Bio

Before there were internet  "influencers" there was Bernie Dexter

                 Born in 1970 to Sherry and Joe. Joe, a US Navy officer born and raised in San Jaun Manila Philippines, Sherry a born and raised in Choctaw Oklahoma . Joe joined the US Navy in the 1950s to become a US citizen. He met Sherry at a night club in Hollywood 1969.
Fast forward to 2019 an ancestry test reviewed Joe was not Bernie's biological father at all! Her father was a man she was very familiar with. Peter Armando Apodaca from New Mexico. A Native American who was a musician in a band called the Features in Hollywood. Bernie's mother was a go-go dancer in the band and also did burlesque at the Hollywood Follies. Bernie had known Pete for most of her life as her sisters father. turned out they were actually full blood sisters.
                I can remember back to when I was as young as five years old, standing by my mother's side, watching her get ready for work. She would transform from girl next door to stunning vixen. I was fascinated with her. I would always try on her high heel shoes when she left the room.
               When I was not studying my mom, I was enthralled by the Family Film Festival. I was so inspired by the glamour of Ginger Roger’s tap dancing, that at the age of five I begged my mom for tap dance lessons, and continued for ten years. I was signed up for my first beauty pageant when I was twelve years old and then continued participating in the pageant circuit until I was eighteen. Those pageants taught me a great deal about poise. At eighteen I won “Miss Teen San Diego County, USA, 1988,” and went to the “Miss Teen California, USA” pageant where I placed among the top fifteen contestants.
                     In 1991, I moved to Hollywood to try modeling. I signed with an agency right away, but found it impossible to get work. I was too "exotic" They never knew what to send me out for. plus I was "too short"  It was different back then: there was no Internet so people could not really see my capabilities as a model. Ultimately, I realized that if I could not be in front of the camera, I was happy being behind it, and I decided to go to cosmetology school. I found that hairdressing came easily to me. The next thing I knew, I was doing all my friends’ hair and makeup before we went out to nightclubs.
            

My first job after graduating beauty school was in a salon on Melrose. I loved working there and it was at this time that I discovered the rockabilly scene. The music, dancing, and, of course, the fashion, were so exciting to me. I found it difficult to make friends in the rockabilly scene, but I was so enthralled by it that I ended up going to shows alone and dancing with whomever asked. That included John Favreau!  

        I heard that M.A.C. Cosmetics was looking for a new makeup artist. I was lucky enough to get the position and received the best makeup training during my time there. After one and a half years of working at M.A.C., I decided to freelance. I worked on shoots with photographers Winky Tiki & Danielle Bedics  they both specialized in pin up styles. I did hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I have worked on some of the most beautiful women in the world, including Dita Von Teese, Holly Madison, and many more!

          One night, Danelle Bedics needed a test model and I volunteered. I submitted the photos to a pin up contest on the web and immediately the job offers came flooding in. One of my very first shoots was with "What Katie Did,” a line of vintage lingerie that has helped promote me since the very beginning. It's been a whirlwind!

      I am influenced by many eras and artists, from the Golden Age of glamour, 1980s's and 1990s retro, to the bizarre and exotic. My favorite artists are John Willie and Olivia De Berardinis. I love champagne, the colors red and baby blue, tight lacing corsets, high heels, stockings with garter belts, opera gloves, bullet bras, rockabilly music, old films, thrift shops, and antique stores. I love my collection of reproduction Exotique books. The people who inspire me include, Olivia, who gave me the encouragement to keep modeling. My mom, Bettie Page, Poison Ivy of the Cramps, Pearl Gates, Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow, Anne Miller, Anne Margaret, and Myrna Loy.