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JULY | PAGE 32 | 2014 any way by coming to town to work with the project, it's the least I can do for something that is so important and impactful. What's next? New projects, time with my family and perhaps a collaboration with my husband, Daniel. JULIE ANDERSON Stats Born: Deeland, Florida Super years: 1988 – 2001 Top clients: Vogue, Estée Lauder, La Perla Age: 44 Status: Husband Paul Empson; children Edward, Elouise, Jalen Home: Relocating to L.A. How did you get your start? Somehow, I talked my parents into taking me to an Elite Model Look contest, and I was discovered there. The challenges. The hardest challenge is not letting them see you sweat. Remember, not many people help you when you're down. In the fashion industry, where image is everything, being needy, broke or desperate is not going to get you far. The business is tough, and it can be hard to live in a land that's smoke and mirrors. Leaving home at a young age. I left home and did not look back — until a few years later, when I realized how nice it was to be able to go home. Years on the road = loneliness. Independence at a young age comes with its own set of challenges and responsibilities … Going from working at a record store making $4.30 an hour to earning $5,000+ a day was a challenge. I wish I'd had a better grasp of the power of money. I wish I had not been so naive. I bought, bought, bought … flew the Concorde way too many times, paid the tab at the bar and the bill at whatever five-star restaurant that was au courant. Wish I could have some of that back now. Did the industry help you in that regard? The industry can be a nasty bitch. Unfortunately, there are no fail-safe protocols put in place to help the models. Remember that many models come from crazy backgrounds, some from very humble beginnings. They're not prepared for life in the fast lane. They don't know anything about finances, tax laws, sexual harassment and how to protect themselves … These young ones find themselves in situations that would curl any parent's hair on a daily basis. And you find that people you thought were there to help can often have ulterior motives. If you're lucky enough, you learn to grow some balls … and develop sharp teeth. That's the way to succeed in the industry. Most memorable moment. Getting a phone call from my agent who asked me if I would accept a phone call from one of the most famous heartthrobs of the '90s. He picked up a magazine and basically "shopped." LOL. Biggest disappointment. If I had it all to do over again, I would go to college. My biggest disappointment has been spending too much time worrying about my external self and not enough time developing my mind. I wish that I had a more balanced family/fashion lifestyle. It's always been all or nothing with the fashion industry. What you love about the job. I love the sorority that I'm a part of. No matter what happens, we have been there and done that and it's a badge of honor, an experience that we will never forget. The glory days … and now here we are, hanging on and still laughing about that greasy a***** who tried to entice us into whatever nefarious shenanigans he had on his mind! We lived and breathed a life that has never been immortalized on screen, or depicted accurately in any book. The stories are mind-boggling! What you would change. I think that all models should be at least 18. They should have access to a proper guild, like the SAG, and there should be a union. There is now a group formed called the Model Alliance and I feel that is a huge step in the right direction. How the industry has changed. With the advent of the web, anyone can claim supermodel status, and everyone claims to be a fashion model. Now the industry has a lot of supply, and the demand is not great enough to ensure a proper career, which could span decades some time ago. Now the talent is considered lucky if they get a good two-season run. The challenge of transitioning away from modeling. The challenge is getting old. Really, after all the years of grooming ourselves to be perfect, the inevitable march of time is really hard to come to grips with. The saying "Youth is wasted on the young" is really spot on! As for opportunities, I launched Feminine Collective with Marla Carlton (a former fashion model). It's a website, magazine and publishing company directed to those who want to constantly raise the bar in their life, whether physically, emotionally, mentally or in the business world. Because the world can only go so far, being fed a steady diet of celebrity and the Kardashians, and the real truth is that fact is stranger than fiction. Why I Am Waters is important to you. First, I will just say that Elena Davis is my hero. Empathy is her greatest gift. Giving the homeless among us the dignity they deserve by acknowledging their need for clean water. Imagine not being able to clean up or brush your teeth. Just having a nice drink of water … All of these things and more are denied to those that need it the