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Miranda May Kerr (born 20 April 1983)^[1] is an Australian model, best known as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. She was the first Australian addition to the Victoria's Secret campaign, and was the face of Australian fashion chain Portmans and now David Jones Limited. Kerr entered modeling in the fashion industry in her mid-teens after winning a 1997 Australian nation-wide model search hosted by Dolly Magazine and Impulse fragrances.^[4]

Early life and family

Kerr was born in Sydney but raised in Gunnedah, New South Wales, a small rural town. Her parents are Therese and John Kerr, and she has a younger brother named Matthew. According to the Australian a current affair program "Today Tonight" she is of mixed ethnic heritage, these are Iranian, Serbian, Turkish and Filipino combined.^[5] During her childhood, Kerr stated she "raced motorbikes and rode horses on [her] grandmother’s farm" and describes her early life in the Australian countryside as "very grounding ... there wasn’t any pretentiousness and no one really cared what you were wearing. You could just be you."^[6]

Her family moved to Brisbane to allow Kerr and her brother to experience city life. She graduated from All Hallows' School and planned to study nutrition before pursuing modeling.^[6]

Dolly Magazine

At age thirteen, Kerr entered and won the 1997 annual Dolly Magazine/Impulse Model Competition. She was flown to Sydney a week before her fourteenth birthday to shoot for the magazine. Upon Kerr's win, local media expressed "concerned outrage" at her young age. The controversy raised concerns about the glorification of young girls within the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries.^[6] Some conservative media outlets claimed her Dolly shoot (including images of fourteen year old Kerr in bathing suits) constituted a form of child pornography. Of the press, Kerr said: "In the media at the time they were trying to cling on to anything remotely to do with paedophilia. Dolly is a magazine for teenage girls, not for old men. And I was fully clothed! Doing a winter shoot! They just made something out of nothing."^[4]

Kerr suffered emotional distress following the death of her high-school boyfriend during her final year of schooling. Eventually overcoming the trauma, Kerr signed to Chic Management Sydney Division. She received considerable commercial exposure after a series of beach-ware predominantly for Australian surf chain Billabong, in which Kerr modelled for surf brands Tigerlily, Roxy, Billabong Girls and One Teaspoon. This increased her profile in the Australian and Asian markets, after which Kerr relocated to New York.^[4][6]

Runway model

Once in New York, Kerr had a multitude of runway appearances, and then signed with Next model agency in early 2004. From there, she was immediately booked for runway and print campaigns for dozens of major labels, including Ayyıldız , Baby Phat, Lisa Ho, Voodoo Dolls, Levi's, Bettina Liano, Nicola Finetti, L.A.M.B, Heatherette, Betsey Johnson, Trelise Cooper, Jets, John Richmond, Blumarine Swimwear, Neiman Marcus, Seafolly Swimwear, Anna Molinari, Rock and Republic and Roberto Cavalli.^[3]

She appeared frequently in the televised Victoria's Secret runway parades, was booked for print in magazines such as Elle, Australian Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and was featured in television advertisements for brands such as Portmans, Bonds and Veet.^[4][6]

In 2006, Kerr broke into the United States market when she signed a lucrative cosmetics contract with Maybelline New York. The campaign ran in a series of internationally sold women's beauty magazines, including Cosmopolitan, CLEO and ELLE, and was eventually featured in Victoria's Secret catalogues.^[6]

Following her success with Maybelline,^[6] Kerr became the first Australian model to be offered a contract with Victoria's Secret and upon her acceptance, the first ever Australian Victoria's Secret Angel. She became a featured model on the company's internationally-accessed website, joining the stable of prestige models already signed to the lingerie giant including Gisele Bündchen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolína Kurková, Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, and Heidi Klum. Kerr's increasing popularity as one of the globally recognized Angels led for Kerr to be featured in the Victoria's Secret 2006 and 2007 televised runway shows, which aired on four continents.^[6]

