Celebrity models

1990s supermodel Christy Turlington has been chosen as the face of fashion brand Escada. An interesting trend in the world of modeling, magazine covers, and ad campaigns. After a period when celebrity actresses and pop stars had pushed out models from fashion magazine covers and advertising campaigns, the professional models are returning to again claim their turf....with a caveat. Like Christy Turlington most of them are retired supermodels.....and neither marriage, nor motherhood, nor age deters fashion brands from signing them up!



The forever beautiful Claudia Schiffer appears on the cover of German Vogue and has signed up for a Chanel campaign with Karl Lagerfeld. Claudia is married and has given birth to two children.


43-year old Linda Evangelista modeled for L'Oréal last year, leading to a 20% increase in their sales. The retired supermodel has now been signed on by Prada.

Speaking to the Independent, Grazia shopping editor, Stefan Lindemann explains, "Supermodels not as naughty as other celebrities. People like Lindsay Lohan go in and out of rehab and fall out of nightclubs drunk. Supermodels never do that. They're well-behaved and have a different work ethic."

This may not be entirely true of Naomi Campbell, signed on by Yves Saint Laurent, or Kate Moss. Supermodel Kate Moss lost campaigns with H&M, Chanel and Burberry after alleged cocaine use was reported in British tabloids in the fall of 2005. She's since recovered and has won back several endorsement deals, including one with Burberry. Kate Moss officially returned as the face of Agent Provocateur to promote their new bridal collection.







Eva Herzigova, married to Italian businessman Gregorio Marsiaj and mother to son George Mariaj Herzig, was chosen for campaigns by Louis Vuitton, along with her peers Stephanie Seymour and Claudia Schiffer.


Retired supermodel Helena Christensen has long been the face of Pilgrim gold silver charms.


Last month Elle Macpherson was chosen to be Revlon’s global face. Retired from active modeling, the Aussie babe established the Elle Macpherson Intimates lingerie line in 1990. She now acts as advisor on product development to other top brands. Her entire business is worth $10 million.


41-year old Cindy Crawford posed for the cover of Russian Vogue.


Supermodel Laetitia Casta starred in the 2007 Miu Miu Fall/Winter Campaign. Casta lives in her native France and pursues a movie career. In fact most of the retired models who have not returned to active modeling have their own alternative careers or businesses.

34-year old Tyra Banks, hailed as the last supermodel, retired from modeling in 2005 but is estimated to have earned $18 million from her talk show and book deals. Heidi Klum, apart from her marriage and kids, hosts Germany's Next Top Model and designs for Jordache.

Many of the existing models are also married or have children: Liya Kebede, Bianca Balti, and Marisa Miller. None of this seems to have affected their desirability as models or their ability to sell fashion and beauty products. Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros revealed in an interview that she actually knows of successful models in their 30s and 40s who lie about their age and are still getting work in the fashion industry!

Soon to be a mother Alessandra Ambrosio, married Marissa Miller, young and single iPhone lover Jarah Mariano all looking forever beautiful

So what happens to all the young models? Hundreds of anonymous 15-16 year old European girls swarm the runways of New York, Paris and Milan each season. They do 70 shows in six weeks and are paid about $250 an hour their first season....and most are never heard of again as the industry selects fresh faces. Most of the magazine covers and prestigious campaigns go to celebrity models, whether from the current crop, or from the supermodel era.

Ten years on a Giselle Bundchen or an Adriana Lima may still be desirable faces for fashion brands, or appear on magazine covers, as long as they maintain their looks and fitness. Will the upcoming crop of models, like Dutch beauty Doutzen Kroes or the Pastor's daughter Behati Prinsloo, reach that celebrity model status?

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Top ten in the Maxim 100

Beach girl Marisa Miller made it to the top of this years list of 100 hottest women by Maxim Magazine. "I was really shocked and a little embarrassed to be honest with you — being number one feels like a lot of pressure," Marissa Miller told Pop Tarts at Tuesday evening’s ultra-exclusive Maxim party held at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios. "But it’s very flattering to be part of such an amazing group of women; I didn’t even make the list at all last year." She also spoke about her insecurities while growing up (see athletic model) and how she tries to maintain a healthy body and uplift other women who are worried about their personal appearance. The other top ten hottest girls in the Maxim 100 list were: Scarlett Johansson Jessica Biel: Eva Longoria Parker Sarah Michelle Gellar Elisha Cuthbert Eva Mendes Christina Aguilera Lindsay Lohan Ashley Tisdale body The Maxim Hot 100 list will be revealed for TV viewers Tuesday May 27 at 9 pm Eastern/Pacific times on VH1. VH1 and Maxim join hands to present the show, which will be hosted by the pop group, Pussycat Dolls. The show will feature behind-the-scenes footage and celebrity interviews. Among the other hot girls, outside the top ten, are girl racer Danica Patrick, R&B singer Rihanna, Country singer Julianne Hough, British girl Emma Watson, Jessica Simpson, and one of the rich teen celebrities Taylor Swift.

