By Jessica Frost
@jessicaxfrost
Everyone loves a good ‘started from the bottom now we’re here’ story. And your favourite top models provide just that when you look into how they became models in the first place. Whilst modelling often gets depicted as a glamourous day job, we know that it’s really a hard-working and challenging career that yes, has some great perks, but is pretty damn tough none the less. So it’s interesting to read the stories of how our favourite models got scouted because a lot of your favourites weren’t actually pursuing a career at all.
Kate Moss – Moss was scouted when she was just 14 years old, travelling on a plane from JFK back to her home country of England. She was approached by the founder of Storm, Sarah Doukas, and the rest is infamous history.
Naomi Campbell – Campbell was a dancer at the time, window shopping in London’s Covent Garden when the head of Synchro modelling agency spotted her and realised the beauties potential. If only she knew what she was helping to create…
Gisele Bündchen – now the highest paid model in the world, Bündchen was living her best life, chowing down on a Big Mac at a Sao Paulo McDonalds when she was approached by a scout. She was only 14 years old at the time.
Miranda Kerr – Kerr was living every early 2000’s girls dream when she entered and won the Dolly magazine model search at 13 years of age. She got more and more recognition in the Australian industry as she grew older and blew up internationally after walking in the VS show.
Gigi Hadid – Hadid often gets dubbed a social media model but the truth is, her career started when she was just two years old and before Instagram was even invented. She was at preschool when another parent, who just happened to be Paul Marciano, the founder of Guess Jeans, picked her to star in their campaign.
Cara Delevingne – Delevingne was classmates with the daughter of Storm modelling agencies founders, the same woman who scouted Kate Moss. Delevingne’s older sister, Poppy, was already signed with Storm at the time but it was clear to Doukas that the younger sibling was not to be missed.
Candice Swanepoel – Swanepoal was shopping in a flea market in Durban, South Africa, when a talent scout scooped her up and made her an internationally recognizable angel. Swanepoel has spoken several times about how she was made fun of at school for her tall and slim figure, making her transition into modelling that bit more satisfying.
Jourdan Dunn – Dunn was shopping in Primark’s Hammersmith branch (a super cheap UK clothing store, for those who are wondering what the fuck Primark is). A scout for Storm models saw her and new she would make the perfect London it-girl.