As of 2007, Kerr has signed as the face of Californian fashion retailer Arden B. After debuting in their Spring and Summer ad campaigns, Kerr returned for their Fall 2007 campaign, shot by fashion photographer Diego Uchitel.^[4] She has also become the new face of Clinique Happy, and signed a lucrative six-figure deal to be the new face of Australian department store David Jones, replacing model Megan Gale.^[7] In 2008, earning at an estimated total of $3.5 million in the past 12 months, Forbes placed Kerr tenth in the list of the world's top-earning models.^[8]

Kerr (along with several other Victoria's Secret and Next agency models) was featured in a music video for American hip-hop stars Kanye West and Pharrell' single Number One.

Following her modeling success with Victoria's Secret, Kerr made a small guest appearance in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother alongside fellow Angels Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller, Heidi Klum and Selita Ebanks.^[4]

Public image

Kerr is dubbed "the next MacPherson" and generates a high volume of interest in both the Australasian, European and American markets. Kerr's model trademark is her dimples. Celebrity photographer Russell James said of Kerr,^[6] "The US has fallen in love with her. 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 ... 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." Model agent Ursula Hufnagl described Kerr as "the perfect endorsement", citing her ability to "truly sell a product."^[6]

Kerr's charitable work includes Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and Children International.^[9]

Personal life

In 2003, Kerr began dating finance broker Adrian Camilleri. Following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation, Camilleri was found guilty on five counts of fraudulent behaviour spanning between February 2003 to February 2004. Kerr subsequently dissolved the relationship. 2007 reports claim Kerr suffered financially "after taking her boyfriend's financial advice" but chose not to take legal action.^[10]

Kerr practices Nichiren Buddhism — a Japanese branch of the Buddhist religion — and believes "we have a responsibility to bring peace and harmony to our lives and the world." As part of her Nichiren beliefs, Kerr reportedly chants every morning and night for 20 minutes, practices yoga, meditates and reads widely on spirituality.^[6] In early 2008, Kerr began dating actor and Buddhist Orlando Bloom.^[11]

According to a Victoria's Secret profile on Kerr, posted on the CBS YouTube page, Kerr's described her take on life as "enjoying wherever it is [I am] and trying to be in the moment as much as possible". As reported in 2007, Kerr is writing an inspirational self-esteem self-help book called Treasure Yourself aimed at the female teenage demographic. Kerr says, "Basically, it's a whole lot of information that I've found, that has helped me. If I can help one girl by doing this then I've completed my purpose."^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Miranda's model life Daily Telegraph says she turned 14 after winning the 1997 Dolly/Impulse content, and during a 2008 video at TodayTonight she said she had just turned 25. Accessed 2008-05-01.
2. ^ Miranda's blog. PortmansComAu. Accessed 2008-04-26.
3. ^ ^{a b} Miranda Kerr Profile. Fashion Model Directory. Accessed 2008-06-22.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Miranda Kerr OneThousandModels. Accessed 2008-04-26.
5. ^ Interview Youtube. Accessed 2008-07-01.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Elissa Blake (November 11, 2007). Miranda's Model Life Daily Telegraph. Accessed 2008-04-26.
7. ^ Holly Byrnes (April 3, 2008). David Jones is Kerr's new darling News.com.au. Accessed 2008-04-26.
8. ^ In Pictures: The World's 15 Top-Earning Models Forbes.com. Accessed 2008-05-27.
9. ^ ^{a b} Victoria's Secret Profile of Miranda Kerr YouTube. Accessed 2007-12-12.
10. ^ Kerr's ex Guilty (September 22, 2007) Daily Telegraph. Accessed 2008-04-26.
11. ^ Orlando Bloom Meets Miranda Kerr's Parents. People. Accessed 2008-04-26.

External links

• Miranda Kerr Official
• Miranda Kerr at the Internet Movie Database
• Miranda Kerr in the Fashion Model Directory
• Miranda Kerr Online