Elle Jimenez, also known as Mermaid Elle, is a full-time professional mermaid since 2016 and one of the most famous professional mermaids known internationally.
History
Elle Jimenez, was born in 1989 and raised in the island of Puerto Rico. As a little girl already showing a passion for performance, Elle began ballet lessons, later on evolving to jazz, hip hop. Even in her young adult years, she was known for several appearances in celebrity shows.
Being a mermaid is not something that ever crossed her mind as a career. In fact, at the time, mermaiding did not exist as we know it today. In 2006 when Elle was a teenager, her family moved to the Chicago area. She learned English and continued a path towards dance and performance art.
With a passion for dancing and a love for cinema, Elle spent her young adult years in several dance companies in Chicago. That gave her the opportunity to participate in the music videos "Pro Nails" featuring Kanye West, and "Beeper" featuring Flosstradamus and The Count & Sinden. She also danced in the opening set for an En Vogue concert in 2008.
While continuing her dance passion she then pursued film at the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan, graduating in 2010 and making an appearance as background actor in Batman Vs. Superman filmed in Detroit. Elle ended up working in film (post-production) since the art of editing and storytelling was her forte. She continued working in post-production until 2016.
In 2016, escaping the Michigan winters and searching for more opportunities in both film and the performing arts fields, Elle moved to Miami and worked in post-production for independent films, television networks and music videos. Also as a dancer, Elle appeared in numerous celebrity music videos with major latin artists such as Gente de Zona, Marc Anthony, Yandel, Victor Manuel and more. Inspired by the latin movement in Miami, Elle opened an entertainment company offering latin dance acts for event entertainment along with other local performance artists specializing in circus, aerial and other event entertainers. It was through her company that she was booked as a mermaid for the first time.
Training
Prior to the first mermaid performance, Elle Jimenez, did not know how to swim! Since mermaiding was a very obscure niche, Elle found that it would be essential to be proficient in water as much as in performance. She knew this was going to add a brand new wow factor to her entertainment company. Elle took swimming lessons, became scuba certified and lost her fear of the ocean, really connecting with the underwater world and her purpose as an aquatic performer. She continued her training in the ocean within the diving community as a freediver and collaborated with PADI, the world's largest diving organization, in launching their first mermaid diving program. Elle became one of the first PADI Mermaid Instructors in the United States and continued on to becoming one of the first PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainers. Elle now teaches the PADI Mermaid Program at sea in the US and internationally. Along with sustainable and eco-friendly diving wear and mermaid tail company, CapeCali, Elle continues to spread awareness in mermaiding safety, proper diving techniques and ocean conservation
Media
Upon her first mermaid performance, Elle began sharing her work on social media and getting bookings through Instagram and other social media platforms. Elle's viral growth on social media gained her millions of followers and bookings from celebrity events such as the Superbowl party by Rolling Stone Magazine, Formula One Race Event at the Hardrock Stadium and appearances in music videos as a mermaid performer such as "Drowning" by A Boogie wit a Hoodie featuring Kodak Black and "Never Let You Go" by Dillon Francis featuring De La Ghetto.
Elle's client base also became a prestigious one performing at famous resorts like Atlantis Bahamas, and companies such as Virgin Voyages, Hardrock, and other well-known corporations. Elle has also been featured in a variety of media outlets for her mermaid works and dive training including Allure, VOGUE, Refinery29, Insider and People, and featured in TV interviews for many network programmings.
Conservation
In order to give purpose to her mermaid brand, Elle created an ocean conservation initiative called Mermaid Elle #SavingtheSeas , based on her mermaid character backstory. The character of Mermaid Elle's lore is that she is Caribbean mermaid superhero princess who has been honored with the responsibility of protecting the oceans. With the Saving the Seas project, Elle donates a percentage of all her mermaid profits towards a non-profit ocean conservation organization every year. All the while she's also spreading environmental and ocean conservation awareness through her various platforms and the media.
She now utilizes both her performance and film skills for her Mermaid Elle #SavingtheSeas YouTube series for kids, educating the future generations on how to protect the ocean.
Present
Elle resides in Miami, Florida, performing locally and internationally while also working as a content creator and as a PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainer. She has over 3.5 million followers on social media.
Follow Mermaid Elle on Instagram @themermaidelle @savingtheseasproject and on YouTube at YouTube.com/MermaidElle
Learn more at www.elle-jimenez.com