| PROTHINSPO |
MIRANDA Kerr has two fears. One is genuinely scary - sharks. The other is a little bit
weird: cotton buds.
But before you start thinking she’s a flake, consider this: as one of the most sought-
after models in the world, she has cotton bud-wielding make-up artists coming at her
every day. And if that stuff gets in your eye, it can be nasty.
“I know it sounds strange!” she says with a laugh. “But if I get a big bit of cotton in my
eye, it really hurts and I can’t do my work. So I fear it.”
Tackling the lesser of the two evils, Kerr decided to confront her fear head-on by
swimming in shark-infested waters during a shoot break in the Caribbean. It didn’t work.
The fear remains.
“Any time I go into the ocean, all I can think about is sharks,” she says, adding that she
wanted to be a marine biologist as a little girl but the whole shark thing was too much.
Instead, she became a supermodel.
Best known in Australia as the face of Portmans, Kerr is set to become an international
phenomenon. Industry insiders have already tipped her as the next Elle Macpherson,
describing the 175cm model with sapphire blue eyes and trademark baby dimples as
the “ultimate girl-next-door”.
Kerr recently broke into the American market with a lucrative contract with Maybelline
New York and as one of the Victoria’s Secret ‘Angels’, the world-famous, lingerie-
wearing stable of models who grace the company’s catwalk extravaganzas, TV
commercials, billboards and magazine print campaigns.
Individually, they can earn millions. The contract, which is the first ever offered to an
Australian, places Kerr among the top 30 models in the world, up there with Gisele
Bündchen, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
The US has fallen in love with her,” says leading fashion, beauty and celebrity
photographer Russell James from Los Angeles. “We love her because she has the
most incredible girl-next-door look and she’s also insanely beautiful.
"It means women are not intimidated by her looks and guys think they might be able to
talk to her. It’s a fantastic combination.”
There are three things that mark Miranda Kerr as something special in the modelling
world. Unlike some of her beautiful colleagues, she has an effervescent personality.
People want to be around her; she’s fun on a shoot.
“And she’s not stupid, which can be a very annoying trait among some models,” adds
James, who recently shot Kerr for Victoria’s Secret. “She’s outstandingly professional
and she always turns up to the job in a great mood. I’d place her in my Top 10
alongside Gisele and Heidi Klum.”
Secondly, she really sells product.
“It’s all about the bottom line for the clients. It’s as blunt as that,” says her Sydney
agent, Ursula Hufnagl of Chic Management “The clients want to sell their product and
Miranda has one of those very open personalities that the public relates to.”
Thirdly, she’s a Buddhist. And we’re not talking about that brand of celebrity feel-good
Buddhism. Kerr has rejected the fast-lane lifestyle of many of the top models. But more
on that later.
Right now, Kerr is sitting on a step in the garden of a friend’s beach-side cottage in The
Hamptons, the playground for the rich and famous, two hours’ drive north of New York
City.
It’s 10pm and the air is cool, but Kerr is clothed in a light dress. “I love being outdoors,”
she says. “I love listening to the crickets. I want to embrace nature.”
This is the first weekend break Kerr has had in almost two years. Her career is
maintained at breakneck pace. In the past two weeks alone, she’s been working in
Australia, Mexico, the UK, US, and St Lucia and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the
Caribbean.
“It’s pretty full-on travelling,” she says. “For a while there, I thought, my God, my life is
an aeroplane. I spend more time up there than I do down here, but I’m really working
on, hopefully, trying to get more of a balance in my life.”
Balance is a word Kerr uses a lot. Other favourite words include “rejuvenate” and
“grounding”. She speaks with a sweet, soft voice, but what she has to say is very
thoughtful.
When she talks about changing the world, one happy smile at a time, she means it. As
a recent convert to Nichiren Buddhism, a Japanese branch of Buddhism, she believes
we have a responsibility to bring peace and harmony to our lives and the world.
And she intends to do this by being a “happy soul” every day of her life.
“I’ve always had a burning desire to help people and make a difference in the world,”
she explains.
“I didn’t know how I could do that in modelling when it can be such a fake world. But my
dad told me I could make a difference by being true to myself and teaching people what
I’ve learnt about spirituality, health and nutrition.
