Gemma Ward

Infobox actress
name = Gemma Ward

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imagesize =
caption = Ward at FashionWeekLive in San Francisco, 15 March 2007
birthname = Gemma Louise Ward
birthdate = November 3, 1987

Gemma Louise Ward [Gaimari, Angela. " [http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/parties/fullstory.sps?inewsid=360963&itype=8488 Bang a Gong] ", "Fashion Week Daily", 2006-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.] (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian model and actress.

Early life

Ward was born in Perth, Western Australia, as the second child of Gary and Claire Ward. Her older sister, Sophie Ward is also a model and she has younger twin brothers, Oscar and Henry Ward. She was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth and Shenton College.

As said herself in a "Teen Vogue" interview, she accompanied her friends to a modelling competition and ended up being scouted herself:

I had come straight from my auntie and uncle's farm, and I was wearing this big gray barn jacket with mud all over it. When the scout came up to me, I said, 'No, thank you.' They forged my mum's signature [for mandatory parental consent] , and pushed me in front of the cameras.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Who's that girl? |url= |work= |publisher=Teen Vogue |location=New York |date=Feb 2006 |pages=108-115 |accessdate=2008-02-15]

Ward didn't win the competition, but Vivien's Model Agency picked her up after seeing a small picture of her in "Kurv", a quarterly, internationally focused, Australian produced, fashion, arts, beauty, culture and style magazine.

Career

At only sixteen, Ward was the youngest model to be listed by American "Vogue" as one of the nine "It Girls" in the modeling world. She has been in shows for designers such as Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, and many more. Ward has also graced magazine covers such as "Vogue", "W", and "TIME" Magazine's Style and Design issue. In September 2004, at the age of 16, Ward became the youngest fashion model on the cover of the American edition of "Vogue" and was the first model to appear on the cover of "Teen Vogue" magazine. She is the first model since Kate Moss to be the face for Calvin Klein's perfume "Obsession Night for Men" along with Philadelphia male model, Drew Keilt.

To date Ward's clients have included Balenciaga, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Rochas, Swarovski, Valentino and Yves Saint-Laurent, and, altogether, Ward has appeared on 30 covers of "Vogue" magazine worldwide.

British photographer Nick Knight stated, "Gemma is one of the very, very few models who look as though they come from another dimension." Fashion designer Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler told "Teen Vogue" in February 2006 that, "She looked like no one else at the time. She was this alien, and fashion is always looking for newness." Her look inspired a new generation of baby doll-like models such as Vlada Roslyakova, Heather Marks, and Jessica Stam.

In Allure magazine (October 2006), Ward is described as "the model of the moment." "Allure"'s creative director Paul Cavaco knows why: "We went through a period that was very va-va-voom, but now the pendulum has swung back. Gemma is ethereal, not earthy." Photographer Michael Thompson says, "She's an exotic blonde, the rarest of creatures." ["That Girl: Gemma Ward?", "Allure", October 2006]

Ward has long aspired to pursue acting and drama is a passion that she has held since she was a child. She has been cast in Australian director Elissa Down's upcoming film "The Black Balloon" also starring Toni Collette and Rhys Wakefield, as the girlfriend of a boy whose brother has autism. [cite web|url=http://www.observer.com/2007/gemma-ward-hollywoods-next-it-girl|title=Gemma Ward: Hollywood's Next 'It' Girl?| The New York Observer] "The Black Balloon" had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany in February 2008, where it received a Crystal Bear as the best feature-length film in the "Generation 14plus" category.cite web | author = Berlinale | title = The Festival - Awards & Prizes - Prizes Generation | url = http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/preise_und_juries/preise_generation/index.html | accessdate = 2008-02-16 ] She was also cast opposite Liv Tyler in the suspense thriller "The Strangers" as one of the three masked intruders, "Doll Face". [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003086282 The Hollywood Reporter ] ] She also appeared in the music video for "Daughters" by John Mayer.

Ward appeared on the cover of the first issue of "Vogue India"; photographed by famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier. This is the second time Ward has appeared on an inaugural issue—the first time being the first-ever cover of "Vogue China" in 2005.

In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $3 million in the past 12 months, Forbes named her tenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. [Blakeley, Kiri. " [http://www.forbes.com/media/2007/07/19/models-media-bundchen-biz-media-cz_kb_0716topmodels.html The World's Top-Earning Models] ", Forbes, 2007-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.]

Personal life

Ward lives in New York and is close friends with fellow models Lily Donaldson, Caroline Winberg, Daria Werbowy, and Lily Cole.

In early 2008, Ward was reported to have been seeing actor Heath Ledger after media articles linked the two together at end of 2007 holiday celebrations, [cite web | url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=341679 | title=Heath Ledger and Gemma Ward are 'dating' | publisher=National Nine News | date=2008-01-03 | accessdate=2008-01-23] shortly before Ledger's untimely death of an accidental prescription drug overdose on 22 January.

Filmography

References

External links

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*fashionmodel |id=Gemma_Ward|name=Gemma Ward

Persondata
NAME=Ward, Gemma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian model
DATE OF BIRTH=3 November 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH=Perth, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=