Super Model of the Year: Em Marie!

Em Marie, shot by Emily Scimeca (blog post featured image also by Emily Scimeca)

This 14-year-old had me at first glance, last summer in Maine. She is breathtaking in person and ultra photogenic (those two traits don’t always go together). She is lovely, humble, talented, polite, bold, ambitious, incredibly disciplined and destined to be a superstar—whether as a model, dancer, or both. When I took her into my former agency, I had no doubt she would be signed by New York Model Management. It is rare to be that sure about a new discovery. I have never been that sure, in fact. And, yes, they signed her! So I’m not surprised that my panel of industry judges have chosen Em Marie as Model of the Year!

Em Marie, shot by Jordan Matter

Thank you judges: agent and modeling industry guru Page Parkes (read more here: Exclusive Interview with Page Parkes from Scouted); fab photographer Danny Cardozo (read more here: Danny Cardozo Zooms in on Role Modeling, Modeling, and Photography); and counselor and former supermodel Susan Miner (read more here: Supermodel Susan Miner on Modeling, Inner Beauty, and Page Parkes Model Camp).

Em Marie, shot by Gene Schiavone

This is only the beginning, Em. I can’t wait to see where your career takes you!

Congrats, also, to the People’s Choice Winner: Zoe Mann!

Zoe Mann, shot by Ashley Skatoff

Zoe Mann, shot by Ashley Skatoff

Submit Your Entry to the Modeling Mentor Model Search

(If you entered previously, you are eligible to resubmit!)

Congrats to future supermodel Em Marie!

Em Marie, shot by Emily Scimeca

Height: 5’7 ½”    Age: 14    

Based in New York/Alabama

Just signed with New York Model Management! 

I met Em Marie this summer in Maine. She and my son were dancing in a benefit together. I literally did a double-take when I first noticed her. She is stunning. She absolutely radiates fresh beauty. I knew she was the next supermodel, but she seemed to have no idea! Em has such a polite, sweet demeanor, which is always refreshing in someone who looks like they could be on the cover of Elle. 

Em Marie, shot by Gene Schiavone

Go down the checklist of most desirable model traits and Em has them all: wide-set eyes, a pretty nose, full lips, gorgeous skin, high cheekbones, fabulous brows (oh those brows!), a symmetrical face, great hair. Then there is the long neck, the long lean body, and long limbs (and of course I noticed her 5’10″ mom, who told me about her 6’8″ brother. Ok, still growing. Check!).

Em Marie, shot by Emily Scimeca

Add to that her talent as a fabulous dancer and aerialist, and you’ve got a girl who knows how to move, is bold and brave, and is interesting. She has strength and depth—that extra something that makes her memorable. Throw in a dose of ambition—she did long, rigorous test shoots on weekends while also dancing all day Monday through Friday at a dance intensive in New York—and she is unstoppable.

Em Marie, shot by Jordan Matter

Em’s test proofs prove she is extremely photogenic (which is not always the case with beautiful people). Her normal dance training routine involves 24 hours a week of sweat. This kid is a phenomenon and she has only just gotten started! I took her in to my old agency, New York Model Management in New York, and, as I expected, they signed her on the spot. I am thrilled for Em Marie, who will be developed through the New Faces division over the next few years and then be ready to take the fashion world by storm. Don’t forget this face. I promise you will see a lot of it in the future!

Em Marie—doing anything to get the shot! By Jordan Matter.

Want to see what this model does for fun? Watch Em Marie’s Silks aerial routine at the Big Maine Event.

Remember, your submissions are still eligible for next month! Feel free to submit new photos and ENTER as often as you like. 

Don’t forget to “like” the page of your favorite Model of the Month

Congrats, Ana Halozan!

Ana Halozan

Height: 5’10″    Sizes (metric): 83-60-89    Age: 18

Based in Europe

2day in Milan, Seeking Representation in New York

This classic beauty from Slovenia is the winner of the Modeling Mentor Model Search for 2015! Already represented in Milan, one of Europe’s top markets, Ana is poised to hit her stride in the Big Apple—with legs that never stop.

