Models Who Weren't Scouted

[Stellar Tenement]

Meaning they decided they wanted to become a fashion model without being scouted first, and then they pursued it and "made it in".

Sources would be great, especially interviews. I'll go first:

Gwen Lu: http://my.asiancemagazine.com/news/2010/06/18/get-to-know-gwen-lu

How were you discovered?
I walked in to the one and only model agency that once existed in Penang.

Colette Pechekhonova: http://jacquetta_wheeler.tripod.com/articles/fashiontelegraph_new_waifs.htm

Colette's "discovery" came through the most modern of means: the Internet. She sent photos of herself via e-mail to the Nathalie agency in Paris.

Tao Okamoto: http://www.adversus.asia/fashion/models/tao-okamoto-interview/

How did you start modeling?
I sent my pictures to my first agency in Tokyo.

 

[mikel]

I don't have a source but it is commonl knowledge that Doutzen Kroes sent her own vacation pictures to an agency.

 

[Fascination90]

I think Lindsey Wixson also sent pictures to an agency.

 

[m0del]

Monika Jagaciak wasn't discovered either, right? I remember reading something about her going into a model search in a mall at Poland.

 

[Stellar Tenement]

This is from post #15 on the first page of Danica Magpantay's thread:

How did you get into modeling?
Early this year I decided I wanted to try to get into modeling. I've always wanted to model.

She enrolled in a modeling school. But apparently her mother was already a successful model in their country...

 

[StoneSkipper]

Is it wrong that when I read the title, all I could think of was Jade Cole, the undiscovered supermodel?

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

I know Maryna wasn't discovered wither she walked into an agency

 

[Pricciao]

if getting into a model school means "non-discovered", then Emma Pei, Kiki Kang and Du Juan are on the list.

 

[Legolas]

Doutzen wasn't "discovered" either.

 

[apriliciate]

well abbey wasn't "discovered" too, she did Girlfriend CoverGirl model search in Australia.

 

[apriliciate]

and jessica stam wasn't "discovered" to..... well was she?

 

[Pricciao]

and Ginta Lapina, she won a model search in Latvia.
Lu Wen, Sigrid Agren, Constance Jablonski were the winners of model search too.

 

[nightclubbing]

Chanel Iman went straight to an agency too, she wasn't discovered.

 

[Stellar Tenement]

I thought Abbey was scouted while on a beach with her grandmother? Or something like that... That's the story I seem to recall hearing from her in videos.

 

[Fernini]

Anna Maria Jagodzinska

How did you get discovered?
At the age of 14 I sent some of the pictures my mom took of me to a Polish agency.

source: Post #137

 

[Fernini]

Sessilee Lopez

Growing up, Sessilee dreamt of modeling but didn't think her dreams would come true as she suffered from eczema and was extremely self-conscious about being darker-skinned than her sisters. But she managed to muster up her confidence and begged her mother for six years to be a model. Her mother fully supported her and even sold their house to move to New York in pursuit of Sessilee's modeling career. And in 2004, Sessilee was discovered at an IMG open casting call where she was signed.

modelinia.com

 

[Fernini]

Joan Smalls

Frequent comparisons of her body type against the models on the tube convinced Smalls that she could make it in the industry,
while an episode of E! True Hollywood Story provided her with enough industry insights to believe that a modeling salary could
mean a better life for her and her family.

In 2007, Smalls jumped ship from Puerto Rico to New York City, where she promptly found professional representation with Elite Model Management.

askmen.com

 

[Gabriel29]

and jessica stam wasn't "discovered" to..... well was she?

Jessica Stam was indeed discovered. She's mentioned the story countless times that she was discovered by an agent in a coffee shop in Canada.

On a side note, most of the Brazilian models WERE discovered.

 

[Bamhutt]

Great thread idea

I remember reading somewhere that a lot of agencies/models create interesting storys about how a girl was discovered rather than actually telling the truth about how she just sent some pics in, it's a lot more exciting when you hear a "cinderella story" about a normal girl who was just eating in Mc Donald's or sleeping on train or working at a fruit stall etc.

But it's also great to hear about models who actually wanted to get into modelling and decided to send some pics or enter a search, if they have the passion and determination from the beginning they'll probably do better.

 

[Fernini]

Constance Jablonski

When Elite hosted their French Elite Model Look contest in 2006, she took part and discovered her love for modeling.

modelinia.com