Alice Burdeu

By Claire Bertolus

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The world is changing faster than most of us care to accept. From celebrity reality shows about "celebrities", to reality series with common folk hoping to be a "celebrity", to reality shows trying to search for the newest "celebrity". The days of becoming famous due to actual talent are all but a distant memory.

The latest "celebrity" who has reached the heights of fame - for the sake of fame - is yet another Reality Show graduate. Long legs, long red hair - and skin that could reflect an atom bomb - ladies and gentlemen, we give you Alice Burdeu.

Alice first came to our attention in early 2007, as a finalist on the cable channel, Fox 8, reality T.V series Australia's Next Top Model. After several gruelling weeks of tests and in-house bitching (one of the shows most infamous lines is "Game On Mole!") Alice Burdeu has proved once and for all that she is the the tallest, skinniest and most symmetrical of them all by taking home the winners prize in the Grand Final (which, not surprisingly, was voted for via SMS). With the Next Top Model crown firmly in place it is safe to say that we can expect big things from little Alice.

Born in 1989 in Victoria, Australia, Alice has always been somewhat of a fashionista. The girl knows her labels inside out and enjoys making her own clothes. Before making the final twelve Alice spent her time training as a customer service representative for Telstra (yep, she's not just a pretty face - she's got a pretty voice too!). Ultimately she wanted to complete an urban planning degree, but fate had other things in mind.

Before applying for Next Top Model, Alice had already been approached to model for the NEXT agency. But at that point she felt too young to take on the challenges posed by the modeling world. 

By 2007, though, Alice was feeling the pull of the modeling call. The opportunities to work in fashion full time and the chance to travel frequently provided by Australia's Next Top Model were too much to resist. Alice decided to audition.

At 185cm tall and weighing only 58kg Alice attracted attention throughout the competition for being too thin (what, a thin model? Who would have guessed?). With a BMI of only 15 (18 is considered a minimum in the healthy weight range) she may struggle to find work in foreign industries, as governments crack down on models' weight after a spate of anorexia related deaths within the industry in 2006.

But Alice claims that her metabolism is to thank for her uber-lean frame (yep, that old chestnut). Chocolate, she says, is one of her biggest weaknesses (but vomiting after each meal - not so much - according to Alice). And this is one model who isn't a diva. Alice once described Naomi Campbell as a 'psycho' and hates 'bitchy, high maintenance girls.' 

Something that she may have to get used to if she is to excel in the modeling business.

High maintenance or not, we'll be seeing more (or less, depending on how much weight she loses) of Alice Burdeu in the future.