A TEENAGER who suffered from anxiety and dropped out of school following the death of her father has made it to the finals of a prestigious beauty awards.
After her father’s passing due to cancer in 2020, Sophie Wagstaff, now 18, struggled with anxiety to the extent that she kept herself at home for two years, quitting school for good when she was in Year 9, not knowing what path to take for her future.
Five years have since elapsed, and Sophie has found her passion, launching her own business, Nails By Sophie, which she runs full-time from her back garden.
With around three clients daily, Sophie's commitment has been rewarded with a place in the finals of the Beauty Full Awards 2025, which will be held in September 2025.
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Sophie has been nominated in the Best Newcomer Nails category.
She said being a finalist is “amazing, the best thing that’s ever happened” and that she “never thought [she] would be a finalist.”
Having suffered greatly from the loss of her father, Sophie turned to a unique passion - and, thanks to support from friends and family, she took the leap into entrepreneurship, and out of nothing started Nails By Sophie in 2024.
Currently, she services around 24 clients a month, all from the comfort of her back garden.
A driven and ambitious young businesswoman, by the age of 21, she said that she aims to have opened her own salon, and later on have her own training academy too.
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