Today we’d like to introduce you to Charissa Lauren.
Hi Charissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started working very young, primarily in film, theater, pageants, and modeling. I knew I wanted to work within the industry behind-the-scenes so I really focused on gaining as much experience as I could. I worked for various talent agencies, including The Talent Group and Barbizon, and I took many opportunities with Mosser Casting to physically work on movie sets. I also had the opportunity to begin productions with Pittsburgh Fashion Week, while also contributing as a Senior Market Editor for a local magazine, Front Row Monthly. I loved all aspects of the business: from event production, writing, to physically working on set. I eventually discovered that Public Relations was a way for me to do all of this. I started my first business at 22 with a partner at that time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I spoke much about my struggles in my early start-up days and the choice to leave a legal career, stop pursuing law, and risk everything to start a business. I also faced many obstacles once becoming a mother. I always say my children gave me the courage to really step it up personally and professionally. I knew I wanted a better example of hard work and a life well-lived for them. I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed, for us, but that also comes with guilt.
I try to involve my kids in my career any opportunity that I can. My daughter has gone to New York Fashion Week and has had the opportunity to see many shows, and my son has had the opportunity to see a few news sets and we’re taking him to his first documentary premiere this year. I think as long as you stay true to your purpose, and try to involve your children in every aspect of your work and life so they physically can see the world you’re trying to build for them, it helps eliminate some of the guilt because you know it’s all for them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
FAME by CL is a luxury PR, media, events, and brand visibility agency built at the intersection of fashion, entertainment, beauty, lifestyle, and culture. We specialize in making brands, personalities, and experiences impossible to overlook through strategic publicity, media relations, influencer partnerships, event production, creative campaigns, and experiential marketing.
What sets FAME apart is that we don’t believe visibility should be limited to a press release or a social media post. We create the moments, relationships, content, and conversations that give a brand a reason to be talked about. Our work can take a brand from a private experience or intimate dinner to a national media opportunity, a fashion week activation, a creator campaign, or a larger cultural moment. We’re intentionally selective about the brands and people we work with because we care about building long-term positioning, not simply generating noise.
One of the things I’m most proud of about FAME is that it has grown from my own career in PR and media into a much bigger vision. FAME is becoming its own media and creative ecosystem, with projects like FAME Magazine, FAME On Location, our IT Girl creator collective, Fashion Lab, and curated experiences that bring together creators, brands, media, and tastemakers. We’re building a platform where talent doesn’t just receive publicity, they have opportunities to create, collaborate, be discovered, and become part of something larger.
Ultimately, I want readers to understand that FAME is about creating influence with intention. We work with people and brands that have something worth saying, creating, wearing, experiencing, or becoming. Whether we’re handling PR for a growing company, producing a luxury event, developing a creator campaign, or positioning a personality for a larger national audience, our goal is the same: to turn great work into a brand people remember.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I was laughing with our team this weekend in New York Fashion Week because I said, “Unfortunately I define my success by experiences, travel, memories, and stories, and not with money.” In seriousness, I have always been a big fan of life. I believe in living my life like its art. I want to experience as much as I can, travel, make friends, listen to people’s stories, genuinely connect, and create something intentional along the way. As long as I continue to carry myself with purpose, people see and feel that with me.
Working in Public Relations has always been a calling for me. I’ve always had the ability to see others at their highest potential, and the capability to highlight the good in everything and everyone around me. That’s essentially what PR is: lifting other people. I have always loved and studied the concept of alchemy and try to implement those ideas into both my personal and professional life: to transform everything around me into gold.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.famebycl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/famebycl/?hl=en
