Ramaya Edwards has been in front of the camera for as long as she can remember.

The 16-year-old Bermudian had her first modelling assignment when she was three in a photoshoot for Benetton Clothing and has also been acting for years.

Now, the aspiring actor and model has signed on with the Los Angeles-based agency Henderson Represents Inc, which manages the likes of actress Yara Shahidi and Paris Hilton.

“I always believed that one day I was going to be a star,” Ramaya said. “I know that sounds cheesy, but I knew my end goal - and my end goal was to be acting or modelling for the biggest fashion magazine and doing something I just loved.

“Now that I’m signed, I’m just ready to dive into that world.”

Ramaya’s big break came after a national showcase held by SPiN, a nationwide youth acting competition based in Los Angeles.

The showcase involved daily classes between 9am and 6pm, which culminated in a competition. Each participant performed a monologue, a commercial and a scripted piece.

During the weeklong intensive camp, she performed in front of casting directors and talent managers. At the end, she received a silver medal in the best actor category and 15 callbacks from the talent managers over three hours.

“I feel amazing,” Ramaya said. “After doing that showcase and winning and getting all those callbacks, I feel like I can do anything if I just put my mind to it.”

Ramaya, who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, lived in Bermuda with her parents, Dean Jones and Gaynete Edwards, until she moved to Canada in 2021.

She was invited to the SPiN after being spotted in an acting class with the Society Performance Academy, which holds SPiN.

During SPiN, Ramaya took part in a commercial for the skincare brand Neutrogena and played one half of an academic rivalry in her scripted piece.

For her monologue, she played a high-school pupil jealous of a new classmate who stole her boyfriend.

Ramaya said: “I think the monologue was just a comedic piece of literature.

“It’s so dramatic – and I’ve been told that I’m dramatic all my life.

“I thought that it was just really fun to play on it because I’m a high-school girl.”

She added: “Everyone has acne, so I felt like I could resonate with the commercial.

“When it came to my script, I just really loved the banter. The banter between the two characters was phenomenal.

“Academic-wise, I think we all have that one person who does just a bit better than you and rubs it in your face.

“It was just that fun type of banter that drew me to that script.”

Ramaya was able to network at the event. She met other young actors, including Nickelodeon star Jack Griffo, whose breakout role in The Thundermans made him a household name for the network.

She admitted that she felt nervous at first because she had never performed in front of so many people.

But she said: “As soon as I got up there and I breathed in and breathed out, I thought to myself ‘why would I need to be nervous? This is what I want to do, I love this’.

“I took that nervousness and I put it in my work. I felt great after.”

Ramaya added: “I’ve always been an entertainment baby – I love making people laugh or making people smile in every possible way.

“When I was little I even pretended to be on a Food Network show so I could cook.

“I’ve always liked acting or modelling or pursuing anything in the entertainment business as that’s just how my personality is.”

Ramaya uses a technique in her acting called moment before and moment after - she crafts a back story for each character to make their behaviours more believable.

She explained: “I break down a character’s whole life.

“Even if their description is one word, I ask myself ‘where do you think they go do school? How’s their family life?’

“I pull from all of those things so that can reflect in my acting.”

Ramaya said it was important to pull from relatable emotions when acting because “you can always read from lines but you can’t always feel for the characters”.

She added: “You need to find something that resonates in yourself to play a character so well.”

Now that she is signed to an agent, she intends to apply for acting and modelling roles as often as possible.

While she could not disclose which roles she has her eye on, she wants to make a good impression.

Ramaya said: “I think being a role model is so important these days because everybody is glued to their screens and I just feel that, if I’m on their TV or whatever they’re watching me on, I want to be the voice of my generation.”