Carmen Kass

valmount · November 28, 2004

Carmen Kass was born September 14, 1978, in Tallinn, Estonia. Raised by her mother in Paide -- where Carmen was probably the only fashionable and glamorous thing about the city -- the blue-eyed brunette won the Miss Paide crown and secured her royal position as Miss Jrvamma afterwards.

A 14-year-old Carmen had already received recognition by the time she was discovered in a supermarket in Tallinn by an Italian modeling scout. She was ready to set her sights higher and go for the Miss Estonia title, but the offer to fly to Milan to jump start a modeling career seemed like a more glamorous and lucrative option.

Despite her mother's disapproval of Carmen being whisked away to Milan, Carmen found a way to go by forging her mother's signature of "approval". Carmen was off to Milan for the next three months, ready to start her career as one of today's supermodels.

After being represented in her native Estonia by a small agency called "Baltic Models", Carmen moved to Paris at the age of 18. She received exposure on the cover of magazines worldwide, namely L'Officiel and Vogue (France) in 1997, Elle (Australia), Image (UK), Madame Figaro, Numero France, Vogue (France), and Vogue (US) in 1999.

In 1999, Carmen was also one of the fashion runways' hottest commodities. She strutted down the catwalks for the top designers in the world such as: Alberta Ferretti, Anna Sui, BCBG, Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Christian Dior, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Gianfranco Ferr