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At 5ft 9in and with striking looks, Jasmine Munting was always going to turn heads.
But after catching the eye of a model scout as she boarded a London train, her life changed for ever.
The 17-year-old is being hailed as the next Lily Cole or Kate Moss after being named among the 2010 Models To Watch by Vogue magazine.
Previous recipients of the accolade include Agyness Deyn, who has become one of the biggest names on the catwalk and a Jean Paul Gaultier regular, and Lily Donaldson, now the face of Burberry.
Miss Cole's breakthrough came from a similar appearance on the front of Italian Vogue in 2003.
For Jasmine, her future was altered by a chance encounter in July 2007 in a scene reminiscent of the Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors, which tells the parallel stories of how a woman's life changes depending on whether or not she manages to catch a particular train.
The teenager was going to see friends when she randomly switched carriages at the last moment as she boarded a train at Clapham Junction in South London.
By chance she found herself standing next to Sarah Leon, of Select Model Management, who told her she had what it takes to make it on the catwalk.
'This woman was looking and looking at me,' said Jasmine, who lives in a ?00,000 semi-detached house in Barnes, South-West London, with her mother Sally, 55.
'Then she said, "Are you interested in being a model?" I know you have to be careful but I took her card and gave them a ring later, which is how it all started.
'The weird thing is that I had been heading towards one set of doors when, for some reason, I went to another. I don't know why I changed my mind, but I'm now very glad I did. If I'd chosen another door I wouldn't have been scouted, and I wouldn't have been doing this.'
Jasmine, whose professional model name is Frida, attends the ?3,000-a-year King Edward's boarding school in Godalming, Surrey. Academically bright, she was awarded a bursary by the school to help with the fees when she was 11.
She combines studying for A-levels in business studies, food technology and drama with modelling assignments which have taken her all over the world.
Her first job was for teenage magazine Mizz, but she quickly graduated to major campaigns for Levis, Benetton and Top Shop. She has worked in New York and
even flown to Paris to appear in an advertisement for Yves Saint Laurent with French actor Vincent Cassel.
'I was in class when the phone rang and they said you have to be in Paris in two hours,' said Jasmine, who hopes to study marketing at university. 'It was just unbelievable.
'The school has been supportive. Sometimes I take my books so I can work if I have a few minutes free on a shoot.'
Despite her success Jasmine's parents, Sally and Erol, 48, a retired counsellor, who are separated, are keen to keep her feet on the ground. She does not get regular pocket money and has to ask her mother for cash if she wants new clothes.
Mrs Munting, a retired NHS maternity nurse, said: 'When Vogue mentioned her as one to watch it was really encouraging and super that people in her industry, who know what they're talking about, have shown an interest in her.
'I just hope she continues to do well and enjoys every minute of it. To me she's still Jasmine and she's beautiful whether she's modelling or not.'