Jessica van der Steen
By Sara Templeton
Can we believe utterly spunky supermodels, such as Jessica
van der Steen, when they say things like: "When I was
growing up, my mom always told me I looked like Miss Piggy
from The Muppets because I was totally not photogenic."
I'll be honest - I'm a little dubious at times, but no, I
do believe Jessica when she says that.
And of course there is that old fairy tale about the 'Ugly
Duckling' that countless parents have told their children
over the years, which does present another solid case.
Nevertheless, it's funny now I think about it - I always
thought my father told me that story because he wanted to
make me feel good about being ugly.
Now I just resent him for patronising me...
Nevertheless, I strongly believe that beauty is in the eye
of the beholder, and that beauty is indeed a very subjective
thing, but at the same token my beholden eye reckons Jessica
van der Steen is, however, one of the most elegantly beautiful
models this side of Claudia Schiffer.
Despite Belgium lying on the northern border of France and
on roughly the same latitude as Great Britain, Jessica has
a very Scandinavian look about her, what with the snow-white
hair, perfectly symmetrical face and tall frame.
Born on the 9th of July in 1984 in Belgium's second largest
city, Antwerp, Jessica van der Steen says that her mother
likened her to Miss Piggy, as mentioned earlier, but she even
backs up such calls stating that she was even mistaken for
a boy when she was young.
How things change...
As a middle teen, Jessica submitted an early portfolio to
the Ford Modeling Agency and was snapped up by its representatives
like a duck takes to soggy bread. As a teenager, Jessica landed
many well-paying gigs, with companies such as Ritchie
Swimwear, Rebequinha and others.
Then, aged just 16, the blonde Belgian beauty hit the motherload,
appearing on the cover of glossy magazine Ché, and
not long after that she featured strongly in the Dutch version
of Elle magazine, with everyone wanting to know "Who
is this enigmatic femme?"
Today, Jessica van der Steen is an up and coming top model
with the potential to conquer the world, though this doesn't
seem to be on her immediate agenda. Most models, when they
go 'big time', move to one of the world's fashion epicentres,
such as Milan, Paris or New York - but not van der Steen.
She's made her intentions clear that she wants to stay in
Antwerp for the time being, which some commentators believe
could be at the behest of her boyfriend, who remains a closely
guarded secret of the Belgian model. Who is this magnetic
man? Another Belgian spunk, no doubt.
Of course the 'friends and family' issue also makes for a
compelling arguament to stay in her home town, but after appearing
in the 2004 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, her profile
exploded into the mainstream and as more modeling commitments
beseech, she may be forced to depart.
Jessica initially signed with the Ford modeling agency after
submitting her portfolio as I touched on earlier in the article,
and in addition to the Sports Illustrated shoot, Jessica van
der Steen has also worked on campaigns for Dior, Clarins and
Tommy Hilfiger.
From here on in, the Jessica van der Steen story promises
to intrigue, and it will be interesting to see how she copes
with the spotlight, as she's traditionally a very private
person. Who knows: perhaps she will shun fame and fortune
for a more normal life? And all the more power to her if she
does. Who wants cameras poking into their lives 24-7 anyway?
The Osbournes maybe, but not many others.
And like fellow Belgian Ingrid
Seynhaeve, she's got a lovely name and a fresh look -
two things that, in my highly regarded book, bode very well
for her future.
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