Carmen Kass
Carmen Kass, July 2007
Born	(1978-09-14) September 14, 1978 (age 33) Tallinn, Estonia
Height	5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m)
Hair color	Light Brown
Eye color	Green
Measurements	86-61-86
Weight	114 lb / 52 kg
Agency	Women Management New York Baltic Models Storm Model Agency London Brave Model Management Milan Silent models Paris International Creative Management London

Carmen Kass (born September 14, 1978) is an Estonian model.

Early life

Kass was born in Tallinn, Estonia and grew up in Mäo village, near Paide, the capital of Järva County. Kass, her sister and brother were raised only by their mother Koidu Põder.¹

Career

Modeling

Kass moved to Paris at the age of eighteen and soon received exposure by appearing on the covers of French and American Vogue, Australian Elle, UK Image, Madame Figaro, and French Numéro.²

Her career was launched by Anna Wintour and by 1999, Kass was walking the runway for designers such as Shiatzy Chen, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and Dolce & Gabbana, and posing in advertisements for designers and brands like Calvin Klein, Chanel, Gucci, Donna Karan, Dsquared2, Versace, Givenchy, Fendi, Max Mara, Valentino, Ralph Lauren, and even General Motors. She also appeared in a Gap denim advertising campaign and was a spokesperson for Revlon cosmetics, Sephora, and the Christian Dior perfume, J'adore.³ In 2007 alone, Kass booked ten campaigns with notable designers for spring/summer collections. As of 2007, she is the model and spokesperson for Max Factor.⁴⁵ She is currently the face of Spanish fashion brand Hoss Intropia for Autum/Winter 2010 and Swedish brand Lindex. Kass was awarded by Vogue as "Model of the Year" at the 2000 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.⁶ While a model in New York, she attended the Lee Strasberg Institute.⁷ Kass is well known for her distinctive runway walk in the fashion industry despite her height, her feet are small (about an American size seven).⁸

She opened the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1999, and also walked the 2000, 2002,⁹ 2003, and 2008.¹⁰

Other endeavors

In 2004, Kass played the female lead in the Estonian murder-mystery film Täna öösel me ei maga ("We Won't Sleep Tonight"; titled "Set Point" in the international release).¹¹

In February 2004, she joined Estonia's ruling Res Publica Party.¹² Kass ran for the European Parliament after her homeland joined the European Union in May 2004.¹³ She won 2315 votes from the Estonian electorate, but was not elected to the European Parliament.¹⁴

Kass plays chess¹⁵ and was elected president of the Estonian National Chess League in 2004.¹⁶ She ran a campaign for Tallinn to host the 2008 Chess Olympics; however, Dresden, Germany was chosen instead.¹⁷

She is part owner of her mother agency, Baltic Models.¹⁸

In 2008, Carmen Kass created a SMS loan company called Credit Market in Estonia.¹⁹ By April 2009, the Estonian media released an article noting that the company was in financial difficulties and had not paid taxes in Estonia.²⁰

Personal life

Her older sister Victoria De Luna married singer Joel De Luna.²¹ The couple separated in 2004 after they both were charged and convicted with drug trafficking.²² Kass's older brother Kutty Kass is involved in real estate.²³

Kass has dated restaurant owner Richie Akiva whom she met in 1998 and dated until 2004.²⁴ Since late 2004, she has been involved with Eric Lobron, a German chess champion.²⁵

She is a close friend of fellow top-tier model Gisele Bündchen amongst others.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carmen Kass

• Carmen Kass at the Internet Movie Database
• Carmen Kass at the Fashion Model Directory