The Daily Telegraph
Edition 1 - StateSAT 27 OCT 2007, Page 081
The secret's out about Miranda
By JEN MELOCCO
A Gunnedah girl has claimed Elle Macpherson's mantle
In international modeling a tiny handful of jobs offer a passport to another planet -- Planet Supermodel. Being selected as one of Victoria's Secret ``Angels'' is one of them.
Next month, six Angels will be at the heart of a Los Angeles extravaganza. Broadcast on primetime US TV, it is closer to a Broadway production than a regular catwalk show.
Brazilian bombshell and the world's biggest model earner Gisele Bundchen made her name as an angel for the huge US lingerie chain, where she reportedly had a $5.5 million salary, as did model and TV host, Heidi Klum.
This time the exotic line-up includes Czech Karolina Kurkova and Brazilians Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
Strutting out with them will also be a very determined country girl who has long-held the dream of reaching the top of the modeling game -- Australian model Miranda Kerr.
The 24-year-old dazzled in her debut as an Angel last year in a white fur-trimmed jacket and Swarovski crystal-studded lingerie, as superstar Justin Timberlake belted out a tune in the background. This year Kerr is moving towards her second show for Victoria's Secret in an even bigger blaze of publicity.
She was recently snapped by top photographer Patrick DeMarchelier for US magazine Vanity Fair clad only in black high heels and satin gloves.
And her private life, including a reported romance with Hollywood hunk Orlando Bloom and buying a prime piece of Manhattan real estate, has been public news as result of the spotlight that comes with the role of a Victoria's Secret Angel.
``For her to be a Victoria's Secret model is what it was for Elle Macpherson to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the 1980s,'' says Madison editor-in-chief Paula Joye.
The Australian fashion magazine this month chose Kerr to feature in an article about our top models overseas.
And Joye, who has worked closely with Kerr for eight years, believes she is set to be one of our biggest names in a long time.
``She is on that cusp of moving from being a model to being a brand,'' she says.
While Kerr is set to sizzle in one of the top international catwalk shows, has Hollywood's hottest men at her feet and has just moved into her own multi-million dollar New York apartment, it has all taken patience and hard work.
The girl from Gunnedah took out her first modelling title at 12. Even then she was aiming for the top.
``I've always wanted to be a model like Elle Macpherson,'' a young Miranda told her local paper, The Namoi Valley Independent, when she won the regional Model Quest 96 competition in Tamworth. Today she is at that elite level.
The bubbly brunette is well-known at home as the sexy girl-next-door for chain store Portmans and the bikini-babe body of local label Seafolly.
Her appeal on the world stage, according to Joye, is that she has a ``wholesome sexiness. She's a nice, hardworking girl and I think that comes through.''
While she may shimmy down international catwalks today, childhood friend Lauren Ramien recalls that she wasn't always so lithe on her feet.
``I find it quite funny to see her being so graceful on the catwalk today,'' she says. ``When she was younger those long legs got in the way.''
Ramien grew up in the northern NSW town with Kerr, whose parents ran local restaurant Stetsons Steak and Saloon Bar. The pair belonged to a group known as the ``Barbie girls'' at local Catholic high school St Mary's College. At 13, when she took out the title of Dolly cover girl, Kerr's beauty really began to blossom.
``She went from having these really long arms and legs to suddenly things were in proportion,'' Ramien says.
The pair are still good friends and catch up when Kerr is in town, with the model bunking down at Ramien's Newcastle home on her last visit. And while Kerr might have the likes of Bloom escorting her to top New York restaurants, she still loves to hang out with family and friends.
When in Australia she is just as likely to be seen with her mother Therese at an organic cafe in Bondi Junction, where she was snapped in May, as she is at hip hangouts such as Hugo's Bar.
In the US she is just as keen to surround herself with those closest to her. Bondi yoga instructor Charlotte Dodson spent time with her celebrity client in New York last year.
``She said, `Come over and teach me' and I went over for three months,'' says Dodson. ``She's a beautiful, awesome and grounded person. And for somebody relatively young she is also so mature.''
Kerr's publicist Carly Tuhtan confirms Kerr has spent time with her parents in the lead-up to the big Victoria's Secret show. Therese and John Kerr arrived in New York to help their daughter settle into her new multi-million dollar apartment.
With her career continuing to hit the heights the Big Apple looks set to be home for quite some time.