Coco Rocha

As a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Coco Rocha never expected to become one of modeling’s brightest stars. Her career began when she was spotted by a modeling scout at an Irish dancing competition. Soon after, a meeting with world-renowned photographer Steven Meisel would lead to the cover of the March 2006 issue of Vogue Italia, and there began her meteoric rise into fashion.


She quickly began appearing on the runways for Marc Jacobs, Versace, Prada, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Anna Sui, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Balenciaga and countless others and ignited a firestorm in the fashion industry when she opened and closed the Fall 2007 Jean Paul Gaultier show by performing an Irish dance down the runway. Fashion editors and photographers were immediately impressed by her instinctive ability to capture the essence of the editorial stories she was shooting, a talent that can be attributed to her background as a dancer. She has worked with leading photographers in the industry including Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Mario Testino, Arthur Elgort, Nathaniel Goldberg, Mikael Jansson, Greg Kadel, Steven Klein, Annie Leibowitz, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Nick Night, David Sims, Mario Sorrenti, Solve Sundsbo, Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin. Her advertising campaigns include CK ONE Fragrance, Christian Dior, Chanel, YSL Beaute, YSL Elle, Balenciaga, Lanvin, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, The Gap, Liz Claiborne NY, PHI, Nicole Farhi, DeBeers, Loft, Christian Lacroix, Coca-Cola Lite, Esprit, H & M, MCM, Uniqulo, Albion, Zac Posen & Rimmel London.


In addition to her advertising and runway work, Coco is frequently featured in the pages of top fashion magazines around the world including the many editions of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Numero and V and has graced the covers of: Vogue (US, Italia, Nippon, Korea, Spanish, Mexico, Latin America and Brazil), Numero (Paris, Korea), Bazaar (Russia), ID, Dazed & Confused (British, Japan), Elle (Canada, Italy, UK, France), Allure (Korea), Tatler (Russia), French, Muse, The Sunday Telegraph, Viktor, Time Style & Design, Glow, Fashion & Flare. In 2008 Vogue Paris declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.


In December 2008, Rootstein Display Mannequins unveiled the “Coco” mannequin. Coco collaborated with E! as host for a NY Fashion Week special which aired in May 2009 and was ET Canada’s fashion commentator on the red carpet at the 2010 Grammy Awards. In 2010, Coco Rocha was one of a handful of high fashion models mentioned on Kanye West's "Christian Dior Denim Flow." MTV recruited Coco to be their red carpet correspondent for MTV at the Video Music Awards in 2010. October 2010, Coco Rocha was voted by all the international editors of Marie Claire' Prix d’Excellence as their model of the year at a ceremony in Paris, France. A few months later on February 14, 2011 Coco was awarded the Elle Style award for 'Model of the Year' by Boy George in London, England.


Coco currently participates in the 17 Magazine Body Peace Council, where she helps promote healthy body image to young women. Rocha is one of the few models who has spoken out against the prevalence of eating disorders in the modelling industry. In an open letter to the New York Times, Coco spoke out on her blog about the pressure the fashion industry puts on young models "How can any person justify an aesthetic that reduces a woman or child to an emaciated skeleton? Is it art? Surely fashion’s aesthetic should enhance and beautify the human form, not destroy it." In an email to the Associated Press, she gives an insight into the fashion world, saying: "I'll never forget the piece of advice I got from people in the industry when they saw my new body ... They said, 'You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don't want you to be anorexic but that's what we want you to look like. On October 11, 2011 Coco Rocha appeared on Anderson Cooper's daytime television show "Anderson" where she said models are scouted too young and put under pressure to stay thin and behave in a way they wouldn't naturally while they're "still minors". On November 1, 2011 Coco launched Coco Rocha for Senhoa, a collection produced together with Senhoa, an organization helping Cambodian survivors of human trafficking. The capsule collection contained 7 unique pieces designed by Rocha and hand crafted by the survivors of human trafficking. All proceeds go directly back into the Senhoa program. To help raise awareness for the cause, Rocha brought on some additional model power with the help of friends Iman, Caroline Trentini, and Behati Prinsloo. In the first of two campaigns, Iman, Trentini and Rocha were photographed by Nigel Barker. On October 19, 2011 she appeared as a guest judge alongside Tyra Banks where she was frequently referred to as "The Queen of Posing" on "America's Next Top Model."


Coco recently returned from Haiti in February 2011 and is at work on a documentary about her time there set to premiere Fall 2011. An avid blogger Coco has positioned herself as one of the most digitally savvy models of her generation with her highly followed blog and twitter. A resident of New York City, Coco spends her free time with family & friends and working with charities Senhoa, LakayPam and Strut For A Cure.