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Kim Smith

By RICK MANIERA (images below)

Her name is Kim Smith and already she's being touted as the next IT girl - and that doesn't stand for information technology, either. Far from computer geekery, this young Texan has all the makings of a super-duper model - but aren't they all?

One of the biggest questions asked about Smith when she started appearing in magazines like the US copies of FHM and Maxim in the year of 2000, was: who is she? People found out soon enough, thanks in large part to the Internerd, and the next question they asked was - isn't she too young?

In American, you're a minor until your 21, but then a kilo is a pound and kilowatt is a horsepower, or something, so we'll forgive them this time. Doesn't really matter to us though - 19 years old (as of March 2002) is good enough.

Kim Kay Smith was born in Houston, Texas, on March the 2nd in 1983. She still lives in the southern state of Texas, in a town called Odessa, and her major hobby is golf. Most will recognise her as the lead female starring in two of boy band N*Sync's music videos as the puppet master in Bye, Bye, Bye and a giant woman in It's gonna Be Me.

Like a lot of models, she sort of blundered into a modeling career, when she accompanied a friend who was contesting a beauty pagent of sorts in Dallas. One of the event's officials questioned her as why she has a guest tag. She recounted: "He walked me over to the table, plastered a number on me, and said, ‘Now you’re in it.’"

The Dallas contest saw her win, and the prize was a signing with a local modeling agency. Not long after, Smith's agent sent some of her early photos to a guy called Paul Marciano - he's the creative big-wig behind clothing label Guess?. After seeing the photos, reports suggest that he was so impressed that he flew her to Los Angeles there and then, to offer her a starring role in the Autumn '99 campaign. With little experience and of a young age, Smith joined the likes of Eva Herzigova, Laetitia Casta and Claudia Schiffer - all models who got their big break working on a Guess? campaign.

After her work with Guess?, Kim became was featured model for Maxim's Real Swimsuit Issue (as opposed to the fake one), gracing the front cover and gifted with a six page spread. Since then, she's done work for Gear magazine, Raygun magazine, the French magazine Max, Bikini Magazine, Amica, Marie Claire magazine, German GQ magazine and she is now the ultimated in American pinup as a Victoria's Secret lingerine model. Not bad for a 19-year-old.

Her favourite singer is Madonna and she loves the TV show Friends and professes that she can really sing. Smith is doing a fairly good job of not getting all bitchy and model-like, saying she stays grounded thanks to her family and friends in Odessa. You'd like to think that Kim would be an excellent role model for teenagers and young women in general, but when someone without a criminal record states that their hero is JFK, you have to question their credibility and naïvety.

But, despite that minor blemish, Kim Smith has a rather pearly record and could go on to do big things for the American modeling scene. The 5-foot 9-inches tall brunette loves to exercise, maintains a very healthy diet and is generally an all round angel. Expect to see much more of this Texan belle in future.