Catherine McNeil

By Sara Templeton

Move over Lara Bingle, there's a new Australian top model on the scene. And as the photos clearly show, Ms McNeil is simply scintillating. 

She's so hot that my fingers are becoming blistered as I type. 

Which is more painful than you'd think.

Born in Australia on the 30th of May, 1989, the young model lived a modest life with her mother and grandparents in Logan, which is in the north eastern Australian state of Queensland. She was never in love with school, and wanted to be an auto mechanic originally, but fate had other plans...

The stunningly beautiful Australian model has emerged as a new force in the fashion industry, and after completing her fashion show season in 2007 as a 17-year-old, she's already been labelled a model watch.

Her desire to be a mechanic (word on the street is that she loves machines, perhaps this should be an article on the Motoring Channel?) was put on hold after she won the 2003 Girlfriend Magazine model search, which resulted in a trip to New York to meet with a modeling agency.

She ended up signing on with Next, one of the larger and more sought-after agencies, but it wasn't jet setting from the age of 14. Catherine was happy to hear that her agents were very impressed with her natural look, but they said that she needed to grow and mature, and so she was sent back to Australia with the proviso "Call us in a few years".

Catherine McNeil headed back Australia as a very happy 14-year-old and it was then that her aspirations to become a mechanic wafted away like steam from a just-boiled kettle.

For the next three years, between 2004 and 2006, McNeil's local modeling career began to blossom, and she spent a lot of time in Sydney working on ad campaigns for the likes of Zimmerman, Cue, Alannah Hill, and Myer, and was featured in glossies such as Madison, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar.

In the first half of 2006 at the age of 17, Catherine McNeil was standing 180cm tall, and had lost much of her puppy fat that was part of her adolescence when she won the 2003 Girlfriend magazine model thingy. She returned to New York, to the Next Modeling Agency and the rest, as they sometimes say in poorly-researched online features, is history.

What is it about McNeil that has set the fashion world aflame? Is it her glinting blue-green feline eyes, her sun-kissed Australian skin, or perhaps her formidable height? Maybe it's her laconic Australian attitude. Whatever it is, everyone is going complete nuts for this Aussie glamour girl, including the world's best photographers, which is a huge vote of confidence.

She met with Mario Testino, or 'Testies' as his more unsavoury mates call him, although it has been reported that McNeil admitted to never having heard of the famous photographer. He is perhaps the most famous photographer in the world if not in the top five category, and she met with him in Paris to do some tests. 

Mario Testino was instantly delighted with the young Australian. So delighted, in fact, that he called fashion labels Hugo Boss and Dolce & Gabbana and told them he had a dazzling new face for their campaigns. 

So off she went to Germany, which marked the beginning of her international commercial career.

Following her contract with DG and Hugo, she had her 'apprenticeship' in Europe, working on more than 30 fashion shows in 2006-2007. And get this: she has often been the first model out on the catwalk at fashion shows, which is a sure sign of not only her crushing beauty, but also her ability to 'walk'. 

Her first year on the international catwalk was a complete success and already her reputation precedes her. In her debut year in France and Italy she wowed crowds and organisers alike, strutting for Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior, Valentino, Stella McCartney, Christian Lacroix, Balenciaga,Roberto Cavalli, Versace and Fendi.

Her favourite designer? Stella McCartney. Which is mine too, proving that I have a lot in common with McNeil. Except I'm 5'2" not 5'11" and I wear sunglasses all day and night. Except for sleeping. I wear moonglasses for slumber.

Catherine McNeil now lives in New York, which is sometimes called the the Big Apple because the entire city is edible. Hmm. Anyway, since the Hugo and Dolce campaigns and her international runway debut, the young Australian model has completed spreads for the French edition of Vogue - which is no mean feat - and has said that one of her goals is to make the cover of Vogue. And really, it's only a matter of time before she reaches her goal.

An unabashed fan of alternative rock music - the likes of System of a Down are high on her list - the up and coming local model is still acclimatising to both the cut-throat fashion world and the big city lights of New York, but doing very well. The ultimate praise will be saved for last however: when Web Wombat's Lifestyle Channel brands a model as "one to watch" and "so hot that my fingers are becoming blistered as I type", you know that Catherine McNeil is no one-hit wonder.

Keep an eye out for Ms McNeil - she's going all the way!