Brooklyn’s own Anne Cebula has already lived a story that sounds like it belongs on the big screen: Olympic épée fencer, NCAA champion, Columbia graduate, professional fashion model, and now a credited appearance in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
In the film, Cebula is credited as a Marc Jacobs model — a fitting role for someone whose life has moved so naturally between two worlds that demand confidence, precision, and poise: fencing and fashion.
What makes Anne’s story especially inspiring is that she did not begin fencing as a tiny child with years of private lessons behind her. She first became fascinated by the sport after seeing fencing at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Years later, she finally got the chance to try it through a public high school program. From that first real opportunity, she built a path that led to Columbia University, an NCAA championship, Team USA, the Paris Olympics, and now a place in one of fashion’s most iconic movie worlds.
That path says something powerful about fencing.
Fencing is often described as physical chess, but for kids it can become much more than that. It teaches athletes how to stand tall under pressure, make quick decisions, recover from mistakes, and keep going after a tough touch. Every bout asks a fencer to be brave, creative, focused, and resilient. Those qualities do not stay on the strip. They carry into school, friendships, auditions, interviews, college, careers — and, in Anne Cebula’s case, even the runway and the movies.
It is easy to look at an Olympian and think, “That’s someone else’s world.” But Anne’s story is a reminder that every fencer starts with a first lesson. Before the Olympics, before the fashion shows, before The Devil Wears Prada 2, there was a moment when she simply tried the sport.
At Brooklyn Bridge Fencing Club, we love helping children find that first moment.
Our introductory private fencing lesson is designed for brand-new fencers. No experience is needed. No equipment is needed. Students learn the basics one-on-one with a BBFC coach, including how to stand en garde, move with balance, use the blade, and understand the rules and etiquette of the sport. Most importantly, they get to feel what makes fencing so exciting: the mix of athleticism, strategy, imagination, and confidence.
Your child may not know yet whether fencing will become a fun weekly activity, a competitive passion, a college opportunity, or something that shapes who they become. That is the best part. The first lesson is simply the beginning.
Anne Cebula’s journey from Brooklyn to the Olympic Games to the fashion world is extraordinary — but it began with trying something new.
Ready to see what fencing can unlock for your child?.