Ana can seek advice from former supermodel Susan Miner during a free one-on-one Skype session to plot Ana’s course to both outer and inner beauty! 

Susan Miner, M.A., specializes in raising women’s inner beauty and peace, which is guaranteed to enhance outer beauty. See: Susanminerbeauty.com

People’s Choice Award: Congrats, Tanya Hendrickson

Garnering 169 likes, Tanya wins the popular vote! That gives us two 5’10″ beauties—one blonde and one brunette—for agents to consider.

A huge congratulations to all the contenders this year—what a stunning group, plus a couple of super cute kids! I’m excited to see where your careers take you in the future. Get in touch with your mentor—yours truly—whenever you have questions, doubts, or any news to share!

It’s time to kick off the 2016 model search. Get your submissions in for Model of the Month!

I ran into the timeless beauty Isabella Rossellini on the red carpet at Fashion Group International‘s fabulous Night of Stars gala last week. (Well, OK, she was on the red carpet; I was elbowing reporters along the fringes.) She was a vision of elegance, with impeccable posture and the calm countenance of someone who has spent her life around red carpets. You can’t look at Isabella without seeing her mother, Ingrid Bergman. You also see a woman who is aging gracefully, refusing to jump on the Botox and plastic surgery bandwagon. That is especially impressive for someone whose beauty and identity were so intertwined through her life. But clearly that entanglement was in the beholder’s eyes, not in the heart of this wise woman. I was lucky enough to have a few words with her…

Isabella Rossellini

JJ: What is your #1 tip for aspiring models out there?

IR: Well, you know, there is very little one can do. You are either selected for jobs—and it’s wonderful when that happens—or you’re not. There isn’t much you can do about it.

JJ: It’s good for aspiring models to hear that, because you just can’t take it personally.

IR: You can’t take it personally. And you shouldn’t lose weight or get plastic surgery to try to be accepted, because it either happens or not. It’s like winning the lottery.

JJ: Why did you come out to the Night of Stars tonight?

IR: I am here tonight because Natura is winning an award, and a friend of mine , Roger Schmidt, is the executive at Natura. I came to give him the award. 

Model Karen Elson

Model Karen Elson, truly aging like a fine wine, presented to Superstar Award winner Diane Von Furstenberg. Elson described her as the foxiest woman on the planet and the person who essentially runs the fashion business. I remember modeling for Diane for a Home Shopping Network episode shot at Diane’s HQ in the West Village, or more specifically the Meatpacking District; it figures that Diane was there long before it was declared the it place in New York.

Diane Von Furstenberg

Debbie Harry livened up the presenter panel. Glenda Bailey, EIC of Harper’s Bazaar, was thrilled to have someone as cool as Blondie introducing her.

Diane’s speech honored her dear friend Oscar de la Renta, with whom she dined weekly up until his passing several weeks ago. Her tender words revealed two close friends, disrobed of their celebrity and exposed to the same mortality we all face.

It was not a frivolous fashion fete by any stretch. But, the fact remains, dear readers, the fashion dictators can be a fickle bunch, so keep Isabella’s words in mind and don’t take it personally.

Stay tuned for some adorable scoop from Kids Fashion Week in New York!

ENTER the Modeling Mentor Model Search!

Fortunately—and amazingly—Carre dug herself out of the abysmal crater she wedged herself into during her teens and 20s and hugged herself better, with the help of Buddhism and intense introspection. For two-thirds of the book, it’s hard to believe this story could have a happy ending, but it does.

“There was an aspect of wanting to set the record straight, but there was also the need to tell this tale for those young women yet to fulfill their own journeys,” writes Otis.  ”Mine is every woman’s story but for a few differences. It’s the story of our right to say no, to not be silenced, to tell things like they are and, of course, to move on in the sweetest victory of forgiveness…”

It is a story for every young woman to read and learn from. It’s also a story that may scare any aspiring model far, far away from the catwalks! Never fear; almost none of my modeling friends fell into the pitfalls detailed in “Beauty, Disrupted” or encountered the outrageous treatment Carre endures. My book tells a very different story, but again, it’s one every young woman should read. (Yes, yes, you will know first when I have a release date!)

