Aurelie Claudel was born August 7, 1980 in the small town of Saint-Mars-d'Autille, France, and is one of three children (she has two brothers). As part of a prominent French family Aurelie's dreams of life in the limelight were understandably met with some reservation. Her father thoroughly disapproved of her quitting school, but she was too determined to let her dreams drift away. At the young age of 13, Aurelie was approached about modeling by a man named Dawn Wolfe, who had seen her in the Jardin des Plantes park in Paris. In spite of her father's objections, Aurelie followed her heart. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely for Aurelie. By 18, she was on the cover of a European edition of Cosmopolitan and her phone hasn't stopped ringing since. In addition to Cosmopolitan, she has also been featured in Marie Claire and Vogue, both in the European and American versions. She has also strutted numerous catwalks for most of the designer heavyweights, including Chloe, Emanuel Ungaro and Gucci, as well as Victoria's Secret. She also donned a bikini or two in Sports Illustrated's 2001 Swimsuit Edition. Aurelie made an appearance in Ricky Martin's "Private Emotion" video.
Her ability to shine in front of a camera lens is a feat that has garnered her the attention of such legendary photographers as Mario Testino (who photographed Aurelie in an edition of the Pirelli calendar), Peter Lindbergh and Steven Meisel (the man behind Madonna's infamous Sex book). When she's not in front of the camera, Aurelie enjoys horseback riding and traveling to islands. In addition to the ad for Calvin Klein's "Truth," Aurelie continues to pursue her modeling career. She will no doubt turn up as the face of another major campaign very soon.
She's appeared in UK, French, Italian, German and Australian Vogue, plus Allure magazine, Harper's Bazaar - twice, Elle, Marie Claire; the list goes on... More than just a pretty face, Aurelie was also courted by many a fashion designer to model their work, and soon she was strutting the catwalk wearing labels such as Emanuel Ungaro and Gucci, not to mention American's perennial lingerie favourite - Victoria's Secret. She's also starred in marketing campaigns for names like Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Valentino, Chanel, Calvin Klein and Nina Ricci. One of her more widely-recognised appearances includes the female lead in Ricky Martin's Private Emotion video-clip. Livin' the life, indeed.
