Gemma Ward
By Ines Mendoza
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Gemma Ward
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There's nothing that makes me prouder to be an Australian than when
one of our own is mentioned internationally. I don't know what it is,
but for some reason if we see an Aussie seen or mentioned on Letterman or CNN there is a strange sense of excitement.
It's almost like we've been validated as a country, that we actually exist!
So
it's even better to hear positive words about an Aussie - and
thankfully - there are only positive things to say about the up-and-coming Perth model, Gemma Ward.
Born November 3rd 1987 in
Western Australia, the petite Aussie model was the second child of Gary
and Claire Ward (for those who think the name sounds familiar - Gemma's
sister is in fact Sophie Ward who is also a model) and was educated at
Perth's Presbyterian Ladies' College and Shenton College.
But
school wasn't where the future lay for the 5'9" blonde, who shot to
fame after entering a Teen Vogue modeling competition. Ironically,
Gemma didn't actually win the competition (her friends allegedly
forged her mother's signature to pass the mandatory parental consent
clause) but it was Ward's first taste. Soon after she was picked up by Vivien's
Model Agency after seeing a small picture of her in an Australian
magazine.
At the age of sixteen, Ward was already being
tipped for big things with American Vogue voting her as one of the
nine "It Girls" in the modeling world. Ward's talents have been used
for such varied designers as Versace, Chanel, Gucci, Alexander McQueen
and Valentino to name but a few. The same year, Gemma Ward also became
the youngest model ever to appear on the cover of the American edition
of Vogue, as well as the first model to ever appear on the cover of
Teen Vogue. Add to that list of achievements the fact that Ward was the
first model since Kate Moss (yep, old "coke face" herself!) to be the
face for Calvin Klein's perfume "Obsession Night for Men" along with
Philadelphia male model, Drew Keilt. No mean feat, especially when you
consider that most of us were trying to work out "Why Do I Have Hair In
Strange Places?" at that age.
Many designers have been drawn to
Ward for her "out-of-this-world" look (although, those in the Web
Wombat offices believe she looks remarkably similar to the TDK girl!)
with photographer Nick Knight recently stating that, "Gemma is one of
the very few models who look as though they come from another
dimension." Fashion designer Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler told
Teen Vogue in February 2006 that, "She looked like no one else at the
time. She was this alien, and fashion is always looking for newness." Call us crazy - but since when has looking like an alien been a good
thing? Like our Motoring Channel Editor, Feann Torr, despite looking like E.T, we have still yet to hear of any modeling offers for him.
As
is so often the case, Gemma has long aspired to pursue acting and drama
(because it worked so well for Elle McPhearson & Kathy Ireland...)
and is likely to hit it big after being cast in Australian director
Elissa Down's upcoming film The Black Balloon (which stars Australian Toni Collette) as the girlfriend of a boy whose brother has autism (um, did no one else see Clubland??!). The pint sized Aussie was also cast opposite the lip-tastic Liv Tyler
in the suspense thriller The Strangers as one of three masked
intruders. And for those with keen eyes, you may have also seen her
briefly in John Mayers Daughters video clip.
Yep,
it seems the girl has just about everything in the world at her
fingertips. In fact, in July of 2007, it was reported that Ward was
earning an estimated $3 million in the 12 months prior, with Forbes
naming her the tenth Top-Earning super model in the world.
In early 2008, Ward was reported to have been seeing actor Heath Ledger
prior to the actor's tragic death, with her parents recently stating
that Ledger and Ward had spent Christmas together in Perth just prior
to the actor's shock death in January of '08.
Where
to from here?
Who knows. Movies, music, modeling are all options for this talented
Australian. At the moment, the world is Gemma Ward's oyster.
Most recently, Gemma Ward was seen in the multi-million dollar hit Pirates of the Caribbean 4 : On Stranger Tides alongside Johnny Depp and fellow Aussie Geoffrey Rush and will next be seen in the Baz Lurhman adaption of The Great Gatsby.
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Gemma Ward was linked to Heath Ledger prior to his death in 2008
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| | Gemma Ward hits the catwalk with style |
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