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Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward
Birth name	Gemma Louise Ward
Date of birth	3 November 1987 (1987-11-03) (age 22)
Place of birth	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Measurements	(US) 32-24-35; (EU) 81-60-89
Dress size	(US) 4
Agency	Vivien's Model Management, Sydney IMG Models, New York Why Not Model Agency, Milan MY Model Management, Korea

Gemma Louise Ward (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian model and actress.¹

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Modeling 2.1.1 Retirement 2.2 Acting 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External links

Early life

Gemma Ward was born on 3 November 1987 in Perth, Western Australia, the second of four children to Gary and Claire Ward. Her older sister Sophie is also a model and she has younger twin brothers, Oscar and Henry. She was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College and Shenton College.

As said herself in a Teen Vogue interview, she accompanied her friends to a modelling competition and ended up being scouted herself:

I had come straight from my auntie and uncle's farm, and I was wearing this big gray barn jacket with mud all over it. When the scout came up to me, I said, 'No, thank you.' They forged my mum's signature [for mandatory parental consent], and pushed me in front of the cameras.²

Ward didn't win the competition, but Vivien's Model Agency picked her up after seeing a small picture of her in Kurv, an Australian-produced arts, culture and fashion magazine.

Career

Modeling

At only sixteen, Ward was the youngest model to be listed by American Vogue as one of the nine "It Girls" in the modeling world.^{citation needed} She has been in shows for designers such as Prada, Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, and many more. Ward has also graced magazine covers such as Vogue, W, and TIME Magazine's Style and Design issue. In September 2004, at the age of 16, Ward became the youngest fashion model on the cover of the American edition of Vogue and was the first model to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine.^{citation needed} She is the first model since Kate Moss to be the face for Calvin Klein's perfume "Obsession Night for Men" along with Philadelphia male model, Drew Keilt.^{citation needed}

To date, Ward's clients have included Balenciaga, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Rochas, Swarovski, Valentino and Yves Saint-Laurent, and, altogether, Ward has appeared on 30 covers of Vogue magazine worldwide.^{citation needed}

Her look inspired a new generation of baby doll-like models such as Vlada Roslyakova, Heather Marks, Lily Cole, Lisa Cant, and Jessica Stam.²

In Allure magazine (October 2006), Ward is described as "the model of the moment." Allure's creative director Paul Cavaco stated: "We went through a period that was very va-va-voom, but now the pendulum has swung back. Gemma is ethereal, not earthy." Photographer Michael Thompson says, "She's an exotic blonde, the rarest of creatures."³

Ward appeared on the cover of the first issue of Vogue India, photographed by photographer Patrick Demarchelier. This is the second time Ward has appeared on an inaugural issue—the first time being the first-ever cover of Vogue China in 2005.^{citation needed}

In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $3 million in the past 12 months, Forbes named her tenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.⁴

Vogue Paris declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.⁵

Retirement

In August 2008, reports surfaced that Ward was to retire from modeling to pursue acting.⁶ However, reports were quickly dismissed by Ward herself saying: "I was surprised to wake up this morning and read news of my own retirement. While I am taking some time off currently to rest and enjoy the company of friends and family, I am still very much a (excited and enthusiastic) working model and actress. I'm only 20, for God's sakes."⁷

Slightly over a year later, however, in November 2009, Ward confirmed that she was retiring from following a series of criticisms about her weight gain. A spokesperson from Viviens modelling agency in New York released a statement, saying: "Gemma hasn't committed to returning to modelling at any time soon", adding Ward had the agency's full support.⁸⁹

Again, Ward quickly dismissed the retirement claims, confirming that she would return to modeling in 2010.¹⁰

Acting

Ward has long aspired to pursue acting and drama is a passion that she has held since she was a child. She starred alongside Toni Collette and Rhys Wakefield in Australian director Elissa Down's film The Black Balloon as the girlfriend of a boy whose brother has autism.¹¹ The Black Balloon had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany in February 2008, where it received a Crystal Bear as the best feature-length film in the Generation 14plus category.¹² She was also cast opposite Liv Tyler in the suspense thriller The Strangers as one of the three masked intruders, "Dollface".¹³ She also appeared in the music video for "Daughters" by John Mayer.

Personal life

In early 2008, Ward was reported to have been seeing actor Heath Ledger after media articles linked the two together at end of 2007 holiday celebrations,¹⁴ shortly before Ledger's death of an accidental prescription drug overdose on January 22, 2008.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2001	Pink Pyjamas	Heidi
2008	The Black Balloon	Jackie Masters	Nominated - Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actress Nominated - Inside Film Award for Best Actress
	The Strangers	Dollface

References

External links

• Gemma Ward at the Internet Movie Database
• Gemma Ward at Fashion Model Directory

Persondata
NAME	Ward, Gemma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Australian model
DATE OF BIRTH	3 November 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH	Perth, Australia
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH