Edwina McCann | December 15, 2007
Catherine McNeil is Australia’s next supermodel. At 18 years old, she has already travelled more than many people will in a lifetime.

She lives in New York but jets to Milan, London and Paris for photo shoots and runway jobs. Rio de Janeiro, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are simply work locations.

Discovered in 2006 by one of the world’s most sought-after fashion snappers, Mario Testino, McNeil was swiftly booked for a Dolce & Gabbana campaign for its D&G label. The Brisbane-born model recalls telling the legendary photographer she might not be able to stay in New York for the assignment because she needed to return to Australia for Fashion Week. “He just looked at me quizzically,” she says with a laugh.

Her naivety would have amazed Testino – most famous for his Vanity Fair shoot of a newly single Princess Diana – because appearances at antipodean fashion weeks are no longer required once a model is anointed by the likes of him. He signed her to a six-month exclusive contract, and she began this year on the cover of V Magazine under the headline “Birth of a supermodel”. Not long after, The New York Times described her as “fashion’s latest crush”. But her moment really came in June when influential editor Carine Roitfeld put her on the cover of French Vogue.

McNeil’s jobs this year read like a who’s who of fashion photography and include shoots with Mario Sorrenti and Terry Richardson, and a campaign for Hermès where she worked with designer Jean Paul Gaultier. Runway work included the opening and closing of shows for Alexander McQueen, Pucci, Christian Dior and Zac Posen. Not to be left out, Hugo Boss and Donna Karan both chose her as the face of their autumn campaigns.

Now, the girl who wanted to be a mechanic is one of the stars (along with fellow Australian supermodel Gemma Ward) of the recently unveiled Pirelli calendar.

But despite all the hype surrounding her, McNeil says she is most excited about taking her mother to Bora Bora, Tahiti, for Christmas, and plans to be home in Brisbane for the birthday of her four-year-old sister, her adored and only sibling, later this year. “My sister thinks I live at the airport,” she says.

McNeil admits “being away from family is hard” and says she found living on her own in New York difficult at first, although she’s now feeling much more settled. Her next challenge? Learning French.

Edwina McCann | December 15, 2007
Catherine McNeil is Australia’s next supermodel. At 18 years old, she has already travelled more than many people will in a lifetime.

She lives in New York but jets to Milan, London and Paris for photo shoots and runway jobs. Rio de Janeiro, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are simply work locations.

Discovered in 2006 by one of the world’s most sought-after fashion snappers, Mario Testino, McNeil was swiftly booked for a Dolce & Gabbana campaign for its D&G label. The Brisbane-born model recalls telling the legendary photographer she might not be able to stay in New York for the assignment because she needed to return to Australia for Fashion Week. “He just looked at me quizzically,” she says with a laugh.

Her naivety would have amazed Testino – most famous for his Vanity Fair shoot of a newly single Princess Diana – because appearances at antipodean fashion weeks are no longer required once a model is anointed by the likes of him. He signed her to a six-month exclusive contract, and she began this year on the cover of V Magazine under the headline “Birth of a supermodel”. Not long after, The New York Times described her as “fashion’s latest crush”. But her moment really came in June when influential editor Carine Roitfeld put her on the cover of French Vogue.

McNeil’s jobs this year read like a who’s who of fashion photography and include shoots with Mario Sorrenti and Terry Richardson, and a campaign for Hermès where she worked with designer Jean Paul Gaultier. Runway work included the opening and closing of shows for Alexander McQueen, Pucci, Christian Dior and Zac Posen. Not to be left out, Hugo Boss and Donna Karan both chose her as the face of their autumn campaigns.

Now, the girl who wanted to be a mechanic is one of the stars (along with fellow Australian supermodel Gemma Ward) of the recently unveiled Pirelli calendar.

But despite all the hype surrounding her, McNeil says she is most excited about taking her mother to Bora Bora, Tahiti, for Christmas, and plans to be home in Brisbane for the birthday of her four-year-old sister, her adored and only sibling, later this year. “My sister thinks I live at the airport,” she says.

McNeil admits “being away from family is hard” and says she found living on her own in New York difficult at first, although she’s now feeling much more settled. Her next challenge? Learning French.