"I want to be a good role model for girls and show them they can do whatever they feel
passionate about and still live a healthy life.”
As part of her Nichiren beliefs, Kerr chants every morning and night for 20 minutes,
practises yoga, meditates and reads widely on spirituality. She says she realises there
are other “celebrity” Buddhists out there and some people may be cynical about it but,
for her, it all makes sense.
“A celebrity life can be very fast-paced, and it can be hard to find meaning in it. I
believe that everyone is looking for the answers, but the answers are within ourselves,”
she says. “Buddhism feels right for me.
"I just want to be the best person I can be every day – it’s a great way to live. Treat
others how you want to be treated and be understanding of others who may hold
resentment towards you by understanding that it’s part of their journey and not
something you have to take personally.
“I see myself as a genuine person who wants the best for everyone. I believe we’re all
equal and we all have our purpose in life. We all have our karma that we need to fulfil
and I’m here fulfilling mine.”
Kerr’s karma seems to be a life in modelling, something she never really wanted to do.
Growing up in the rural NSW town of Gunnedah, Kerr raced motorbikes, rode horses on
her grandmother’s farm and was passionate about nutrition and health.
“It was a very grounding thing to grow up in the country where there wasn’t any
pretentiousness and no one really cared what you were wearing. You could just be
you,” she says of her childhood.
One of her friends entered her into the Dolly/Impulse Covergirl Competition by asking
Kerr’s mother, Therese, for some photos from the family album and secretly posting
them off.
“I didn’t want her to be a model, so I supplied photos of Miranda that showed her
crooked teeth!” laughs Therese. “She has gorgeous teeth now after years of wearing
braces, but I thought it might put the judges off.”
It didn’t. Kerr won the 1997 competition and flew to Sydney for the photoshoot, one
week before her 14th birthday. “There was some stiff competition, but Miranda’s photo
was stunning. I’ve never forgotten it,” remembers Shonagh Walker, one of the judges
and the beauty and lifestyle editor of Dolly.
But the win took a nasty turn when several media pundits declared Kerr too young to
appear on a magazine cover, saying the photos might attract pedophiles and that the
shoot was “pornographic”.
“I couldn’t understand the fuss. It was a magazine for young girls, so why shouldn’t
young girls be modelling in it?” says Kerr After the fuss died down, Kerr decided to
finish high school before she started working in modelling seriously.
The family moved to Brisbane so Kerr could experience life in a city as a stepping-stone
before moving to Sydney and, later, New York. But in Year 11, she struggled
academically after her boyfriend of 18 months was killed in a car accident.
“Miranda was devastated,” says Therese. “He was a beautiful boy. All through Year 11,
it was as though the lights were on but no one was home. Then she started doing small
modelling jobs, which gave her some confidence back.
“After experiencing death in such a personal way, Miranda values the important things
in life, such as family and friends. She doesn’t care about broken nails or material
things. She knows what’s important and what’s not.”
After high school, Kerr modelled in Australia and Japan before moving to New York City.
She’s just bought a $1 million apartment in Chelsea with views of The Empire State
Building, where she lives with her Yorkshire Terrier, Frankie.
“It’s nice to have somewhere over here that I can call my home away from home. I like
Chelsea because it has a lot of art museums and it’s also central. Many of the
photographic studios are around this area, so I can walk or ride my bike to work. It’s
quite convenient.”
Outside of work, Kerr focuses on her yoga and being close to nature. She also loves
meeting people (“especially old people because I believe they have something to teach
us – they’ve been around for a while and seen a lot”).
Kerr eats organic food and has a personal trainer when she’s in New York, who has her
running, boxing and doing Pilates, but she still has fat days and would prefer to just do
yoga. “I don’t go to the gym when I’m by myself, I’d rather just relax. I have fat days,
especially when it’s that time of the month. If I have to shoot underwear, it’s not a nice
thing to feel fat.”
As for men, Kerr is plagued by paparazzi determined to photograph her with British
actor and fellow Nichiren Buddhist Orlando Bloom, who is rumoured to be her current
love. Bloom and Kerr were snapped looking at apartments in April and last month they
were seen dining at exclusive Asian restaurant Megu in New York City.
