Models Who Weren't Scouted

[Fernini]

Alessandra Ambrosio

Born on April 11, 1981, the Erechim native began pursuing her modeling dreams at age 12 when she enrolled in modeling classes.
The training paid off: Alessandra won Brazil's Elite Model Look contest and soon landed on the cover of Elle Brasil.

modelinia.com

 

[Fernini]

Magdalena Frackowiak

When she was 16, Magdalena's mother knew her daughter had something special and sent her pictures to a Polish
modeling agency for a contest, which she won. She was later scouted by Model Plus Agency in Warsaw, Poland.

modelinia.com

 

[diesanni]

Heidi Klum, Miranda Kerr, Jessica Hart and Patricia van der Vliet all won or participated in modeling competitions.

 

[Fernini]

Natasha Poly

Her deep-set eyes and sculpted cheekbones made her stand out during a model search in Moscow
in 2000, but as she was only 15 at the time, she decided to finish her high school education.

Natasha was first discovered after winning a model search competition in Moscow.

mademan & modelinia

 

[Fernini]

Sigrid Agren

When she was 13, she entered the Elite Model Look France, and she went to the semifinals in Paris.

wikipedia

 

[amour_amour363]

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.

I remember her winning the CoverGirl modeling competition, or whatever it was, when she was younger

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Regarding how Abbey got into the business, I went back and found the following:

Starting at about 0:33, she talks about having been scouted while on the beach with her grandma



At about 3:55 in this video, she mentions the beach story again and names the person who apparently scouted her.



At about 0:38 in this video, she repeats the "discovery on the beach" story:


Starting at about 1:48 in this video, she talks about how she's a bit older than the other girls in the show she's at, and how she "started a little later than other girls"


I don't want to sound like a hater. I think Abbey looks great and must obviously be a determined worker. But considering how ambitious a person likely needs to be to make it as far as she has, I tend to doubt her claims like the one about supposedly being so oblivious to the whole world of fashion that she didn't even know there was such a job as modeling until the industry snatched her up. Something doesn't seem to be adding up, and I sometimes get the impression that the stuff coming out of her mouth is hot air.

And I agree with the suspicion about certain people in the industry having made-up "Cinderella stories". Maybe some models do it because they think it makes them look better than most? As in, they didn't even have to make the slightest effort to get their foot in the door; in fact, being "discovered" meant somebody else basically put it there for them, almost rolling out a red carpet no less. The door was flung wide open with a blinking welcome sign -- all they had to do was walk through and into eagerly waiting arms! Because they're just that amazing. Therefore they're surely the most appealing models; moreso than those other models who weren't discovered, and actually had to try to get in.

I'm not sure if it would be quite on topic for this thread, but it might be fun to guess whose "discovery stories" are most likely to be BS.

 

[Fernini]

Andrej Pejic

ZEITmagazin: You’ve been working as a model for about a year now. How ere you discovered?
Pejic: I was selling fruits on a market in Melbourne. A model agent came by and bought strwaberries off me. He asked me if I wanted to stop by at his agency.

ZEITmagazin: I read that you were approached in Melbourne at the airport.
Pejic: You know, I get asked how I was discovered so often – I change things up to keep it intersting. Every story has its own truth.

Post ##751

 

[Simera]

I know Bianca Balti went to a lot of agencies and got turned down before she got signed to one. So I'd say she definitely wasn't discovered!

 

[Paws]

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

Yes she was, in a Tim Hortons (I think) in Canada.

 

[jacquelineo]

Kendra Spears won a modeling contest on Myspace.

 

[Fernini]

Doutzen Kroes

 

[Ochi Chernye]

As I recall, Arlenis Sosa wasn't discovered. Didn't she just walk into a modeling agency and got signed at the spot?

Guinevere Van Seenus doesn't have a discovery story either. From portfoliopad.com:

Guinevere Van Seenus was born in Washington D.C. and moved to Santa Barbara, CA during
her freshman year of high school. She joined a local modeling school and modeled part-time
until she relocated to Paris to pursue her career full time.

 

[khyrk]

Natasha won a Modeling contest in Russia in 2000.

 

[wangster]

But isn't winning a model contest something like getting discovered

 

[Paws]

^No, not at all.
Being discovered is just that.....someone spots you/scouts you out of the blue.
Entering a contest, well you therefore are asking/wanting to be a model.
.......my take anyways

 

[khyrk]

I agree with Paws.

 

[diesanni]

Dorothea Barth Jörgensen won the Elite model look.

 

[agee]

Vanessa Hegelmaier was on GnTM but I don't know how she got on the show.

 

[wangster]

Vanessa Hegelmaier was on GnTM but I don't know how she got on the show.

I think friends of her sent her photos to the judges.