most. Elena's gift to the world has been the gift of love. It's a tangible gift of bottled water with a word of inspiration for them to hold onto, and it's just genius. Without people like Elena Davis and foundations like I Am Waters, there would be no champions for the underdog. The homeless have been relegated to hiding in plain sight, voiceless and powerless. And it needs to change. It is disgraceful and unacceptable to turn away from those that need our help the most. What's next? Who knows. Feminine Collective becoming a household name. To get to the next level will involve lots of travel and interviews. It's very exciting, since I've always felt that I'm a nomad. We are also keen on starting a foundation and putting money where our mouth is. Final thoughts. I had a blast in Houston. Where is my key to the city? RACHEL HUNTER Stats Born: Glenfield, New Zealand Super years: Late '80s to mid '90s Top clients: Sports Illustrated, Cover Girl, Revlon, Pantene Age: 44 Status: Unmarried; children Renee Stewart, Liam Stewart with former husband Rod Stewart Home: L.A. In the beginning. I was running on the beach in New Zealand and was spotted by a photographer. He gave me his card and asked me to do some test shots. I was signed by the agency, and within a month or two, Lacey Ford of Ford Modeling Agency invited me to NYC. I was doing editorial work as soon as I landed in New York, with my first big shoots for Elle and Glamour. Challenges. You start out very young and can sometimes find an immense amount of trouble because of it. I was 17 at the time and travelling to Milan and literally everywhere across the globe. You can become overloaded or burned out and find it hard to maintain friendships and relationships because of all the travel. But, like so many things, the good outweighs the bad, and I was really so lucky. I was doing international shoots and soon became one of Revlon's Unforgettable Faces. And I had a great management team at Ford that really had my best interests in mind. I guess my biggest problem was I didn't appreciate how lucky I really was. I have such great memories of those times. Leaving home at a young age. After I signed, I lived with Eileen Ford straight away. She took me under her wing. I ate with them, traveled with them … they became a second family. Because I had already left home at 16 before I became a model, I think I took the change in stride. Most memorable moment. It was probably being on a shoot that would become the cover of Italian Vogue. I had just wrapped a long campaign when [photographer] Steven Meisel asked if I would stay and work with him on a shoot. It was just an amazing creative moment, and the next thing I knew, I was on the cover. That's the exciting part about modeling, when you get to work with someone very talented that wants to create something interesting, something that feels vulnerable and exciting at the same time. It was a truly magical moment. Biggest disappointment. It has to be making choices that could have taken my career to another level. There were times when I was either just burned out or simply made the wrong choice, and much of that comes down to ego. What you love about the job. I love that the industry is always reinventing itself by using elements of the past and taking them in new directions. To see designers, photographers and makeup artists have brilliant moments. To see people like Kevyn Aucoin and many others that I have worked with go on to great success by creating amazing beauty lines. When fashion is done creatively, it can have amazing moments. How the industry has changed. It's kind of cool that there is an encompassing kind of beauty now. I feel the industry has embraced whatever is interesting or unusual and shown us that beauty can come in all shapes and forms rather than just via the tall blonde. Online advantage. I think it's great that the girls have their Instagram pages and can control how they see the world. They can create their own brand and be who they wish to be, and the world can see that their is a human behind the image. The challenge of transitioning. Well, I kind of hid under a rock for the last four years. There are a couple of things I'm working on with [television] shows. And I've found that I have different interests as I age. If modeling jobs come along, that's great, but I choose to embrace everything. I'm finding my place in the world, and I'm sorting that out now. I'm getting used to being an empty nester and answering the questions: What do I do know? Where do I take the next step? And I am trying not to be fearful of where it will take me. Why I Am Waters is important to you. It is because the work Elena does is amazing, and what they do is so important. It goes without saying how important water is in our lives. So for me, coming to Houston is a way to give something back. Rachel wears Balmain dress $3,730. Julie wears Maison Rabih Kayrouz dress $4,065. Chandra wears Balmain dress, $3,415. All fashion from Sloan/Hall. Erickson Beamon jewelry from Elizabeth Anthony.