They just call her Stam and she was made by Steven Meisel! Jessica Stam is one of those girls who became one of the most sought-after faces in the fashion world in just two years, thanks to her fragile magnificence. Her main trademark is her icy light blue-grey-bordered eyes. She is also one of the models well thought-out as a "doll face."
The Canadian beauty grew up on a farm in Kincardine, Ontario, alongside six brothers. As a child, Stam’s original intention was to become a dentist, but destiny rolled up her plans when she was discovered in a local Tim Hortons coffee shop by Michèle Miller in 2001, when she was 16 years old. In the beginning Stam didn’t feel confident to start a career as a fashion model, but her parents encouraged her to grab hold of the exciting prospect with both hands. The support of her family paid off right at the beginning of her career, when Jessica won the Los Angeles Model Look contest.
Nevertheless, the reknown fashion photographer Steven Meisel made Stam who she is today. The 5ft 10in model immediately became his muse and he casted her for every campaing that he booked including Versace, Prada and Dolce & Gabanna.
The success story of Stam is linked to the one of Linda Evangelista. She was the first Canadian beauty discovered by Steven Meistel in the 80s and turned her into one of the world’s most famous faces. Just as with Evangelista, Meisel made Stam dye her hair often – at one point she was changing the colour every week — and the effect, as with Evangelista, was a chameleon-like quality. Once, when Stam was just seventeen, Meisel asked her to shave one sides of her head, which had her ending up landing on two covers of Italian Vogue.
Following successful campaigns, the charming model star found herself splashed across the pages of Italian, German, British, Turkish and American Vogue as well as of other major fashion magazine from ID to Harper’s Bazaar. In 2004, Stam further extended her career with a venture into acting, appearing as Orange Girl in the short flick Agent Orange.
One of her most successful moments in her career was in summer 2006, when Stam walked a total of 64 shows combined during the New York, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, including such big names as Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs was so inspired by the new face that in 2006 he created a bag named in her honor, “The Stam.” Jessica’s career received another boost that December when she walked for Victoria's Secret, opening the fourth runway segment for the “Pink” collection. The appearance also included a feature showing a Victoria's Secret commercial shoot and what a model sees when walking the runway.
A further highlight of Stam’s career was when she was featured on the American Vogue cover in May 2007 with fellow models: Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Coco Rocha, Hilary Rhoda, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson as the new crop of supermodels.
Today, Stam is still changing her look from season to season. She cut off her hair, which gave her a more natural, young and fresh look and ensure her ad campaigns for brands such as Banana Republic, Elie Tahari, Aldo, Boss and Miu Miu, as well as runway jobs and editorial shoots for the fashion leading companies.