How did a poor little Texas girl, born in Denton and raised with two younger sisters in Clear Lake by a hardworking mom, grow up to co-own the largest modeling and acting agency group in the southwestern United States? And whose famous name —Page Parkes — is linked to the careers of some of the biggest names in the business – Angelina Jolie, Channing Tatum, Alexis Bledel, Beri Smithers, Hilary Duff and Charlize Theron?

She’ll be quick to tell you it was because of her mother, Joy.

“When I was six, my mom packed us up and moved us to Houston. It was a city of great opportunity. I saw a lot of strength in her, watching her raise us,” says Parkes.

The struggling, all-girl family had a tiny house and Joy Parkes worked as an accountant. As the oldest daughter, Page would do what she could to help her mother. “I thought it was normal for a six-year-old to be giving vitamins and fixing breakfast for my sisters,” she recalls.

It is perhaps an inherited talent from her mom that has given Parkes such an uncanny “eye” for spotting talent. Her mother was always a keen observer.

“In school,” she admits, “I never made good grades in math but scored well in things like social skills, artwork and being popular. The magical part is that my mother watched me, to see what I was good at.”

Joy recognized her daughter's creative talents as the youngster would make dresses from old fabrics and even curtains. She “connected the dots,” Parkes says of her mother’s ability, and found a suitable fashion and design school for her to attend after graduating from Clear Lake High in 1976.

And every day, her mother told her she was special.

Somehow, Joy managed to send her eldest daughter to the American College of Fashion. Parkes studied in Switzerland, London, Italy, and France. At the graduation ceremony in 1979, the mother who had sacrificed so much, watched the daughter who had always struggled in high school, accept the college’s top honor, The Young Couture Award. The award was handed to her by Emilio Pucci. She then studied with the designer at the Emilio Pucci Castle in Florence.

This stellar occasion was one the daughter and mother almost missed. Parkes, unaware of the forthcoming award, convinced her mother to skip the “boring” diploma presentation. Luckily, the college circumvented her plan and that ceremony became one of the proudest moments of her mother’s life.

The power of the model

It was then Parkes realized the power of the model. “It's the model that sells the dress,” she’d learned. This was the beginning of her interest in “the model being the muse.”

Back at home, Parkes said it suddenly “just clicked” at how blessed she was to be an American. In our country, she says, “You can have five dollars in your pocket and make something of yourself.” She remembers at that time looking out the “little window at our little house and seeing a great big world out there” just waiting for her.

She took her first job at Michael St. James, a Houston modeling school and agency. She taught make-up and fashion and loved it, but noticed the students weren’t happy. Parkes turned that around and in no time had made a name for herself.

The company, however, was in financial trouble. Co-worker Rachel Duran, who would later become Parkes' business partner, recognized her talent. She told their bosses, “This little girl could turn the company around,” and they looked to Parkes as the ticket to save their company.

The agency was planning a show to pay tribute to Texas native Farrah Fawcett at what was then the Summit (later the Compaq Center and now Lakewood Church). Parkes traveled to Los Angeles to deliver a $60,000 advance check to Fawcett, but by the time she returned to Houston, the company was bankrupt and the show never went on.

Parkes was out of a job.

A worthy rival

The very next morning, Parkes got a call from the owners of Actors & Models of Houston. They had previously tried to convince her to come to work for their agency. This time they insisted, “You don’t have a choice now.” An hour later, Parkes was at work at Actors & Models and she took Rachel Duran along with her.

One day she was surprised to see an ad in the newspaper announcing the agency was for sale. She tried to buy it herself, and at first it looked like she could, but the owners reneged. Let down, Parkes walked out and opened up her own agency down the street.

To replace Parkes, Actors & Models lured another Texan back home from New York. “Neal Hamil was charming, smart, and handsome — not easy to compete against," Parkes recalls. For 10 years they were fierce competitors.

Reflecting on those days, Hamil said it put them on a strange collision course, “I was a young cocky buck who was not going to let her have an inch and she was the woman scorned who was not going to let me have an inch and we fought like crazy over what was back then, not much business at all!”

The two are now close frienda and In hindsight, Hamil says, “Had we ever sat down over a glass of wine, we would have probably recognized we should be friends and work together. The models and clients benefitted greatly from our bitter battles over them!”

