Today is the birthday of a supermodel! Doutzen Kroes turned 29 today! Not only is it her birthday today, but January is also the month that marks Doutzen's 10 year modelling career!! (Doutzen, if you're reading this CONGRATS and Happy Birthday!!! I'm so proud to be a fan yours!!) That is a jubilee that needs to be celebrated! And we will, by looking back at her career!
A girl from a small town who has never been in the capital city becomes a Supermodel. It sounds like a dream, right?
Well, for Doutzen Kroes it became reality!
Doutzen Kroes was just about 17/18 years old when she wanted to get a little job to make some pocket money, - that pocket money became some serious money now- just like everyone does at that age. So she send some holiday pictures to several modelling agencies throughout The Netherlands and like a lot of young girls she got rejected a few times. But that didn't stop her.
Until she got that call, that special call from an agency, Paparazzi Models. Sarah Keller, who found Paparazzi Models called up Doutzen and flew her to New York.
Before you read any further let's get one thing straight. How does one pronounce the name of the beautiful Doutzen Kroes? Watch the quick video above to learn for yourself, courtesy of Vogue Spain.
The launch of a big career
Sarah Keller was the only one who actually saw potential in her, ''We immediately saw that she was special!'' she told VogueNL for their December 2012 issue. Others thought she was too beautiful to be an editorial model. That's why at first many people didn't want to work with her because they found her face too commercial.As an eighteen-year-old girl from a little village called Eastermar in Fryslân, she was send to 'the concrete jungle where dreams are off', aka New York with Mo Karadag (Booker at Paparazzi Models). In 2003 she made her debut as covergirl for the Dutch ElleGirl She then walked the S/S 2004 shows for Tommy Hilfiger, Fendi, House of Diehl and more. After her big break with her Vogue Italia Cover by Steven Meisel in 2005 she walked her first Haute Couture shows at the S/S 2006 shows for Valentino, Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix.
Steven Meisel
Her big break was when Steven Meisel or 'The Godfather of Fashion', as she calls him shot her first Vogue cover for Vogue Italia's February 2005 issue. ''I was sitting in Hair and Make-up when all of a sudden Steven walked in, ''Stay there'' he said. "I was laying with my hair back and he took the picture. That picture became the cover.'' ,Doutzen told GraziaNL. ''I barely had any make-up on! The guy just knows exactly what he wants. If he takes your picture, you just know it's right.'', she continued.Since then Doutzen has been a coveted name in the industry.
After her debut in Haute Couture in 2005, she debuted in The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2005! In August 2005 she starred in the campaign for Calvin Klein's Eternity Fragrance-line and became their spokes-model alongside male model Karl Lindman. A year later, in 2006 Doutzen Kroes signed a three-year contract with L'Oréal Paris and became a 'Global Ambassador'. And she currently is one of their main ambassadors. About the famous slogan ''Because I'm Worth It'' she said that ''It means that every woman should be proud of who she is and it's a celebration of our strength.''
The World's Next Topmodel
In 2005 Doutzen was selected as Model of the Year on Vogue.com by its readers. Two years later, in 2007 Kroes was featured on the cover of Vogue US' May 2007 issue. Alongside models Sasha Pivovarova, Lily Donaldson, Coco Rocha, Caroline Trentini, Chanel Iman, Raquel Zimmermann, Agyness Deyn and Hilary Rhoda she got crowned as The world's next topmodel.
And they all indeed became topmodels, supermodels actually. Several of these models appeared in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar
And they all indeed became topmodels, supermodels actually. Several of these models appeared in the 2008 Pirelli Calendar
Forbes named Kroes fourteenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels, in July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the previous twelve months. Five years later she made it to the Top 5 becoming #5 with an estimated total of $6.8 million from. May 2011 till May 2012. In last year's list three supermodels, Alessandra Ambrosio ('12 #6) , Natalia Vodianova ('12 #3) and Doutzen Kroes ('12 #5) were remarkebly missing from the list, rumor has it, it's because their agency, DNA Models, hasn't report their Models gains.
And I'm pretty sure the three Supers will make the list this year!
Victoria's Secret
Three years after her first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in '05 Doutzen became an official Victoria's Secret Angel in 2008. A dream job for many models (read girls). Edward Razek who has been selecting the models for VS for the past decade said about Doutzen: '' I wish we had snapped her up a long time ago.'' Since then she has walked the '06, '08, '09 - not in 2010 because she was pregnant-, '11, '12 and recently the 2013 show.
Acting Career?
In November 2011 Nova Zembla, the first Dutch 3D movie by Dutch movie-director Reinout Oerlemans came out and it was the first movie Doutzen Kroes starred in. She has mentioned in several interviews that she doesn't want to be just a pretty girl in the movies she wants have serious roles although, she wouldn't mind being a Bond Girl for once! Since her debut in Nova Zembla Doutzen has been taking some serious acting classes and getting offers but she's waiting for the right offer at the right time.
Sunnery and Phyllon
Besides being the successful model she is, Doutzen is also a mother and wife. In 2010 she married DJ Sunnery James whom she met at a party in Miami, were he was playing with his partner, Ryan Marciano. At first Sunnery didn't knew who Doutzen was, he told the dutch Playboy he never watched tv so he didn't knew what Victoria's Secret was either, Ryan told him to Google her name and after a year they were officially dating. On the 21st of January in 2011 Doutzen Kroes gave birth to their first child, a son named Phyllon Joy Gorré. Phyllon turned three on Tuesday!Dance4Life
Besides having such a successful career, Doutzen is also an ambassador for Dance4Life. Dance4Life is an innovative, international initiative designed to inspire, mobilise and unite young people to push back the spread of HIV/AIDS. They aim to have created one million active participating youth by 2014 as a last urgent call to the world leaders to keep their promises around the Millennium Development Goals. As an ambassador, Doutzen flies off to countries where people need to learn about HIV, with dance and music they're spreading knowledge about this horrible disease. "Half of the 7,400 people infected daily with HIV are younger than 25. This is about people my age! I believe that young people can change the world. Dance4life gives us the opportunity to really make a difference and to contribute to pushing back HIV and AIDS in our own communities, schools and worldwide!". - Doutzen Kroes
2013 Was a major year for DK and I think the 4 Vogue September Issue covers topped that great year! We're now at the beginning of 2014 and I'm pretty sure this year will also be a great adventure for Doutzen. From a young Dutch schoolgirl, Doutzen Kroes turned into the successful model, mother and wife she is today by being herself and reaching for the stars! Known for her captivating blue eyes, luscious lips, luxuriant blonde hair and a Sleek and fit body she now also is the only model in the world that has 4 exclusive contracts worth millions! But her biggest dream is to be (solo) on a Vogue US cover, a hard job to get because the last model featured on a Vogue US cover was Kate Upton for the June 2013 issue, before that it was Kate Moss getting the honors back in 2011, and to star in a movie, preferably not as the ''girl-next-door'' type or the pretty girl, and in a drama movie. I thought she was great in Nova Zembla, so I hope to see more! She also has a wax figure in the the Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Amsterdam. And like I've mentioned before, in the years of being a model Doutzen Kroes has not only become an household name but also a supermodel. Like her manager, Sarah Keller, has said in a VogueNL interview once, ''No one will have a career like Doutzen has now.''
So there's no doubt about it, Doutzen Kroes is a Supermodel, on her way to becoming an Icon.
Samiya Cusman
Samiya Cusman