplay like Rincity, Blizzard, Nayru, MariaJupiter, Ellie (EliseLaurenne), CryBaby, and Lua to name a few. But we have tons of cosplayers on SuicideGirls, every Friday is "Cosplay Friday", where we feature two Sets of the Day of cosplaying girls.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in modeling?
I would say make sure you know your own comfort levels and boundaries as a model, especially, if you are doing any sort of nude/18+ modeling and know that the photos will be on the internet forever. Yes, your potential employers, your friends, and family members may find out about it, so make sure you're willing to handle the consequences and look at the big picture of how that may affect your life and if you can handle that.
Model safety is key and very important, please do your research on photographers you work with, for example, ask previous models for honest feedback and trust your instincts when interacting with them. Don't let just anyone take your picture. Look at portfolios of photographers that shoot images you would want to see yourself in. If you work with low quality photographers you will be viewed as a low quality model. That might sound harsh, but it is just the reality in this industry. That means you might have to work for trade or even pay photographers to build your own modeling portfolio when getting started, especially if you are new and inexperienced. This is a good thing, because you will learn a lot about posing/expressing/etiquette and valuable skills you can carry on with you throughout your entire career and it is an investment in yourself.
You should not get into modeling if you have a get rich quick scheme in mind, it very rarely takes off for people like that. You will get back what you put into it, and if you want it to be a business you need to treat it like one. Think about the type of modeling you want to do and if you want to be in charge of yourself for handling bookings. Some people want to do mainstream fashion and work for a large agency and some people want to be their own boss and specialize in a niche. I chose the latter, but think about your intentions. Just like some people want to model full time and some want it to be a hobby/side gig.
Also don't compare yourself to other models. You are uniquely you. Look up to other models and be inspired by them, but don't be envious, and definitely don't beat yourself up about how you look in comparison. You will need to have thick skin, because you're being vulnerable by putting images out there, people on the internet can be very unkind. Don't take negative comments to heart. There's a Dita Von Teese quote I think of regularly, "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches."
Where can fans find more of you?
SuicideGirls: https://penny.suicidegirls.com/ref/949578/
OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/pennysuicide
Roll Like A Girl - Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/roll_like_a_girl
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pennysuicide
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pennysuicide
That One SuicideGirls Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1qBuvYHknOueyaZ5MH9naa?si=_0-Ob1JeRRyEx_yFzt75Sg
