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Martina Klein

By SARA TEMPLETON

With a name like Martina Klein, you'd expect this internationally acclaimed top model to hail from perhaps North America.

And, while close, Martina is actually a native South American, born and raised in Buenos Aires.

In Spanish-speaking regions, Klein is a goddess. Well known, well respected and highly sought-after, she also has one hell of a busy workload and has been quoted as saying, "The best way to fight exhaustion is to flow with the delirium."

Born in 1976, on December 7th in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Martina is a very humble and calm model, and is a rare example of a level-headed individual who hasn't let fame go to her head.

"I don't doubt my lifestyle should have plenty of stories to tell; nevertheless, someone who is very used to all this new cities business, the supposed glamour, and the clothes doesn't find many passionate experiences to bring to a diary," commented Martina.

So there you have it - Klein isn't particularly fazed by the razzle-dazzle of the fashion world, but still manages to be in high demand. Call it karma, call it luck - whatever it is she's earned the respect of many in an industry that's known for its cut-throat attitudes, and that's quite something.

Martina's parents were architects and in 1988 her family - including her brother Tommy - moved to Barcelona in Spain. At age 15, in 1991, Martina dabbled in a bit of modeling and was soon besotted by the privileged world that is the fashion industry.

While still at school, Martina went to various casting calls [for modeling] with her mother, Adriana, and managed to score quite a few part-time gigs. With the support of her mother, Martina grew into a well-adjusted woman and, in 1994 when she finished high school, she attended even more auditions as her familiarity with the fashion world grew.

Martina Klein wanted more from life than just modeling, and so after graduating high school she attended university and began studying history. Martina didn't get a kick out of uni, and so ditched her course before gaining her degree.

While this may have seemed like a rash decision, Martina committed herself to improving her standing as a professional model.

And it paid off.

First came the mainstream ad campaigns for companies such as Kodak, Renault, Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, Levi's and Wella.

As her face became more and more recognisable in European and South American countries, she began to slowly break into the catwalk arena, and before long labels such as L'Oreal were contracting her for modeling duties.

Her strutting style must have been pretty good, as she went on to conquer the runways of New York, Paris, London, Milan and - generally speaking - during the 90s she was jetsetting across the globe as a fully-fledge top model.

More recently, Martina's ad campaigns included working for the high-profile Guess? brand, l'Oreal, Cebado, Triumph, Zoco and Kleymac.

In 1999 however, Martina Klein took a sabbatical of sorts (unpaid holiday leave) to exercise her artistic flair. She studied a number of subjects, including writing, art, drama and contemporary dance and then in 2000 she dabbled in television work for her local broadcaster in beautiful Catalunya.

Despite appearing on no less than four Spanish TV shows, Martina Klein still spent plenty of time in the modeling world, and also in the year 2000 she was voted as 'Model of the Year' at Madrid's inaugural Cibeles Fashion Show. In 2001, Martina was voted as 'Woman of the Year' by popularist mens magazine GQ.

Today Martina isn't as active in the fashion world as she used to be, but she'll always have influence there, particularly in the Spanish-speaking fashion world. While she lives in Spain, Martina still visits Buenos Aires in Argentina to revisit her heritage and catch up with friends and family.