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Israeli Model

This beautiful girl is Kalya Shinmn, an 18-year old Israeli model. Kalya is with Roberto Model Management in Israel.



Kalya Shinmn was born November 20th 1989 and lives in Haifa. Now that she is 18 it's possible that the Israeli model was called up for her two-year military service. Or was she excused like her compatriots Bar Refaeli and Yamit Sol?




More pictures of this Israeli model at d-n-a.co.il

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Liya Kebede unconventional

Lovely Liya Kebede earned $1.5 million in 2007 putting her at no. 15 in the Forbes list of top earning models.



In 2003 Liya Kebede became the first black woman to represent cosmetics giant Esteé Lauder in its 59 year history. The multi-million dollar contract helped propel Liya to the list of top earning supermodels....and when that contract finally ended in 2007 Liya was pushed down to last place (supermodels and money).

Liya Kebede had been modeling since turning 20 in 1988 but hit the big time only in 2000, by which time she was already married! And even more unconventionally she personifies the new adage of modeling after motherhood when she gave birth to her son Suhul at the age of 23.

Liya and her husband Kassy Kebede (top). Liya with her second child, daughter Rahee, born 2005

Pretty unconventional stuff for a model, right? Liya Kebede had started a charity foundation in 2006 to reduce maternal newborn and child mortality, and to improve the health and well being of mothers and children around the world. She became Goodwill Ambassador for the WHO in 2005. And the reason Liya feels strongly about this issue is due to her own experience in her native country of Ethiopia:

I grew up in Ethiopia, where it was very common to hear about women losing their lives during childbirth—to the point where, when I was pregnant with my son in the U.S., I worried, because I thought it was sort of normal for a woman to die while giving birth.

Ethiopia is located in the "Horn of Africa", the part of the continent in the east, which juts up into the Arabian Peninsula. Liya Kebede was born Jan 3 1978 in the capital Addis Ababa; her father worked in the Ethiopian Airlines while her mother was in public relations. With her four brothers Liya grew up in a relatively affluent family.


Liya Kebede became interested in modeling while studying at a French school, Lycée Guebre Mariam, in Addis Ababa. In fact her first modeling assignments were meant to raise money for her graduation. At this time Liya was spotted by a French film director, and he introduced her to modeling agent based in Paris.


Liya Kebede moved to Paris to try modeling in 1998, and made her debut at the spring Ralph Lauren and BCBG Max Azria shows in New York. Liya also lived in Chicago with her brothers in this period, but the going was tough:

I worked in Chicago doing catalogs, and there everybody scares you about modeling in New York. They say, "Oh, they're going to eat you "alive." It was very discouraging.

The beginning of modeling is rough. I had to face many rejections and insecurities that I was forced to overcome if I didn’t want to lose my mind.

The dejected Liya then moved back to Ethiopia. It was at this time that she met Kassy Kebede, a hedge fund manager in Ethiopia, and got married to him. Liya then moved with him to settle down in New York where her modeling career really took off.


Liya Kebede has appeared on the covers of many international editions of Vogue, South African Elle, Numero, Harper's Bazaar, Essence, French Flair, Italian Flair and Time’s Style & Design.


Liya Kebede has walked the runway for Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Sean John, Valentino, Jean-Paul Gaultier, La Perla, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Versace, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass, Burberry, Fendi, Hermes, Kenneth Cole, Ralph Lauren, Aquascutum and Emanuel Ungaro, Balenciaga, Diane von Furstenberg and Roberto Cavalli.


Apart from her multi-million contract with Esteé Lauder, Liya Kebede has been the face of Yves Saint Laurent (2001), Dolce & Gabbana (2003), and Tiffany's & Co (2004).


In 2007 Liya Kebede was included in Vanity Fair’s International Best-Dressed List.


