Photos by Teddy G / Xposer Photography
Before she was the international pinup model and personality known as Bella Rage, she was Billie Jean. Billie Jean grew up in a military family and was accustomed to moving schools at least once a year. She learned early on what it was to move to a new environment, get to know how things worked and make new friends. A young Billie Jean was in love with art and music and played the piano and the flute thru most of her childhood and adolescent years. She had an aunt who owned a music store and supported her along her musical journey. In order to give thanks to her aunt, who supported her by gifting her a very unique and expensive flute, Bella committed to being the best flute player that she could be. She earned the prestigious First Chair from eighth grade all the way through high school.
“I was a total nerd- you know, the typical band geek,” shared Bella during her exclusive interview with DXM. Being a total nerd is a far cry from where Bella is today. Her breathtaking stills have been featured in print publications on an international level and she is no stranger to being “on camera” talent representing a multitude of different media outlets.
As a young lady graduating from high school, she felt that her natural next step was joining the military. She went through the process of taking the tests required and upon scoring very high…found herself accepted to a high-level Intel position with the United States Air Force. Upon going through the physical, however, the doctors discovered that Bella was on heart medication.
A young Bella suffered from SVT, which in essence is a condition which gave her an extremely high heart rate. Consider what a hummingbird’s heart rate is (around 300 beats per minute). This condition leads to people passing out frequently given their very high heart rate. Needless to say, Bella was not accepted into the USAF as a result.
After much convincing from her family at the age of 19, Bella underwent a very intrusive surgery to probe her heart. She had seven cameras probing through her body so that the doctors could see inside of her arteries. Bella had to stay awake during the entire surgery in order to offer insight to the doctors along the way. Part of the procedure involved the surgeons inducing heart attacks in order to gauge where the problem areas were. They identified two problem areas in Bella’s heart and the surgery was successful. Bella, however, was not out of the dark.
Distraught, unhappy, and a bit frustrated about her experiences thus far, Bella found herself in a very angry point in her life. To add to these dark times, at the age of 23 she came down with pneumonia. Her brain had swollen to capacity and she was in a coma. Upon being rushed to the emergency room, Bella was unconscious and on life-support for two weeks. Her extended family was contacted and making arrangements for the funeral.
While Bella’s eyes were closed, she floated into another space. She spoke of feeling a heightened sense of peace and a renewed sense of self-love with warmth, security, happiness, and bright colors and lights all around.
“When I came back to my body, I entered through a bright white tunnel and when my eyes opened, I looked all around and could see people talking but at that point I couldn’t hear because I was deaf from my brain still being so swollen,” recalls Bella.
Upon recovery from her near death experience, Bella awoke with a new sense of life and purpose. She was not the same angry person who had fallen asleep. She had made peace with her past and was open and accepting of what was yet to come.
Living life to the fullest and allowing the ebb and flow to guide her, Bella now finds herself doing what she loves. Bella Rage the woman and personality is larger than life and is being hired to do pose coaching, host events, emcee events, and is no stranger to print and on camera projects.
In the next few months, she will be releasing her upcoming radio show -The Bella Rage Show. The show will be based on all the things Bella loves such as music, art, and entertainment in Denver and beyond.
“I’m so excited for what’s to come with my radio show. Just the ability to have control over the content and getting information out there excites me,” gushes Bella.
Up to this point Bella has had some very REAL life experiences. It has molded her to be the fun-loving personality that most know of her today. With a heart of pure gold and with a soul that has traveled to distant lands…there is no doubt that Bella will always find herself with bright lights all around.
Written By: Jessica Montour
Owner Fashion Forward
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