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Laetitia Casta has both literally and figuratively
broken the waif mold that the supermodel kingdom has been dominated
by for decades. Born May 11, 1978 in Pont-Audemer, France, she
has brought curves back to the forefront of top fashion magazines,
although she hasn't done so without controversy. Her name means
'joy' in Latin, and she led a very joyous life in Normandy, where
she lived with her family in the country
Before that though, she lived in Corsica where
her father Dominique hailed from. Laetitia is very shy and has
admitted on several occasions to be intimidated by men, which
perhaps may boggle some men's minds. She did however become much
less shy when her mother Line brought her sister Marie-Ange into
the world, which inspired Laetitia to become a role model for
her younger sister. Her childhood also encountered early 'development'
of her chest, which at first caused her to feel awkward about
her appearance, but a few years later she realized just how desired
she was, and it was then she was discovered by a photographer
from Madison Models. In 1993, Laetitia signed on with Guess? Jeans
and from there, Victoria's Secret in 1996. Her popularity continued
and she landed spots in the 1997, 1998, and 1999 Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Issues.
She's appeared in nearly 100 covers of major fashion
magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour and her momentum continues.
The 2000 Victoria's Secret campaign shows her spotlighted in her
own commercial. She also has been in several commercials for L'Oreal,
many which she is joined by Simon Rex.Laetitia is not only everywhere
in print, but is establishing herself as a credible actor as well,
having been in Asterix which starred Gerard Depardieu, Roberto
Benigni and Christian Clavier, in the most costly French film
ever made. She also is filming a French television movie The Blue
Bicycle. She attempted to land the coveted role of a Mexican woman
kidnapped by bandits in Texas Rangers, but lost out to Leonor
Varela. It's perhaps appropriate with Laetitia's curves that she
is being approached with Hispanic roles, and may be a way for
her to break into American film. She did land the role of Chris
Isaak's love interest in his video Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing.
One area you won't see Laetitia much is in gossip
columns, as much as we tried, very little inside scoop is out
for Laetitia, though perhaps there is in her native country. She
is said to be dating famed humanitarian Faiz Ahmad, although in
a recent run-in with a crazy French cab driver who went ballistic
when hearing the constant ringing of Laetitia's cellphone, was
with boyfriend photographer/director Stephane Sednaoui. Though
Laetitia hasn't done explicit nude work, she has been naked in
what we'd call 'artistic' shoots, and she evokes passion as to
whether or not she is 'beautiful' in the truest sense. When she
was chosen as France's new "Marianne", several wondered
if she was worthy of the nod which included predecessors such
as Brigitte Bardot and model Ines De La Fressange. Going to her
official site, one even finds her most passionate supporters belittle
the beauty's teeth, which Laetitia herself admits many of her
handlers wanted to have 'fixed',
but her realness is perhaps her greatest appeal,
and she defends her curves and imperfections for the same reasons,
a worthy bit of self confidence by the 'shy' woman that many of
her American peers in the entertainment industry should take example
with.
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