When asked about this, she simply says she’s not dating anyone at the moment. “I’m
enjoying more time to myself because there’s no one in my life right now,” she says. “I’m
trying to focus on my work and myself for once, because I’ve always put my
relationships first.”
For now, Miranda Kerr just wants us back home to know that she’s happy and hopes to
make other people happy, too. “I consider myself a happy soul,” she says. “I’m all about
being happy and living in the moment, that’s what I stand for. I really believe in
happiness for everyone.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS....
MORE AUSSIE CATWALK QUEENS
Megan Gale
Perth-born Gale became a much-adored celebrity in Italy after starring in an advertising
campaign for a phone company. She’s best known here as the long-standing face of
David Jones (she’s also stalked the catwalk for Sass & Bide and Alex Perry), as well as
for her burgeoning media career, her role as a Melanoma Foundation ambassador and
her relationship with DJ and comedian Andy Lee.
Kristy Hines
The Ford Models star (and granddaughter of Queensland pollie, the late Russ Hinze)
created a buzz last year when she was named as the “Aussie Angel” at the centre of
Netscape billionaire Jim Clark’s divorce. She hit the headlines again recently when she
criticised Gold Coast Fashion Week organisers for nominating a 12-year-old as their
‘face’. Hinze was all of 14 when she was discovered.
Gemma Ward
At 16, the Perth-born model became the youngest fashion model to grace the cover of
the US edition of Vogue. Her other-worldly look is hugely in demand and this year,
Forbes ranked her 10th in the list of the World’s 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. She’s
also pursuing an acting career. Keep an eye out for her in Australian director Elissa
Down’s upcoming film The Black Balloon with Toni Collette.
Catherine McNeil
Hailing from the Queensland suburb of Logan, the classically gorgeous McNeil once
fancied herself as a mechanic. But an exclusive editorial contract from uber-snapper
Mario Testino and resulting D&G and Hugo Boss campaigns have put paid to that idea.
Similarly to Kerr, McNeil began modelling after winning a modelling competition in a teen
magazine, which launched her career onto the international catwalks and into magazine
pages.
weird: cotton buds.
But before you start thinking she’s a flake, consider this: as one of the most sought-
after models in the world, she has cotton bud-wielding make-up artists coming at her
every day. And if that stuff gets in your eye, it can be nasty.
“I know it sounds strange!” she says with a laugh. “But if I get a big bit of cotton in my
eye, it really hurts and I can’t do my work. So I fear it.”
Tackling the lesser of the two evils, Kerr decided to confront her fear head-on by
swimming in shark-infested waters during a shoot break in the Caribbean. It didn’t work.
The fear remains.
“Any time I go into the ocean, all I can think about is sharks,” she says, adding that she
wanted to be a marine biologist as a little girl but the whole shark thing was too much.
Instead, she became a supermodel.
Best known in Australia as the face of Portmans, Kerr is set to become an international
phenomenon. Industry insiders have already tipped her as the next Elle Macpherson,
describing the 175cm model with sapphire blue eyes and trademark baby dimples as
the “ultimate girl-next-door”.
Kerr recently broke into the American market with a lucrative contract with Maybelline
New York and as one of the Victoria’s Secret ‘Angels’, the world-famous, lingerie-
wearing stable of models who grace the company’s catwalk extravaganzas, TV
commercials, billboards and magazine print campaigns.
Individually, they can earn millions. The contract, which is the first ever offered to an
Australian, places Kerr among the top 30 models in the world, up there with Gisele
Bündchen, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
The US has fallen in love with her,” says leading fashion, beauty and celebrity
photographer Russell James from Los Angeles. “We love her because she has the
most incredible girl-next-door look and she’s also insanely beautiful.
"It means women are not intimidated by her looks and guys think they might be able to
talk to her. It’s a fantastic combination.”
There are three things that mark Miranda Kerr as something special in the modelling
world. Unlike some of her beautiful colleagues, she has an effervescent personality.
People want to be around her; she’s fun on a shoot.
“And she’s not stupid, which can be a very annoying trait among some models,” adds
James, who recently shot Kerr for Victoria’s Secret. “She’s outstandingly professional
and she always turns up to the job in a great mood. I’d place her in my Top 10
alongside Gisele and Heidi Klum.”
