Model and mother of three Louise Boyce is more commonly known as Mama Still Got It!
Breaking the typical ‘Mumfluencer’ mould, Louise Boyce has fast become every parents’ most-liked social media star with her ability to capture the seemingly mundane moments of raising kids and spin them into hilarious sketches that all parents can relate to – often featuring her tiny-handed character Bernie. Having started modelling over 20 years ago as a teenager, today Louise is very much still in the business and humorously addresses the stark contrasts between her two jobs as a model and mother.
She recently kickstarted a national campaign called ‘Push It Out’ which, inspired by her own experiences, calls for more honesty in maternity advertising and has changed the way corporations such as Asos and Boo Hoo work, making her a trusted and powerful voice for women who want to maintain their individual identity as life evolves. Louise became a social phenomenon during Covid when, in an effort to combat her own anxieties, she swapped trying to be the perfect model-mum influencer for creating relatable, funny content about the realities of parenting to combat her own anxieties and is now as much an everyday icon for her fashion and beauty tips as she is for her humour.
Her hilarious debut book, Mama Still Got It! published by Harper Collins which chronicles the euphoric highs and epic fails of the school year, is out on Thursday 9th June.
I started Mama Still Got It because…
Honestly I was bored and needed something to do, both for me and for other women out there who also felt like perhaps they had lost their identity after they became a mother. When I was pregnant my career came to an abrupt halt after I told my then model agent I was pregnant and I found myself feeling alone, isolated and angry. I wanted to prove to society that under all this motherhood, us mums have still got it, in fact we never lost it! Whilst feeding my 6-month-old pureed banana I got a call from a new model agent I’d signed up offering me a big shoot in Italy. After I got off the call I remember saying to him “mama’s still got it” and I swear a light bulb went off above my head. I bought the domain name that moment and started a blog – not knowing what to do or how to do it, but I just had this feeling that it was the start of something.
Mama Still Got It is best known for…
Initially I started it to talk about the high and lows of motherhood, beauty hacks, fashion steals, and some secret truths about the modelling industry. However , Covid hit and work dried up so in an attempt to manage my own anxiety about what was going on in the world my content turned into comedy sketches. I impersonate my kids using little plastic hands that a friend had given to me 2 years prior. So now I’m known as the ‘little hands lady’. I seem to be a hit with the kids as well as the adults.. I guess you never know where life can take you sometimes. Plastic hands were never on my agenda but this character ‘Bernie’ seems to be more popular than me!
My biggest achievement to date is…
Aside from becoming a mother and overcoming an eating disorder, my biggest achievement to date is my book. I still pinch myself that I WROTE A BOOK!!! It really does feel like a 4th child – there is so much work that goes into writing a book – blood, sweat, tears and a lot of the dreaded Mum guilt from not being around for story time or school pick up but the end goal was worth it.
I was inspired to write the book because…
I wanted to share my comedic perspective on parenting, tell a compelling story, to let my readers know we are all in the same parenting boat and that none of us are alone. I guess I had some stories to tell and a message to share that couldn’t be contained any longer!
The books to take on holiday this summer are…
- Obviously mine! ‘Mama Still Got It!’ by Louise Boyce
- ‘Really Good Actually’ by Monica Heisey
- ‘Hungry Ghosts’ by Kevin Jared
My favourite childrenswear brands for summer are…
Next, Zara Kids and Tu.
My favourite place in the world to skip the crowds is…
Either LogHouse Holidays in the Cotswolds, or on my sofa at home watching a movie with the kids.
The highlights from my own wedding day were…
So so many. We had lots of little creative moments like a band walking us from the church to the reception through the streets of Portobello Road; strangers on the streets were applauding us and dancing along with us. Our food was fish and chips that we wrapped in a newspaper we made ourselves with stories from the hen and stag dos. The wedding breakfast was a sea of our guests reading the newspaper and laughing. We also had an up-close magician who circulated the tables doing magic which really got the atmosphere magical. But the biggest highlight was when I surprised my husband with his football teams cheerleaders who danced on stage – then I joined in half way through and really surprised everyone. I’ll never forget the cheers from the crowd – I felt like Beyonce!
And finally, what’s next for the Mama Still Got It Brand…
Watch this space and follow along… hehe
Related Article: 9 Questions with Hannah Coffin, Founder and CEO of Needle & Thread
