A Winning Face
Fifteen-year-old Kimberly Shelpman of Rockledge, Fla., can see her cherished wish spring to life in the colorful pages of Seventeen.
Named the Chanel New Model of the Year, Kimberly dresses the cover of a special eight-page section in September's Seventeen, available as of July 28.
"Modeling is something I've wanted to do for so long," Kimberly says. "It's like I'm living in a fairy tale, and it's one of my proudest moments ever."
In May, Kimberly traveled to New York City as one of eight finalists, culled from 50 semifinalists, for four busy days as "working models," with hair and makeup sessions, meetings with modeling agency executives and the Seventeen photo shoots.
Now Kimberly gets to fly to Paris for five days, enjoying two tickets to a Chanel ready-to-wear fashion show and a $1,000 shopping spree.
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| The finalists take a New York modeling trip. |
When the contest appeared in February's Seventeen, more than 16,000 responded, including this Rockledge High School sophomore, an honor roll student on the varsity swim team.
A Seventeen representative brought Kimberly news of her victory as a local TV crew captured the moment.
"Chanel is famous for launching some of the world's most famous faces," says Jean Hoehn Zimmerman, Chanel's executive vice president. "Kimberly Shelpman has the potential to be among them."
Story and photos by Zoy Avgerinos