I know, I am 100% sure that you would recognise her face and not only because I published one of her Vogue editorials on Monday. She was “the smart girl who fell in love” in The Sex and the City movie and as a result had to auction all of her jewellery including the oversized flower ring so much loved and wanted by Samantha. Although Magali’s character didn’t appear in that scene in person, her black&white glamorous photos certainly did and the images were totally unforgettable.
The French model turned actress was born on 30 November 1974 in Nice. She didn’t dream of being a model. Magali loved to dance and studied ballet at The Opera House where she was discovered and offered a modelling contract. In 1991 the 17-year-old moved to New York to begin working as a model.
Fashion magazines loved her. The new supermodel appeared on pages of Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, Allure, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar, became a face of many campaigns from Loewe, Strenesse, Nine West, Rocobarocco, Blumarine and Arden B, to Mikimoto pearls and Leo Diamonds, to L’Oreal, Olay and Dove and worked with some of the most amazing photographers including Steven Meisel, Peter Lindbergh and Paolo Roversi.
With a strong resemblance to Sophia Loren Amadei also decided to take acting lessons and add an extra skill to her ever expanding portfolio. She appeared in 1997 short film Bloody Trail followed by The Mind of a Married Man and The Wedding Planner in 2001, Taxi and House of D in 2004.
The world was at her feet, she was adored and loved by many. So nobody would have guessed that behind this fabulous facade was a lonely young girl suffering from depression, low self-esteem and bulimia. “Every time I saw myself on the cover of a magazine, I marvelled that I was able to make it through the photo shoot. I felt like a fraud.” she admitted in her interview in Cosmopolitan.
In 1999 she passed out during a photoshoot. This was the last straw. Risking her modelling career, Magali reveal her secret to everyone. She wanted people to realise the horrors of living with an eating disorder and the truth about every photo in a fashion magazine that looked so perfect, but was just a beautifully airbrushed illusion. The story became a hot topic in several magazines, news papers and talk shows and Magali became a spokes person for The American Bulimia Association and founder of 5 Solutions and Inside Beauty to share her own experience with people who needed support.
Magali lives in New York with her family.
Photo sources: Strenesse campaign, Arden B campaign, Elle 1992
No comments:
Post a Comment