Gemma Louise Ward, 20, is reported by Forbes magazine to be the 11th highest-earning model in the world.
Thanks to contracts with Kosé, Valentino, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Swarovski and Louis Vuitton, she reportedly earned 3 million US dollars in the past year. With porcelain skin and otherworldly features, the Australian supermodel has won over designers like Karl Lagerfeld, who calls her the ‘model of the moment’.
In 2002, when she was only 14, Gemma was discovered,. She went to support her friend at tryouts for a modeling competition and was shocked when her friends forced her to enter by forging her mother’s signature for mandatory parental consent. She did not win the contest, but scouts noticed her distinctive charm and signed her onto a local Australian modeling agency. IMG, one of the leading agencies in the world, saw her photo in a small magazine, tracked her down and asked her agency in Perth to tape her walking.
The video was sent to the casting director of Prada and she was booked immediately. She went with her mother to her first fashion show, thinking that would be her only chance to model. Little did she know, she caught the eye of Donatella Versace, who booked her almost right after.
Not only was Gemma immortalized on the covers of the inaugural issues of Chinese Vogue and Indian Vogue, but she also became the first model to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue in February 2006. To date, she has appeared on more than 25 Vogue covers worldwide and other magazines including: Vanity Fair, V, Numero, i-D, and W.
Gemma dreamed of acting long before the catwalk. She, the clown of the family, wanted to be a comedian. In 2001, she was cast in a short film called Pink Pyjamas and in 2004, she appeared in a John Mayer music video called Daughters.
In 2008, Gemma appeared in the indie film The Black Balloon. The director, Elissa Down, met her when she was only 13, but knew that Gemma would make it big. Down said that Gemma is ‘natural’ and ‘engaging’. In fact, she had the model in mind when she was writing the script. Gemma starred opposite Toni Collete in the film, which was chosen to open the youth category of the Berlin International Film Festival. She played Jackie, who ultimately allows her boyfriend to cope with his brother’s autism. She wanted to do the film as the powerful message will allow ‘people [to] understand other walks of life’ and to become ‘more compassionate’. Dedicated to her art, she went to autistic centers in New York to research prior to filming.
Photos courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
