Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward (born November 3, 1987) is an Australian supermodel and actress.

Ward was born in Perth, Western Australia, as the second child of Gary and Claire Ward. Her older sister, Sophie, is also a model and she has younger twin brothers, Oscar and Henry Ward. Ward was discovered in 2002 by accident when she attended a taping of the Australian television show, Search for a Supermodel. As she recalls, "I came to watch my friends. I was sitting there in the crowd when the agent from Perth came over. I didn't even want to enter, it was a bit of chance. I was so shocked when I got my first job." She was later signed by Vivien's Model Management based in Australia.

At just sixteen, Ward was the youngest model chosen to be in a Vogue shoot of nine "It Girls" in the modeling world, which also included fellow supermodels Daria Werbowy, Gisele B�ndchen, Natalia Vodianova and Karol�na Kurkov�. She has been in campaigns from Prada to Yves Saint-Laurent, and has been in shows for designers such as Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, and many more. Ward has also graced prestigious magazine covers such as Vogue, W, and TIME Magazine's Style and Design issue. 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. Most recently, she was selected as the first model to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine.

Ward is currently considered a model of the moment by many fashion insiders and fans alike, having been described at times of having an out-of-this-world look. British photographer Nick Knight stated, "Gemma is one of the very, very few models who look as though they come from another dimension." She currently lives in New York and is close friends with fellow models Lily Donaldson, Caroline Winberg, Daria Werbowy, and Lily Cole.

Ward's baby doll-like look inspired a new craze in fashion. Fashion designer Lazaro Hernandez tells Teen Vogue (February 2006), "She looked like no one else at the time. She was this alien, and fashion is always looking for newness." Her look became the popular new look among models. It has 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."

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. She was also recently cast opposite Liv Tyler in the suspense thriller The Strangers as one of the three masked intruders.