Maddison Gabriel (born 16 September 1994) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

who gained notoriety when, at the age of 12, she was controversially named the face of the 2007

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Fashion Week.

Personal life

Gabriel was born to Brian Gabriel and Michelle Gabriel and has a sister, Brooke. Gabriel was able to travel to New York, Milan and London and also continue her studies at school. In October 2008, it was reported that convicted American sex predator Martin Robertson had written to Australian newspaper ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'' from his Texas prison cell to request articles about Gabriel for a book he claimed to be writing. Gabriel's mother criticized the media for widely reporting concerns that her daughter was too young to be a catwalk model, resulting in Robertson learning of her daughter. Gabriel completed Year 12, and a Beauty Therapy diploma while studying Year 12. She worked as a beauty therapist and intended to attend university in 2013. She is taking a break from modeling while she completes her studies.

Career

Gold Coast Fashion Week

Gabriel was 12 when she was named the official face of

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...

annual Gold Coast Fashion Week in September 2007 being chosen ahead of models fifteen years her senior. Child protection groups raised protests over the 12-year-old's participation. Several public figures, including then-Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

, Anna Bligh, who was Premier of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

at the time, and Federal

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, raised concerns over the Gabriel's age. Gabriel's mother, Michelle Gabriel, later requested an apology from Howard and Rudd for their comments regarding her daughter, and stated that the family was not making money from Gabriel's modelling ventures.

Modeling

Gabriel was signed by agency Ugly People as the prize for being named as the face of the Gold Coast Fashion Week. She later signed with Tamblyn Models, who became her "mother" agency. Following the Gold Coast Fashion Week, Gabriel generated interest from many international modeling agencies including Chadwick's and

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

, but signed with

Elite Models Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

in July 2008 with the support of Tamblyn Models. She has since signed with

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Fashion in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and is now represented by Dally's in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and Chic in Sydney. She has since appeared in editorials in ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', '' Dolly'', '' Creme'', ''

Girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the in ...

'', ''Rush'', ''Limewire'', ''Looks Book'', ''Muse'', and ''Bridesmaid''.

Other ventures

She was featured, along with other models, in

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

's video for "You Can Dance", released during the summer of 2010 from his album ''Olympia''. She also appeared as an extra in the Australian drama ''Water Police''. She has worked in New York, London, Milan and Sydney in various roles, including catwalk and photographic modeling.

References

External links

Maddison Gabriel page at Fashion Model Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Maddison 1994 births Living people People from the Gold Coast, Queensland Australian female models