Models Who Weren't Scouted

[AudreySedwick]

Bambi northwood blyth persued it herself

 

[ad31214]

Kasia Struss sent pictures to a Polish Teen Magazine.

 

[Zeitgeist]

I honestly think many models apply to agencies by themselves and thus aren't "discovered" in the original sense. But the agencies like to make up stories about discoveries because that does sound much more interesting.

 

[Kallu]

Lieve Dannau's friend sent her pictures to Elite Chile (mother agency) and they called her a few months later.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Yumi Lambert:

I was not really discovered or scouted, but instead went into an agency myself and asked if I could be a model.

http://www.inoubliablemodelarmy.com/2013/01/exclusive-interview-yumi-lambert.html

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Ryan Kennedy:

I went to a local scouting event my sister heard about on the radio.

http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2014/02/model-in-the-spotlight-ryan-kennedy.html

His thread at this website: http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f127/ryan-kennedy-93881.html

 

[Elite13]

Didn't Lindsey have a profile on Models.com and Meisel found her on it?

 

[Aizanara]

Didn't Lindsey have a profile on Models.com and Meisel found her on it?

I think she was already with an agency at the time. But Meisel made her career by shooting her the first time.

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Audrey Marnay:

Marnay says she got the idea to be a model when she was 14 years old. But her parents weren't happy about letting their only child into the world of modeling.

"They let me go to the agency because they thought I'd never get any jobs, and they said, 'Go ahead my girl, you'll see, it's not gonna work,'" Marnay said.

http://edition.cnn.com/STYLE/9810/23/marnay/

 

[AtticusFinch]

Ali Michael won a modeling contest. .

I remember hearing Ali was scouted and told to enter the competition which she then won.

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Kristen McMenamy:

At the start of her career, McMenamy was rejected by every major agency—and was even reportedly advised by Eileen Ford, the doyenne of the American modeling industry, to get plastic surgery—but a burning ambition drove her on against all odds.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140703012759/http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Kristen_McMenamy

 

[dsamg]

Jess PW was a finalist of the Girlfriend Model Search in 2012, but Chic did not sign her. A year later she signed to Vivien's.

 

[Elite13]

Rianne sent in photos to Paparazzi and they signed her.

 

[guimon]

Leila Goldkuhl was a finalist (3rd place) on the 19th season of America's Next top Model. Pre show she was already modeling, but was getting work on her own, with no agency. After the show, she said she had many offers, so went to NYC to sign with an agency, and ended up signing with NEXT models.

 

[Stellar Tenement]

Stella Tennant:

"Tennant’s initial attempts to get into modeling, after graduating from the Winchester School of Art, failed."
Stella Tennant, Iconic British Supermodel, Dies at 50

"Tennant got her start in modeling in the early 1990s after sending photos of herself to high fashion magazines."
Stella Tennant, Supermodel and Karl Lagerfeld Muse, Dies at 50

Considering my username is a play on her name, I feel like I should have known this already, but I only just read about it today.

 

[Armani]

Maty Fall Diba & Malika Louback got discovered by submitting digitals to IMG.

Sora Choi, Hyun Ji Shin & Hoyeon Jung all got discovered on Korea's Next Top Model - Hyunjoo Hwang as well, if I'm not mistaken. I believe Sora also went to her first agency visit accompanying a friend & ended up being the one with a contract in their hands afterward... it was all pure luck.

Ebonee Davis & Kyla Coleman got discovered on America's Next Top Model (deleting Winnie's name - Tyra scouted her on Instagram, then told her to come on the show, which she accepted).

Aamito Lagum got discovered on Africa's Next Top Model.

FAAAR too many models to name here that haven't been listed yet were discovered from EML. (Vittoria Ceretti, Mayowa Nicholas, Yasmin Wijnaldum, Amilna Estevao, Mona Tougaard, Alexandra Micu, Estelle Chen, Bara Podzimkova, Greta Varlese, Irina Djuranovic, Ruth & May Bell, Lea Julian, Katya Bybina, Valeria Buldini, Valeria Chenskaya, Nana Reznichenko, Jana Tvrdikova, Nina Marker, Birgit Kos, Josephine Le Tutour, Pauline Hoarau, Marilhea Peillard, Antonina Petkovic, Elsa Baldaia, Alecia Morais, Ysaunny Brito, Hiandra Martinez, etc.)

Loli Bahia was discovered through a French modeling contest called Egeri Tour.

 

[fashionkitten7]

Not sure if it wasn't mentioned already, but it's common knowledge that Alessandra Ambrosio wasn't discovered. She wanted to be a model from a very young age, so she joined a modeling school in Brazil and later went to Elite Model Look.

 

[Viktor Rieker]

Irina Kulikova was scouted actress Liv Tyler in Moscow at Cafe Puchkine restaurant.
Irina had dinner with parents and Liv gave her IMG agent business card.

Irina Shayk discovered Kate Grigorieva when Irina was presenter Russian TV show similar Next Top Model.

Anne V. was winner VH1/IMG models tv-contest in Russia.

 

[Viktor Rieker]

And many many russian models was started with MTV Russia/ Elite Model Look early 00's.
-Milana Keller
-Valentina Zelyaeva
-Tatiana Kovylina
-Maria Nevskaya
-Olga Elnikova
-Ruslana Korshunova