Miranda Kerr

Miranda May Kerr (born 20 April 1983) is an Australian model best known as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels since mid-2007. She was the first Australian addition to the Victoria's Secret campaign and was the face of Australian fashion chain Portmans and David Jones Limited. Kerr entered modeling in the fashion industry in her early teens after winning a 1997 Australian nationwide model search hosted by Dolly magazine and Impulse fragrances.

Kerr was born in Sydney but raised in Gunnedah, New South Wales, a small rural town. Her parents are Therese and John Kerr, and she has a younger brother named Matthew. During her childhood, Kerr "raced motorbikes and rode horses on her grandmother's farm." She describes her early life in the Australian countryside as "very grounding ... there wasn't any pretentiousness and no one really cared what you were wearing. You could just be you." Her family moved to Brisbane to allow Kerr and her brother to experience city life. She graduated from All Hallows' School and planned to study nutrition before pursuing modeling.

At age thirteen, Kerr entered and won the 1997 annual Dolly Magazine/Impulse Model Competition. She was flown to Sydney a week before her fourteenth birthday to shoot for the magazine. Upon Kerr's win, local media expressed "concerned outrage" at her young age. The controversy raised concerns about the glorification of young girls within the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries. Some conservative media outlets claimed her Dolly shoot (including images of a fourteen-year-old Kerr in bathing suits) constituted a form of child pornography. Of the press, Kerr said: "In the media at the time they were trying to cling on to anything remotely to do with pedophilia. Dolly is a magazine for teenage girls, not for old men. And I was fully clothed! Doing a winter shoot! They just made something out of nothing."

Kerr suffered emotional distress following the death of her high-school boyfriend during her final year of schooling. Eventually overcoming the trauma, Kerr signed to Chic Management's Sydney division. She received considerable commercial exposure after a series of beachwear ads predominantly for Australian surf chain Billabong, in which Kerr modeled surf brands Tigerlily, Roxy, Billabong Girls and One Teaspoon. This increased her profile in the Australian and Asian markets, after which Kerr relocated to New York.

Once in Paris, in 2003, Miranda Kerr signed with the Madison Agency. She did an advertising campaign for Ober Jeans with photographer Erick Seban-Meyer.

Once in New York, Kerr had a multitude of runway appearances and then signed with Next model agency in early 2004. From there, she was booked for runway and print campaigns for major labels, including Alex Perry, Ayyıldız, Baby Phat, Lisa Ho, Voodoo Dolls, Levi's, Bettina Liano, Nicola Finetti, L.A.M.B., Heatherette, Betsey Johnson, Trelise Cooper, Jets, John Richmond, Blumarine Swimwear, Neiman Marcus, Seafolly Swimwear, Anna Molinari, Rock and Republic, and Roberto Cavalli. She was also booked for print in magazines such as Elle, Australian Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and was featured in television advertisements for brands like Portmans, Bonds, and Veet.

In early 2006, Kerr appeared in the finale episode of the TV show Project Runway, modeling clothes for contestant Daniel Vosovic's final collection. She was the first girl to walk down the catwalk.

In 2006, Kerr broke into the United States market when she signed a lucrative cosmetics contract with Maybelline New York. The campaign ran in a series of internationally sold women's beauty magazines, including Cosmopolitan, CLEO, and Elle, and was eventually featured in Victoria's Secret catalogues.

Following her success with Maybelline, Kerr became the first Australian model to be offered a contract with Victoria's Secret in 2007, replacing Gisele Bündchen. Upon her acceptance, the first ever Australian Victoria's Secret Angel, joining the stable of models already signed to the lingerie giant, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolína Kurková, Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Izabel Goulart, and Heidi Klum. Kerr's popularity continued to increase as one of the globally recognized Angels when she appeared in the Victoria's Secret 2006, 2007, and 2008 televised runway shows, which aired on four continents.

By 2007, Kerr had signed on as the face of Californian fashion retailer Arden B. After debuting in their Spring and Summer ad campaigns, Kerr returned for their Fall 2007 campaign, shot by fashion photographer Diego Uchitel. She has also become the new face of Clinique Happy and signed a lucrative six-figure deal to be the new face of Australian department store David Jones, replacing model Megan Gale. In 2008, having earned an estimated $3.5 million in the past 12 months, Forbes placed Kerr tenth in the list of the world's top-earning models.

Kerr (along with several other Victoria's Secret and Next agency models) was featured in a music video for the American hip-hop single Number One by artists Kanye West and Pharrell.

Following her modeling success with Victoria's Secret, Kerr made a small guest appearance in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother alongside fellow Angels Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller, Heidi Klum, and Selita Ebanks. Miranda is currently signed with IMG Models.

Kerr has been called "the next MacPherson". Kerr's model trademark is her dimples. Celebrity photographer Russell James said of Kerr, "The US has fallen in love with her. We love her because she has the most incredible girl-next-door look and she's also insanely beautiful. It means women are not intimidated by her looks and guys think they might be able to talk to her. It's a fantastic combination ... people want to be around her; she's fun on a shoot … and she's not stupid, which can be a very annoying trait among some models." Model agent Ursula Hufnagl described Kerr as "the perfect endorsement", citing her ability to "truly sell a product."

Kerr's charitable work includes Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and Children International.

Kerr stays healthy through daily yoga, light jogging, and a healthy diet of steamed vegetables, fresh fruit, and fish.