Her pale skin and short blond hair make her look even younger than 21.
However, she speaks from candid experience about becoming a melanoma patient when she was barely old enough to vote.
Gough spoke at a news conference at the State House, urging the passage of a bill that would ban anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning salons and booths.
California is the only state with such a ban on the books, however, legislation is pending in several other states.
New Jersey's current law bans those under 14, but allows 14 to 17-year-olds to tan with consent of a parent or guardian.
From her experience, Gough doubts the current law is being enforced.
"The first time I went to tan, I was 14, and my girlfriend's mother signed me in," she recalls.
"They didn't check ID, they didn't check to see who it was. they never told me - oh, you're too pale, you shouldn;t do the longtime one - the 10 minutes. she just said - whatever you want to do, just go do it," she went on.
Gough says young women won't believe melanoma can happen to them, even when she shows the scars from her surgery.
The indoor tanning industry says banning teens from indoor tanning would drive them to tan outdoors in the sun. They contend ultraviolet exposure is more controlled in spas and salons.
