Miranda Kerr

Miranda is an Australian model best known as one of the Victoria’s Secret Angels since mid-2007. She is the first Australian to participate in the Victoria’s Secret campaign She also represents Australian fashion chains Portmans and David Jones Limited. Kerr began modeling in the fashion industry when she was 13, starting at Chaay’s Modelling Agency. Soon after, she won a 1997 Australian nationwide model search hosted by Dolly magazine and Impulse fragrances.

Kerr was born in Sydney, but raised in the small town of Gunnedah, New South Wales. Her parents are Therese and John Kerr, and she has a younger brother named Matthew. In an interview, Kerr stated she is of English, French and Scottish descent and countered rumors that she had Filipino heritage. During her childhood, Kerr “raced motorbikes and rode horses on her grandmother’s farm.” She describes her early life in the Australian countryside as “very grounding … there wasn’t any pretentiousness and no one really cared what you were wearing. You could just be you.” Her family moved to Brisbane to allow Kerr and her brother to experience city life. She graduated from All Hallows’ School in that city, and planned to study nutrition  before pursuing modeling.

Kerr signed to Chic Management’s Sydney division. She received considerable commercial exposure after a series of beachwear ads predominantly for Australian surf chain Billabong in which Kerr modeled surf brands Tigerlily, Roxy, Billabong Girls, and One Teaspoon. This increased her profile in the Australian and Asian markets, after which Kerr relocated to New York. Once in Paris, in 2003, Kerr signed with the Madison Agency.

Once in New York, Kerr had a multitude of runway appearances and then signed with Next model agency in early 2004. From there, she was booked for runway and print campaigns for major labels, including Alex Perry, Ayy?ld?z, Baby Phat, Lisa Ho, Voodoo Dolls, Levi’s, Bettina Liano, Nicola Finetti, L.A.M.B., Heatherette, Betsey Johnson, Trelise Cooper, Jets, John Richmond, Blumarine Swimwear, Neiman Marcus, Seafolly Swimwear, Anna Molinari, Rock and Republic, and Roberto Cavalli. She was also booked for print in magazines such as Elle, Australian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and was featured in television advertisements for brands like Portmans, Bonds, and Veet.

In early 2006, Kerr appeared in the finale episode of the TV show Project Runway, modeling clothes for contestant Daniel Vosovic’s final collection. She was the first woman to walk down the catwalk. In 2006, Kerr broke into the United States market when she signed a lucrative cosmetics contract with Maybelline New York. The campaign ran in a series of internationally sold women’s beauty magazines, including Cosmopolitan, CLEO, and Elle, and was eventually featured in Victoria’s Secret catalogues.

Following her success with Maybeline, Kerr became the first Australian model to be offered a contract with Victoria’s Secret in 2007, replacing Gisele Bündchen. Upon her acceptance, she became the first-ever Australian Victoria’s Secret Angel, joining the stable of models already signed to the lingerie giant, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolína Kurková, Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Izabel Goulart, and Heidi Klum. Before becoming an Angel in 2007, Kerr was already picked to become the successor of Alessandra Ambrosio as the face of PINK in 2006. Kerr’s popularity continued to increase as one of the globally recognized Angels when she appeared in the Victoria’s Secret 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 televised runway shows which aired on four continents. From this success, Kerr has been featured in V Magazine, FHM, Dolly Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar Australia and Madison Magazine. 

 

According to a Victoria’s Secret profile on Kerr, posted on the CBS YouTube page, Kerr described her take on life as “enjoying wherever it is (I am) and trying to be in the moment as much as possible.” As reported in 2007, Kerr was writing an inspirational self-esteem self-help book called Treasure Yourself aimed at the female teenage audience. Kerr says, “Basically, it’s a whole lot of information that I’ve found that has helped me. If I can help one girl by doing this, then I’ve completed my purpose.”

