Josie Is a Pussycat

Like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid before her, Josie Canseco is taking her Hollywood background and turning it into a major modeling career. The daughter of MLB player Jose Canseco and former Playboy cover girl Jessica, Josie is 18 and has a new hometown of New York.

She’s also got a thriving Instagram, a contract with Next Models, and a new fashion seal of approval—she’s been tapped by super-stylist Katie Grand, who also launched Cara Delevingne into the stratosphere.

We spoke with the 18-year-old about dance class, Taco Bell cravings, and trying to be an adult.

True or False: If you weren’t a model, you’d be a professional dancer.
Yeah, actually! I dance a couple of times a week. I go to Millennium Dance Studio in West Hollywood, and I take classes from my best friends. I used to be on my school dance team—it’s my passion. I try to keep it in my life as much as I can.

You model swimsuits like it’s no big deal. What’s your secret to exuding all that confidence?
Thank you! Honestly, having a father who was a baseball player, and seeing all the love, hate, negativity, comments—people are always gonna have something bad to say. And I feel like, “if people are gonna talk, then I’m going to give them something to talk about.” My dad really inspires me to be confident and not care what people think.

There’s no way people say mean things about your swimsuit pictures…
Oh, some people will always find a way to be negative. Whatever. I appreciate myself and I love myself for who I am. Whether my body is perfect in someone else’s eyes, I don’t care, because I know it’s perfect in my eyes. I really do my best to block negativity and hate. That’s what keeps me going and keeps me confident.

In your experience, was growing up with famous parents a positive thing?
Sometimes it was great because there was special treatment here and there we would get—little things—but also when we would go out in public, people would always stop my dad and ask for pictures. Even in a movie theater, sometimes people would walk by and call him names. Really random things! People might think having celebrity parents is great, and they might think that it’s everything. But at the end of the day, I don’t have a “celebrity parent,” I have a dad, my dad, and like every other dad, he does his best to take care of me and my family.

Are you sure you’re 18?
Yeah! I’m technically supposed to be a senior in high school, too, but I graduated online. I was a full-time student freshman and sophomore year, but junior year I got more serious about modeling. So I finished high school last year. Ever since then I’ve been living my own life. I moved into my own place in Beverly Hills. I’m moving to New York soon. I’m trying to be an adult.

What does “being an adult” mean for you?
I spend my days visiting my agency, going to castings, going to the gym, making sure I get the right exercise, making sure I’m not going to McDonalds and Taco Bell as much as I want to! I’m with my friends a lot, because I like to have people around me—a tight circle of people I’m close to, a few people, but I always like to have them around. And then I try to get some sleep. I’m used to going out until 1 am, but I’m adjusting away that. I’m doing my own laundry. I’m making my own food. I take care of my cat on my own. She’s my life, that cat!

Your cat?
She seriously is! Her name is Marley, but my mom named her Noodles, so now we call her “Marley Noodles.” It’s a really weird name but it kind of stuck! Everyone says she’s literally me in cat form.

Your pet cat is your spirit animal?
She is! She’s really independent. She doesn’t like everybody, but if she likes you, she really opens up to you quickly. She sleeps on my chest! She’s stubborn; she only likes to come to you, only on her terms. Kind of similar to me.

And how is “being an adult” going so far?
Things are hectic, but I’d rather learn the hard way.

Katie Grand just did a photo shoot with you. Is that boosting your career?
I hope so. Guido [Palau] cut my hair and David Sims shot the photos! It was amazing. They gave the best direction; they were so friendly; they made the whole thing a dream. It felt like a dream anyway, because it was last minute…I got a call from my agent being like, “You need to be with Katie Grand in an hour! Where are you?!” It was my first job with Next Models, actually! And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too familiar with her work before my shoot, but once I did my research, I was in shock that they wanted to work with me, when I was brand new. It was my first two weeks in New York. I was like, “This has to mean something. It’s a sign.” And it’s an honor. It’s still such a shock!

What do you wear when you’re off duty?
Honestly? It always depends on my mood. There’s days where I’m girly and fun and I’ll wear jeans and a pump and a sun hat. Then there’s days where the jeans are ripped, my black t-shirt is ripped, I wear Doc Marten’s, I wear a choker. I think I go from “Glam Barbie” to “Grunge Barbie.” It’s either a pink mood or a black mood. That’s how I’d describe it.

Whose style do you admire?
Oh, definitely Kylie Jenner! I follow her on Instagram and I think her style is amazing. She has a swag about her that she pulls off really well. And Sofia Richie has really good style! But one of my favorite actresses is Jennifer Aniston because she has a laid-back, chill vibe. It’s classy, but sexy in a way. So Kylie for glam inspiration, and Jennifer Aniston for chill.

We make a lot of playlists at Popular. Do you?
Yeah, actuallym it’s funny that you say that! My life revolves around music. To wake up, I play music. To take a shower, I play music. To get dressed, I do. It really has an effect on my mood. Linkin Park and Good Charlotte are some of my all-time favorites, and I love Aerosmith as well.

What’s your beauty routine like?
As in makeup? Well I’ve been blessed with pretty good skin, but—actually nobody knows this! But I used to get these weird breakouts on my forehead so I took Accutane. But now I barely wash my face. I use wipes to take my makeup off, and do facials from time to time. I wear minimal makeup, because at the end of the day, leaving makeup in your pores is what clogs up your skin.

What’s in your bathroom right now?
There’s a new Neutrogena range called “Naturals,” and their face cream smells like oatmeal.  It’s my favorite.  I have Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, another favorite. It’s light coverage, but it evens the skin tone and doesn’t make me break out. Those are my two big ones. That’s really it.

Cara Delevingne is in Paper Crowns and Rosie Huntington-Whitley is in Mad Max. Do you want to model, and then be an actress, too?
I think for the time being I’m focused on modeling. I’ve taken acting classes before, but for me, I like doing something more active, like dancing. I don’t have patience; I don’t like to wait around. When you’re modeling, there’s always something going on. You’re changing, you’re getting hair and makeup done, you’re going to a location. I have some friends who are starting to shoot movies, and they’ve been telling me they don’t know if they like it, because it’s kind of slow. You have to wait around a lot. So maybe in a few years, if I have the proper training, and I can be more patient, I’ll try it. I have an outgoing personality, and I could totally change and be a different character for a day. I like to dress up and be different people. So that part of acting appeals to me.

Ok, so you want to be a model. A big one.
A big one. My dream runway is Victoria’s Secret, obviously. I think most model’s is, right? Especially if they have a more commercial, sexy look like I do. And during this past New York Fashion Week, I was obsessed with Tommy Hilfiger’s football game runway, and that look. If I could have walked in that show, I would have loved it. Other ones I really admired were Tom Ford, Burberry, and Versace. I mean, it’s a dream to work with those designers. One day soon, I hope I have the honor to do that.