Isabella Peschardt has an immediately recognizable face. You may have seen her on Instagram, where she keeps up with over five hundred thousand followers, in the pages of Italian Vogue, or as the star of campaigns by Bebe, Juicy Couture, and others. The 22-year-old has accomplished a lot in a short span of time and experienced even more. Behind the billboards and glamor, she has a story to tell and a voice to tell it with.

Raised in Los Angeles, splitting time with her parents between the San Fernando Valley and Westwood, Isabella came to fashion early on. She first began modeling at four years old, led by her mother, a stylist and former model herself, whose knowledge of the industry allowed her to guide her daughter through its ups and downs. Growing up, she was naturally drawn to music and performance, entering singing competitions at school and, at times, belting her heart out to whoever would listen. “My mom tells me that, when we lived in an apartment building, I would go outside the balcony to sing,” Isabella remembers. “She would be so embarrassed, hoping that the neighbors weren’t getting upset.”

At 16, Isabella decided to seriously pursue music. She worked with songwriters and producers, learning how a song is crafted from the ground up. “I didn’t think that I was capable to be writing on my own,” she says. “We were able to create songs that I loved but it wasn’t completely coming from me.” The experience fueled a period of creative discovery for Isabella, who set writing, recording, and, more than anything, finding the best way to fully express herself on her own terms.

Her first single, “Three,” is a piercing diary entry about realizing you’re much more than what someone else sees in you. The song marks the end of her private search for her voice and the beginning of sharing it with those who’ll see themselves in her lyrics. “I’ve been able to write about discovering self-love and self-empowerment,” Isabella says. “It’s about being content with myself.”