Stay tuned for the announcement of Modelingmentor.com January Model of the Month!

Enter the MODELING MENTOR MODEL SEARCH!

Cindy Crawford and family

The last two times I ran into her, back in the dark ages before airbrushing was the norm, the live version could compete with the photo version. Outside the Portapotties at New York Fashion Week in 1994, the real Cindy looked just like the Cindy Inc. we know and love (was she Cindy Inc. yet back then?). As we stood side by side washing our hands, I wanted to tell her, “Wow, Cindy, you look exactly like Cindy.” But that would have made me seem like a wide-eyed fan from Middle America, not a fellow catwalker (I was but not at all in her league). Instead we smiled pleasantly at each other, as you do during those awkward ladies room moments.

Soon after I saw her at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, filming Fair Game. (I was posing in a cheesy editorial for Cosmo). She looked great there too, but looks didn’t quite carry the movie. It was a big flop, but Cindy gracefully accepted the limits of her talent and found success elsewhere: as a spokesperson, fitness guru, beauty mogul, furniture designer, mom, enduring model (she appeared on the cover of Vogue Mexico just last year).

Other lessons that can be culled from Cindy Crawford’s career:

1. Embrace your uniqueness. Some people wanted Cindy to remove her mole. Like Lauren Hutton who told her agent she would fix the gap in her teeth but never did, Cindy resisted. Good thing, cuz her beauty mark became her trademark.

2. Beautiful does not equal ditzy. Cindy graduated valedictorian from DeKalb High School in Illinois and won an academic scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at Northwestern. Fortunately for the fashion world, she was discovered by famed photographer Victor Skrebneski and dropped out after one quarter.

3. Beautiful does not equal skinny. Cindy has always had sexy curves. If only there were more Cindys out there on the runways today!

4. Even if posing may seem like a shallow activity, the fruits of a model’s labor can make a profound difference in the world. Cindy’s little brother died of leukemia when she was ten years old. She has turned her sexy calendars into medical research dollars for that cause. She is also actively involved in the Ronald McDonald House  and California Wildlife Center and has supported numerous charities over the years.

Stay tuned for some mom wisdom from Cindy later this week…

Seal and Heidi

That being said, obviously there is nothing delightful about the parents of four children splitting up. For a while there, it seemed like two famous people had overcome the odds and were going to live happily ever after in Hollywood. Then, crash, the perfect picture cracked. I can’t say I’m really surprised.

First, Heidi hasn’t had the best track record with men. Her first marriage to the reputedly super sweet hairdresser Ric Pipino didn’t last.

Heidi and First Husband Ric Pipino

It seemed she’d picked him for all the right reasons—nice, low-key, good guy (not conventionally good looking)—but when I saw her working an Elite party without him by her side, I could imagine him getting left behind.  ”He hates this PR stuff,” she told me, and clearly she loved it and could smile and chat with a fashion crowd for hours. When they did split up (fortunately with no kids to complicate matters), Heidi took up with Flavio Briatore, a multi-millionaire Italian playboy 23 years her senior. Six months later, she announced she was pregnant, right around the same time he started smooching on another young beauty in public. (How does he get these women? Is money really so alluring? A few years ago, at age 58, he married a 28-year-old model. Maybe she didn’t catch the news back in 2004, cuz the message seemed loud and clear to me: cad!)

Flavio Briatore, Biological Father of Leni

Enter Seal, also an older man, but not an old man at least. Even the boyfriend Heidi had in Miami 18 years ago was older—a mediocre producer with mediocre looks—so I don’t know if there’s some father figure thing going on, but I always thought she should find herself a nice guy her own age (or a few years younger, like I did).