Secondly, she really sells product.
“It’s all about the bottom line for the clients. It’s as blunt as that,” says her Sydney
agent, Ursula Hufnagl of Chic Management “The clients want to sell their product and
Miranda has one of those very open personalities that the public relates to.”
Thirdly, she’s a Buddhist. And we’re not talking about that brand of celebrity feel-good
Buddhism. Kerr has rejected the fast-lane lifestyle of many of the top models. But more
on that later.
Right now, Kerr is sitting on a step in the garden of a friend’s beach-side cottage in The
Hamptons, the playground for the rich and famous, two hours’ drive north of New York
City.
It’s 10pm and the air is cool, but Kerr is clothed in a light dress. “I love being outdoors,”
she says. “I love listening to the crickets. I want to embrace nature.”
This is the first weekend break Kerr has had in almost two years. Her career is
maintained at breakneck pace. In the past two weeks alone, she’s been working in
Australia, Mexico, the UK, US, and St Lucia and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the
Caribbean.
“It’s pretty full-on travelling,” she says. “For a while there, I thought, my God, my life is
an aeroplane. I spend more time up there than I do down here, but I’m really working
on, hopefully, trying to get more of a balance in my life.”
Balance is a word Kerr uses a lot. Other favourite words include “rejuvenate” and
“grounding”. She speaks with a sweet, soft voice, but what she has to say is very
thoughtful.
When she talks about changing the world, one happy smile at a time, she means it. As
a recent convert to Nichiren Buddhism, a Japanese branch of Buddhism, she believes
we have a responsibility to bring peace and harmony to our lives and the world.
And she intends to do this by being a “happy soul” every day of her life.
“I’ve always had a burning desire to help people and make a difference in the world,”
she explains.
“I didn’t know how I could do that in modelling when it can be such a fake world. But my
dad told me I could make a difference by being true to myself and teaching people what
I’ve learnt about spirituality, health and nutrition.
"I want to be a good role model for girls and show them they can do whatever they feel
passionate about and still live a healthy life.”
As part of her Nichiren beliefs, Kerr chants every morning and night for 20 minutes,
practises yoga, meditates and reads widely on spirituality. She says she realises there
are other “celebrity” Buddhists out there and some people may be cynical about it but,
for her, it all makes sense.
“A celebrity life can be very fast-paced, and it can be hard to find meaning in it. I
believe that everyone is looking for the answers, but the answers are within ourselves,”
she says. “Buddhism feels right for me.
"I just want to be the best person I can be every day – it’s a great way to live. Treat
others how you want to be treated and be understanding of others who may hold
resentment towards you by understanding that it’s part of their journey and not
something you have to take personally.
“I see myself as a genuine person who wants the best for everyone. I believe we’re all
equal and we all have our purpose in life. We all have our karma that we need to fulfil
and I’m here fulfilling mine.”
Kerr’s karma seems to be a life in modelling, something she never really wanted to do.
Growing up in the rural NSW town of Gunnedah, Kerr raced motorbikes, rode horses on
her grandmother’s farm and was passionate about nutrition and health.
“It was a very grounding thing to grow up in the country where there wasn’t any
pretentiousness and no one really cared what you were wearing. You could just be
you,” she says of her childhood.
One of her friends entered her into the Dolly/Impulse Covergirl Competition by asking
Kerr’s mother, Therese, for some photos from the family album and secretly posting
them off.
“I didn’t want her to be a model, so I supplied photos of Miranda that showed her
crooked teeth!” laughs Therese. “She has gorgeous teeth now after years of wearing
braces, but I thought it might put the judges off.”
It didn’t. Kerr won the 1997 competition and flew to Sydney for the photoshoot, one
week before her 14th birthday. “There was some stiff competition, but Miranda’s photo
was stunning. I’ve never forgotten it,” remembers Shonagh Walker, one of the judges
and the beauty and lifestyle editor of Dolly.
But the win took a nasty turn when several media pundits declared Kerr too young to
appear on a magazine cover, saying the photos might attract pedophiles and that the
shoot was “pornographic”.
