Kayla Gilchrist is a Christ-centered professional model and actress with a communications, media, film, and digital marketing career. Having moved around a bit growing up, Kayla describes herself as New Jersey-born, Maryland-bred, and Texas-raised. She values education, graduating from two prestigious universities: THEE HBCU Prairie View A&M, where she received her bachelor’s in media communications with a minor in theatre arts, and most recently, Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, where she obtained her master’s in business administration. Her goal is to use her business knowledge and eventually open a film and media production company, not only telling her narratives but also having the autonomy to control them.

She also plans to use her business acumen to begin a fragrance line suited for sensitive skin types. Kayla is a well-rounded “artivist” positioned to connect on a deeper level emotionally and strategically through storytelling both in front of and behind the lens. In recent years, Kayla has consistently charted her course on the big screen by filming a project each year with Indifferent Enchantment in 2020, SNAP in 2021, Unfavorable Odds in 2022, and 2023, she went back to her theatre roots with her second theatrical production for Soul Rep Theatre in Like a Kite.

Always creative—from drawing and painting to writing short stories and poetry—Kayla also has a knack for fluidly combining her love of theatre and film. Some of her self-produced short films, such as Art, HELP, and SNAP, have won awards at independent film festivals, including ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Cinematography’ for Art, ‘Best Thriller’ for SNAP, and ‘Best Short’ for Help.

On deck for 2024, after earning the title of Ms. Black Texas USA, she will compete for Ms. Black USA 2024, advocating her platform “Unity in the Community through Economic Empowerment,” raising awareness about the racial wealth gap still plaguing the African American community today. In her spare time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her family, playing with her pets, singing, learning her harp, and catching up on her favorite TV shows. Kayla Gilchrist is a force to be reckoned with and looks forward to continuing to use her gifts to serve God and others.