|
Francesca Rayder was born on January
26 1975, in River Falls, Wisconsin, a small college town near the
Minnesota border. She grew up in the same community and never even thought
of becoming a model. As a teenager, she went to Minneapolis, the closest
big city to her hometown -- a move that would forever change her life. She
was approached by a model scout, who knew she'd be extremely successful if
she went into the fashion industry.
Her big break came in 1992, when she met legendary photographer Steven
Meisel. At first glance, Meisel fell head over heels in love with her
beautiful appearance and cheery qualities. Meisel was so interested in the
teenager's outstanding persona that he immediately booked her for a photo
session, the first of many together. These first photos not only ended up
in Italian Glamour magazine but she also made the cover. This was the big
break she needed and it allowed her to go to Miami Beach, New York, Paris,
London, and Milan, working for agencies such as Company, Women Model
Management, Page 305, City Models, Take Two, Storm, and Why Not.
This hot, new commodity was chosen to appear in print advertising for
companies like Givenchy, Valentino, Lagerfeld, Extè, Chanel, Celine, Eres,
Gucci, J. Mendel, Mondi, Dolce & Gabbana, Dia, Versace, DKNY, Jitrois,
Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger. In New York, she strutted her stuff on the
catwalks for designers such as Anne Klein, Matthew Williamson, Zac Posen,
Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, and Michael Kors. In Paris,
she modeled for such notable fashion houses as Chanel, Lagerfeld Gallery,
Celine, John Galliano, Rochas, Martine Sitbon, Christian Dior, and YSL
Rive Gauche. She has also worked in Milan for Fendi, Versace, Mila Shön,
Cerruti, Alberta Ferretti, Dsquared2, Missoni, Byblos, Extè, and Amaya
Arzuaga. Other companies she has worked for include Jeremy Scott,
Alexander McQueen, Versus, Stella McCartney, Blumarine, Chloe, Givenchy,
Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Moschino, La Perla, Roberto Cavalli, Costume
National, and MaxMara. She also posed for a number of magazines, such as
Elle, Vogue, The Face, Photo, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, Rebel, British
Marie-Claire, Arena, British Elle, Flair, and Numéro. She has also been on
the cover of Nylon as well as the Italian, Spanish, German, French,
British, and American versions of Vogue.
Frankie soon caught the eye of Victoria's Secret and took part in their
annual fashion show from 2000 to 2002.
Unlike others in her chosen profession, she doesn't nurture cinematic
ambitions but she did play herself in Zoolander (2001) with Ben Stiller
and Owen Wilson, for our viewing pleasure. |
