L E T I T I A C A S T A

BIOGRAPHY

Laetitia Casta supermodel 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.