Second, Seal dated supermodel Tatjana Patitz before Heidi, which like Briatore before him (who dated Naomi Campbell), makes him look like a modelizer. Or worse, a supermodelizer. Did he marry Heidi for Heidi, or because she’d been dubbed “The Body”? Considering Heidi had a bump infringing on her flat abs when Seal rescued her, I couldn’t help but hope he fell in love with the former. But, then again, I’d met Seal and had reason to be skeptical. My best friend, Sophie, is Tatjana’s sister. Pre-Heidi, Seal attended Sophie’s intimate wedding in Provence as Tatjana’s date. He was very reserved—the strong, silent type. When they connected, I couldn’t envision him with warm and bubbly Heidi. Also, I’d heard that Seal and Tatjana’s relationship wasn’t so quiet behind closed doors, and I don’t think that had to do with just one of them being difficult. Seal has revealed that he was abused by his father as a child, which no doubt plays a role in the “volcanic temper” Heidi has mentioned lately. This is just gossip, though. Seal has his redeeming qualities. He adopted little Helene (“Leni”) as his own (Briatore is not involved in her life). Perhaps Heidi and Seal’s only mistake was having another baby a year later, and another baby a year after that, then one more a few years later (two years ago). That pace is enough to do in the strongest of couples, let alone one whose honeymoon was a babymoon and whose lives are under a media microscope.

The couple released this statement:

“While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition. We thank our family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support. And for our children’s sake, we appreciate you respecting our privacy.”

With that, I’ll stop dishing and just say, from a fellow mom of four, best of luck to Heidi in finding happiness for herself and her children.

Read my interview with Heidi from back when life was less complicated: modelingmentor.com

For more on Heidi and me (OK, really me on Heidi): Heidi Klum: Bombshell + Nice Girl

I never did get a copy of that catalog, but here’s a snapshot of Heidi and me from a Tear Sheet party in the late 90s. She didn’t forget the little people from way back when.

This picture, dork and bombshell, answers that question about the 16 million bucks!

Now, first of all, I have an issue with the way this story is framed. The article includes a photo of Ward walking in the Chanel show that apparently did her in. The picture reveals a girl who may be in the “normal” weight range for the general public, but, let’s face it, models are held to a higher standard. Models needn’t be emaciated (more on that later), but they do have to maintain a fairly consistent size so the clients booking them know what to expect. That’s just part of the job. By the looks of Ward’s thighs in this shot, I would say Chanel was betrayed, not the model. It’s one thing to tell a toothpick-sized girl to lose weight; it’s another to tell a supermodel making $3 million a year that if she lets herself go, she’s out. I’d say that’s fair enough. Ward continued to gain weight after her infamous Chanel appearance, which is totally fine—most women do as they hit their 20s (I gained my freshman-15 back then and had a jolly time doing it!). But, by doing so, Ward made the choice to move on, reportedly to acting. Good for her. After making millions, why not?

So why do I say it’s better to be a model than a supermodel? Well, when you are just a lowly model, if anyone is discussing the size of your thighs, it’s a client and/or your agent, not press and bloggers worldwide. Also, you are likely to have a couple of extra inches wiggle room before anyone gets into a heated discussion about your measurements. Most of my 5’10″ modeling friends and I hovered near 130 pounds. According to Horne’s article, 5’9″ top model Natalia Vodianova received complaints from clients when she weighed 115 and 5’10″ Coco Rocha resorted to diuretics when she was told to drop below 108! All I can say is that I, at 124 pounds (achieved due to a crush on a male model, not any extreme diet measures) was told to gain weight (German clients—bless them).

I’m not saying models of the non-super variety are exempt from the weight watch. I did get some flak about cellulite once or twice and about my widening middle when I overdid it at Christmas and showed up for a swimwear shoot packing a few extra pounds. My response? Well, yes, I have cellulite and it’s unsightly stuff, and yes, I shouldn’t show up at a shoot without the waist that appeared on my comp card. That’s false advertising. And I’m not saying the fashion world isn’t vicious at the top or that some of the girls walking the big-time runways aren’t sickeningly skinny and that some of them got that way through sick means; I’m just saying forget the millions at the top and stick with the five-to-six-figure career—there are burgers and beer down here, not barfing and bad press.