 

She was formerly in a longterm relationship with Jay Lyon (formerly known as Brent Tuhtan), the lead singer of the band Tamarama, who has made appearances on season one of the MTV series The City. Kerr was featured in Tamarama’s video clip for Everything To Me. The two dated for approximately four years but ended on mutual terms in mid-2007.

 

By 2007, Kerr had signed on as the face of Californian fashion retailer Arden B. After debuting in their Spring and Summer ad campaigns, Kerr returned for their Fall 2007 campaign, shot by fashion photographer Diego Uchitel. She has also become the new face of Clinique Happy and signed a lucrative six-figure deal to be the new face of Australian department store David Jones, replacing model Megan Gale. In 2008, having earned an estimated $3.5 million in the previous 12 months, Forbes placed Kerr tenth in the list of the world’s top-earning models.

 

Kerr (along with several other Victoria’s Secret and Next agency models) was featured in a music video for the American hip-hop single Number One by artists Kanye West and Pharrell.

 

Following her modeling success with Victoria’s Secret, Kerr made a small guest appearance in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother alongside fellow Angels Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller, Alessandra Ambrosio, Heidi Klum, and Selita Ebanks. Kerr also made an appearance in the spring/summer runway show for Balenciaga, her first designer fashion show, aside from Victoria’s Secret, since 2007. 

 

 

She is currently signed with IMG Models,Next Model Management Paris, Traffic Models and Chic Management.

Since 2009, Kerr has been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Australia magazine, Harper Bazaar Australia, CS magazine, Sunday Magazine, Tempo magazine Turkey, Cosmopolitan magazine Spain and GQ Germany magazine. Kerr has also been featured in the Pirelli Calendar 2010 and editorials for XOXO Spring/Summer 2009 collection, V Magazine, Vogue Nippon, Russian Vogue, Glamour magazine Germany and Harper’s Bazaar Australia. In October 2009, Kerr launched an organic skincare line, Kora, in Australia with co-founder George Moskos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerr has been called “the next MacPherson”. Kerr’s model trademark is her dimples. Celebrity photographer Russell James said of Kerr, “The US has fallen in love with her. We love her because she has the most incredible girl-next-door look and she’s also insanely beautiful. It means women are not intimidated by her looks and guys think they might be able to talk to her. It’s a fantastic combination – people want to be around her; she’s fun on a shoot – and she’s not stupid, which can be a very annoying trait among some models.” Model agent Ursula Hufnagl described Kerr as “the perfect endorsement”, citing her ability to “truly sell a product.”

Kerr’s charitable work includes Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and Children International. In June 2009, Kerr posed naked, chained to a tree, for the Australian issue of Rolling Stone magazine, in order to attract public attention for the koala. Kerr practices Nichiren Buddhism – a Japanese branch of Buddhism – as a member of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and believes, “We have a responsibility to bring peace and harmony to our lives and the world.” As part of her Nichiren beliefs, Kerr reportedly chants every morning and night for 20 minutes, practices yoga, meditates, and reads widely on spirituality.

In late 2007, Kerr began dating actor Orlando Bloom. Orlando Bloom is also an SGI member. On February 12, 2009, Kerr and Bloom participated in the “Australia Unites” fundraiser to raise money for the victims of the Australian bushfires on February 7, 2009. As of 2010, Kerr and Bloom are still dating.

In early February 2010, Kerr inadvertently became the subject of headlines when David Kiely, a Sydney-based banker, was caught viewing “racy” photos of the model on his computer while in the background of a colleague’s live television interview. Within days, a clip of the interview uploaded onto YouTube received over 1.3 million hits. When Kiely was suspended and an internet campaign launched on his behalf, Kerr herself gave him her backing: “I am told there is a petition to save his job, and of course I would sign it.” The episode prompted a 100% increase in the number of Google searches for Kerr’s name. A few days after the incidence, it was announced that Mr Kiely would be able to keep his job at Macquarie.

In 2010, Kerr walked for design company Prada for their Fall 2010 collection in Milan fashion week alongside fellow Angels Doutzen Kroes and Alessandra Ambrosio.