He learned a great deal from that experience. “First of all, to meet people myself and form my own opinions and also how we should have been in cahoots and we would have had the advantage. But, alas, we were both so young and so determined!”

Hamil also had a dispute with the agency owners and, just like Parkes, opened his own agency with his name over the door.

“It wasn't until I sold my (Neal Hamil) agency and moved back to NYC to work for Eileen Ford at the global powerhouse Ford Models, Inc. (in 1992) that I sat with Page for the first time and we just absolutely fell in love. I always greatly respected Page and her business partner, Rachel, but we had truly never sat together for even two minutes. We used to find ourselves at Metropol on the same night and you could feel the anticipation of the other partiers! They were hoping for a showdown. The crowd would literally part! I think it is a huge reflection on our individual characters that we simply did our best to ignore the other. We did not engage. We kept our cool!”

Striking out on her own

On April Fools Day in 1981 when, with financial support from her family, she started the Page Parkes Corporation with co-owner Rachel Duran. The date was purposefully chosen, to let the world know she was “clearly not fooling” with her business. She kept the company name “Page Parkes” because by now, this young woman had quite a following.

As actresses and actors began to grace the covers of fashion magazines, Parkes began to develop, train and manage talent as well.

After moving her businesses into a high rise on Kirby in 1995, the owner asked to put her company’s name in a sign. (Who wouldn’t welcome that type of advertising?) But to her surprise, the letters were gigantic and the name “Page Parkes” fit the width of the building. “When I saw those letters going up to the sky… I just never guessed they would be so — big!” she remembers.

The Page Parkes Corporation is now located on the 610 West Loop. As they hoisted her name to the top of this new location, all she could think was how proud her mom would be!

In 1995, Joy Parks died of a stroke at the young age of 57. She was the single most powerful person in Parkes' life. She had watched her daughter excel at what she loved to do (curtains into dresses!) and never criticized her failing math grades. An accountant who ultimately became quite successful herself, she encouraged her creative child.

Parkes says, “It was me and Mom against the world! I am most proud of my Mom!”

She now has three businesses. Two are in Houston; Page.713 Model & Talent Agency and a training center Page Parkes Center of Modeling & Acting. She also has a talent management agency in Dallas where she gave a 17-year-old girl, Angelina Jolie, her start modeling in print ads for J.C. Penney.

At one time she also co-owned Page.305 Model & Talent Agency in Miami, but, in 2005, she merged that agency with Ford Models of New York (ironically, where her former competitor Neal Hamil had become executive vice president).

In Miami Parkes discovered Channing Tatum, now an actor on the fast-track (Dear John, She’s the Man, and the upcoming 21 Jump Street) and cover boy for the March issue of GQ. In February, Tatum appeared on George Lopez's late night show and gave a national shout-out to Parkes for starting his career.

Though she has never been a model herself, Parkes is a role model as a businesswoman and a community leader. She and husband Bob Eveleth (whom she met at her company’s Christmas party in 1995 and married a year later) and are big supporters of Child Advocates, the Houston organization that helps neglected and abused children. Through her involvement with Child Advocates, as both a volunteer and board member, she and Bob met and fell in love with their future family.

They adopted a trio of foster children in 2004; two brothers, Zachary, now 8, Jacob, 7, and a sister Reagan, 9. Parkes is fond of saying, “We got the call to come get the kids on my mom's birthday! The kids say Grandma Joy found them and brought them to us!”

Overnight, the couple became a family of five. They raise their three children in Cypress. Their long term goals include running their Living Waters retreat on Lake Travis, a peaceful getaway with a floating cabin that they rent out to vistiors, and leading a less hectic life.

Meanwhile, life is far, far from simple.

Parkes, 53, has become known worldwide for her ability to scout talent. She just returned from New York where a television pilot was shot for E! She was chosen as one of three scouts “to watch” how they find the talent that has potential.

Next to her mom, Parkes is most proud of her loyal co-workers. She credits all of the staff and models who believed in her passion. It has been true love to bring everyone along with her on this amazing 30-year journey. They will gather tonight to celebrate the occasion at a gala party at the Omni Hotel.

Even now, Mama Joy is probably still going along for the ride.