Liya Kebede is now one of the few black faces seen in fashion modeling, and this article in the International Herald Tribune explores the reasons given by designers for not picking more "ethnic" faces:

"It's a white European girl look that is being made popular on the magazine covers," said Holly Alford, a fashion historian. The late 1980s and early '90s were seemingly a better time for black models, including Campbell, Banks, Webb, Beverly Peele and Karen Alexander. And even earlier were Pat Cleveland, Naomi Sims, Iman and Beverly Johnson, the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine, in 1974. Gisele Bündchen helped usher in an era when Brazilian bombshells dominated the catwalk. That era has passed, even in Brazil, where critics complained earlier this year that São Paulo Fashion Week was full of models who were European in appearance.

Jennifer Venditti, a casting director and owner of JV8Inc said some of the models of color are eliminated because of fit or their walk. "A lot of times these girls are being judged on body type by someone of a different ethnicity," she said.

"I have heard rumblings that the girls of color take away from the garments, that they are so fierce and have so much of a persona, you notice them first as opposed to noticing the clothing," said Nick Verreos, a designer who was a contestant on the second season of "Project Runway," admitting that some designers simply would not use models of color.

I think the first reason makes any sense at all, that it's a trend for east European girls in fashion. Ethnic models' persona taking attention away from the designer's clothes is hardly a good enough reason, or else why would they use Behati Prinsloo who has such a cherubic face and a bubbly persona??


Liya Kebede launched a beautiful line of children's clothing that is handmade in her native Ethiopia this season called Lemlem, which means "to bloom". Liya will also venture into an acting career soon; Liya Kebede will portray Somalian model Waris Dirie in Desert Flower, which is about Dirie's autobiography about her tragic experience with female circumcision. Kebede has had bit roles in films like Robert DeNiro directed The Good Shepherd and the Nicholas Cage starrer Lord of War.


With a height of 5'10" and a figure of 32-23-35, Liya Kebede is naturally slim. This actually made her look unconventional in Ethiopia where the ideal of women's beauty is curvy and round:

I was the skinny girl and people were saying, "My God, feed her. Do something." And I was like, "I am eating; leave me alone." The funny thing is that now when I go back, I see all the women, and they're all like, "I want to be skinny." Life changes so quickly.

Liya Kebede is nicknamed Baby Imam, because Imam was also black model from Africa who made it big in the 1970s. Imam is from the neighboring country of Somalia and she too was unconventional looking as she recalls, "I don't look much like the average Somali girls, and they are very beautiful women. They are round girls." While Imam is a Muslim, Liya Kebede is a Coptic Orthodox Christian. Ethiopia used to be a Christian kingdom with very old churches, where Coptic Christians came to settle in the 4th century.

Liya maintains her slim figure even after bearing two children, so she must have done some sort of exercise program or diet to get back in shape?? Not really.

Liya Kebede says she's not a fan of fitness, and in fact hates gym and running, which is an irony since Ethiopia has produced many marathon runners! She loves eating Thai and Ethiopian food, which magically does not show on her skinny body. And one last unconventional fact about Liya: her husband Kassy is 20 years older than her!

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Full figured model wins

Full figured Whitney Thompson is the winner of America's Next Top Model (cycle 10). There have been other full figured models in previous cycles of the show, but none have made it to the top three....Whitney is the first plus-sized model to win ANTM! As part of her winnings Whitney gets a deal with Elite Model Management, a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl and a six-page fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.



"There's definitely times I've looked in the mirror or at other girls and though that I wasn't like them – always being judged and thinking, Am I different? Is there something wrong with me?" Thompson said after being crowned the winner. "No. I do feel good about myself and I want other women in America to feel good about themselves. I honestly think that girls will look up to me and say, 'I can do that. I can be that. I don't have to starve. I don't have to have plastic surgery. I can really be like that. I can be on the billboard. I can be on that magazine cover. Why? Because I'm beautiful – on the inside out.’ I have breasts, I have hips, I have a butt – and I am so proud of those things. I am here and I am me. I'm not going to change myself."



Hope she doesn't suffer the same indignity as Jen Hunter, winner of the Make Me A Supermodel UK television series in 2007, who had to sign on with a plus-sized modeling agency after Select Models who were supposed to sign on the winner of the show refused to take on plus-sized Jen! (see plus size in fashion)

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Carolina "Pampita" Ardohain

Modeling and motherhood go together nicely for Carolina Ardohain, nicknamed Pampita. This photo was taken after her first child was born in May 2007!



Carolina gave birth to another child, a son named Bautista, on Feb 29 2008 with her live-in boyfriend Benjamín Vicuña. The family stays in Benjamin's house in Santiago Chile, although Ardohain is originally from neighboring Argentina, the country of rolling grasslands, cattle ranches, horseback riding and gauchos (cowboys).


