The Oscars: Seahawks on the Red Carpet

Jessica Riffle Edwards ’04, UNCW Alumni Association board member, recently attended the most star-studded event of the year, the 86th Academy Awards! We caught up with Jessica to hear about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. With the help of celebrity stylist, Marcellas Reynolds, and makeup artist, Brittney Rhoades, Jessica was red carpet ready in no time. View her complete transformation on Storify.

Jessica Riffle Edwards ’04 with her sister-in-law at the Oscars

A Wilmington-based realtor for Coldwell Banker SeaCoast Advantage, Jessica has become well known for her video blogs on YouTube. Her unique marketing techniques were featured on the TODAY Show. Not long after, Coldwell Banker Corporate started working closely with Jessica on various marketing projects.

When the company decided to purchase promotional air time for the 2014 show, they received two tickets to the Academy Awards, the pre-Oscars party hosted by ABC, and the Governor’s Ball. They decided Jessica, with her social media expertise, would be the perfect person to help promote the new commercial!

“From the moment we touched down in LA, the whole experience seemed very surreal,” Jessica said. When asked if she had a favorite celebrity she met or saw, she responded, “Seeing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the Governor’s Ball. When they arrived, we were standing right there and immediately all the photographers and everyone went into a complete frenzy. They (Brad and Angelina) remained calm and casual, were laughing and talking with the photographers and just seemed like very real and personable individuals.”

Jessica said her most memorable moment was watching Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto’s surprised reactions when their names were called for their performances in the Dallas Buyers Club. “The whole experience was beyond amazing,” she shared.

UNCW Alumni Relations/Jordan Hinkley '09