Jessica Stam

Jessica Stam was born in Kincardine, Ontario, on April 23,1986. Jessica, along with her six brothers, grew up on a Canadian farm. Her family was heavily devoted to religion, and Jessica did not stray from that path. She was a member of her church choir and participated in plays for the church's congregation. By the age of 16, Jessica had hopes of one day becoming a dentist -- modeling was not something she had even considered. Jessica was a 16-year-old working model when she won the Los Angeles Model Look Search in 2002. Her career in modeling received a boost from this acknowledgment, but she had to wait to be photographed by a well-known photographer before she could become a household name. That same year, Jessica met Steven Meisel, and his work with her led to her international recognition. Meisel attained his own status as a prominent photographer by taking photographs of Madonna for the 1992 book Sex. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs created The Marc Jacobs Stam, a bag inspired by and named after her. For the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2006 she opened the fourth runway theme "Pink". The appearance also included a featurette showing a Victoria's Secret commercial shoot and what a model sees when walking the runway. In the January 2006, she appeared in the Rochas ad campaign, shot and directed by Bruno Aveillan. In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the past 12 months, Forbes named her fifteenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. Currently she stars in campaigns for Bulgari, Dior, Lanvin and Escada. She also appears in the F/W 2007 Christian Dior, DKNY, Miss Sixty, Loewe and Roberto Cavalli ad campaign. Last year in 2007 she had modelled for The Victoria's Secret runway show. For F/W 08 Stam can be seen in ads for Giorgio Armani "Onde" fragrance, Dolce & Gabbana and Bulgari. In 2009 She returns as the face of Bulgari and in March she appears on the cover of Tokyo Numéro.