“I couldn’t understand the fuss. It was a magazine for young girls, so why shouldn’t
young girls be modelling in it?” says Kerr After the fuss died down, Kerr decided to
finish high school before she started working in modelling seriously.
The family moved to Brisbane so Kerr could experience life in a city as a stepping-stone
before moving to Sydney and, later, New York. But in Year 11, she struggled
academically after her boyfriend of 18 months was killed in a car accident.
“Miranda was devastated,” says Therese. “He was a beautiful boy. All through Year 11,
it was as though the lights were on but no one was home. Then she started doing small
modelling jobs, which gave her some confidence back.
“After experiencing death in such a personal way, Miranda values the important things
in life, such as family and friends. She doesn’t care about broken nails or material
things. She knows what’s important and what’s not.”
After high school, Kerr modelled in Australia and Japan before moving to New York City.
She’s just bought a $1 million apartment in Chelsea with views of The Empire State
Building, where she lives with her Yorkshire Terrier, Frankie.
“It’s nice to have somewhere over here that I can call my home away from home. I like
Chelsea because it has a lot of art museums and it’s also central. Many of the
photographic studios are around this area, so I can walk or ride my bike to work. It’s
quite convenient.”
Outside of work, Kerr focuses on her yoga and being close to nature. She also loves
meeting people (“especially old people because I believe they have something to teach
us – they’ve been around for a while and seen a lot”).
Kerr eats organic food and has a personal trainer when she’s in New York, who has her
running, boxing and doing Pilates, but she still has fat days and would prefer to just do
yoga. “I don’t go to the gym when I’m by myself, I’d rather just relax. I have fat days,
especially when it’s that time of the month. If I have to shoot underwear, it’s not a nice
thing to feel fat.”
As for men, Kerr is plagued by paparazzi determined to photograph her with British
actor and fellow Nichiren Buddhist Orlando Bloom, who is rumoured to be her current
love. Bloom and Kerr were snapped looking at apartments in April and last month they
were seen dining at exclusive Asian restaurant Megu in New York City.
When asked about this, she simply says she’s not dating anyone at the moment. “I’m
enjoying more time to myself because there’s no one in my life right now,” she says. “I’m
trying to focus on my work and myself for once, because I’ve always put my
relationships first.”
For now, Miranda Kerr just wants us back home to know that she’s happy and hopes to
make other people happy, too. “I consider myself a happy soul,” she says. “I’m all about
being happy and living in the moment, that’s what I stand for. I really believe in
happiness for everyone.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS....
MORE AUSSIE CATWALK QUEENS
Megan Gale
Perth-born Gale became a much-adored celebrity in Italy after starring in an advertising
campaign for a phone company. She’s best known here as the long-standing face of
David Jones (she’s also stalked the catwalk for Sass & Bide and Alex Perry), as well as
for her burgeoning media career, her role as a Melanoma Foundation ambassador and
her relationship with DJ and comedian Andy Lee.
Kristy Hines
The Ford Models star (and granddaughter of Queensland pollie, the late Russ Hinze)
created a buzz last year when she was named as the “Aussie Angel” at the centre of
Netscape billionaire Jim Clark’s divorce. She hit the headlines again recently when she
criticised Gold Coast Fashion Week organisers for nominating a 12-year-old as their
‘face’. Hinze was all of 14 when she was discovered.
Gemma Ward
At 16, the Perth-born model became the youngest fashion model to grace the cover of
the US edition of Vogue. Her other-worldly look is hugely in demand and this year,
Forbes ranked her 10th in the list of the World’s 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. She’s
also pursuing an acting career. Keep an eye out for her in Australian director Elissa
Down’s upcoming film The Black Balloon with Toni Collette.
Catherine McNeil
Hailing from the Queensland suburb of Logan, the classically gorgeous McNeil once
fancied herself as a mechanic. But an exclusive editorial contract from uber-snapper
Mario Testino and resulting D&G and Hugo Boss campaigns have put paid to that idea.
Similarly to Kerr, McNeil began modelling after winning a modelling competition in a teen
magazine, which launched her career onto the international catwalks and into magazine
pages.
| MEGAN GALE. |
| Gemma Ward |
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