Argentina is also the country of rugged machismo and strong Catholicism....and in both respects Carolina has broken with tradition. Apart from not being married and having children, the gorgeous Pampita actually separated from her first husband, and became pregnant with Benjamin's child before getting a divorce! Certainly struck a blow against machismo and for female independence.


Carolina Ardohain was married in 2002 to Argentinian polo star Martin Barrantes, who is also a photographer and a model. Martin is related to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, because her mother married his uncle and settled down in Argentina. Martin manages the polo ranch which Sarah Ferguson received as inheritance after her mother's death in 1998.


The reason for posting all these details is that the marriage between the two Argentines soured very quickly. Carolina began living with Benjamin in 2005 and gave birth to his daughter in May that year....but the separation with Martin brought out worse scandals in their rocky marriage. Carolina went on television to claim that Martin was asking for a huge financial settlement to give her his divorce while according to her, "everything was on my shoulders: having to work to keep our house, pay the salary of the maid, rent, meals, outings, everything."; Barrantes countered by accusing his ex-wife of adultery.

He claimed that Carolina would take trips with Benjamin, and would tell Martin to not worry since the Chilean actor was gay! This was way back in 2004 since Carolina had a daughter (named Blanca) with Benjamin in May 2005. Carolina Ardohain then accused Martin of being sexually inadequate, of not being able to satisfy her, and hinted that he was gay. She also claimed: "Whenever he was out with Sarah Ferguson she encouraged him to drink to excess."


Carolina said of their physical relations, "Martin made me feel that he did it as a formality, a marital obligation, mechanically, quickly and without satisfying me."





Carolina Ardohain has a height of 5'5" while her figure of 95-58-88 has actually improved because of her motherhood (see modeling after motherhood)!




Apart from being a model Carolina is also a TV star. She played the role of a dance teacher in the hit series Rebelde Way, which also stars Luisana Lopilato. Carolina has had nine years of training as a dancer, and even after becoming a mother for the second time, she is appearing on Chile's version of Dancing with the Stars. Take a look at her sensual dancing in Rebelde way:


When she first started modeling Carolina Ardohain stood out among the other Argentine models, most of whom were tall leggy blonds, while Carolina was a brunette (like Priscilla Crivocapich) short and tanned.


The other blond models, like Julieta Prandi and Nicole Neumann, nicknamed Carolina mucamita, which means servant girl. This was partly because of their rivalry, partly because Carolina married into a rich family, and partly because of her background.


Carolina Ardohain was born in the La Pampa province of Argentina (Jan 17 1978), hence her popular nickname of Pampita. Her family was poor (Carolina's father passed away in 2005) and Carolina's mother worked as a seamstress. Additionally Carolina's mother is Brazilian, which is looked down upon in Argentina, because the two countries have a different ethnic make-up. In Brazil the immigrant Europeans have mingled with the indigenous population while Argentina is 97% European (mostly Spanish, Italians, and some Germans)!


Carolina told Maxim Magazine, "Though I'm Argentinian, I'd say I get my shape - thin but with proper curves - from the Brazilian side of my family." Ardohain got herself a proper education, graduating from the Colegio Nacional Rafael Hernández. At a young age she moved to the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where she worked for some time as a sales assistant in a garments shop. While modeling for some clothes Carolina caught the eye of a casting agent, who signed her with Dotto Models.


In 2001, while working on a TV show, Carolina was in a car accident near the town of Saladillo but suffered only minor injuries. The next year Ardohain walked the ramp for the designer Roberto Giordano at Patagonia, in the southern tip of the country, with the huge glacier in the background.




Carolina Ardohain modeled for Victoria Secret`s, Honda, Vanity Fair, Getien UnderWear, Falabella, WonderBra, Kosiuko, Lady Stork, Stupenda, and Avon. She also appeared on several magazine covers as her popularity grew.


In 2002 Carolina Pampita Ardohain was chosen to be the representative of Argentina's national soccer team. Despite working in the internet age Carolina jokes, "I'm zero technology. Nothing Internet, no chat, no text messaging, or ringtones nothing unusual!"



Apart from genes, Carolina Ardohain attributes her gorgeous figure to regular exercise, and beauty treatments like detoxification and cryotherapy (ice baths) to keep her skin young. And while she likes eating meat and fish, Carolina drinks a lot of water, and has never done drugs or alcohol....not even had a glass of beer!



Now happy with her family in Chile, Pampita may be seen in movies soon, alongside Benjamin. She is also a partner in the Mi Lady Señorita saloon in Santiago. As for modeling, Carolina Ardohain says, "I will never retire. A model lasts for ever."

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