You’ve most likely seen her from her unforgettable Morrigan and Baroness photo series. As you’ll find, there are other places that you may have seen Lindze’s work, whether you’ve recognized her or not…
For a quick taste of Lindze: Her cosplay journey began in 1999, though she’s old school in the fandoms of anime, comic books, and video games. In just a few years, her talents and love of all things geek carried her on to some incredible adventures in her career. She’s appeared in magazines (including Spin and PS2 UK) and television, flexing her creative muscle.
Lindze has recently pulled back from the public eye after starting a family and forming her own business, but she’s hardly out of commission! Let’s get to know her…
Do you have a personal favorite costume or photo shoot; one you’re most proud of? That is, if you could choose which shot you’d like to be famous for?
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I have a few costumes I associate myself with equally, like Baroness, Morrigan and Shiva…so its a tricky question to answer.
What costume am I most proud of? I would answer Morrigan, because I made everything, and put SO much work and money into it. Baroness was a collaborative effort with another costumer so I cant feel that same pride in my work. However, I worship the Baroness and all things GI Joe, since it was my childhood obsession, so of course I’m going to learn towards her if I had to be ‘immortalized’ as any one character by other people.
And I could never pick a favorite photo… I’ve been so lucky to work with so many amazing photographers, it would be impossible!
Are you stoked about the upcoming GI Joe movie? The Baroness has always been a fan favorite character, but she’s been robbed of her trademark sexy accent! I’d bet if you showed up to the premier in cosplay, you’ll see the line of fanboys part like The Red Sea!
As soon as I found out who they were casting for the Baroness….a blond, freckled, tan, British girl…I knew the movie was in trouble. I’ve been keeping up with all the promo shots and it looks godawful. It makes me sad to see my childhood love ripped to shreds. But I try to tell myself that the “Xenia Zaragevna Onatopp” character in Goldeneye was damn close to being exactly how I imagine the Baroness to look/sound/act, so I’ll live with that incarnation and just pretend this new movie never was made.
And it makes me happy to hear people say things like I make a thousand times better Baroness than Sienna Miller.
What, then, is your super otaku origin? How did you get into anime, video games, and eventually cosplay costumes?
My otaku origins run deep. I grew up in San Diego, where my dad would take me to the San Diego Comic Con, when it was just a tiny little show. My older brother worked at a comic store so I would use every chance to pilfer his books, which started my comic book obsession. I also worked at a comic book store when I was in high school in NC and later on here in GA.
I was introduced to anime when I was in high school, when the very first translated videos were trickling over and Viz was first publishing manga. I fell in love with the style of art immediately. When I met my husband in college, he completed my dorkdom by getting me hooked on video games. So no comic, manga, anime, toy, or game was safe from me at that point. I guess its good I discovered cosplay in ‘98, since I had run out of dorky hobbies to obsess over.
Cosplay sale was an accidental discovery. I was looking online for pictures of Lilith from Darkstalkers, for a Halloween costume, and came across a photo of a girl cosplaying her. I about had an aneurysm with glee when I discovered there was a scene (albeit small at the time) where other fans that were geeky and fun-loving as me, enough to run around in costume together.
I literally joined a cosplay mailing list that night, and booked a ticket to the next convention within a month, with 3 new costumes in tow, without knowing a soul there. Hooked ever since!
