Take one look at Vanessa Hessler and you'll immediately understand why the statuesque beauty has been compared favorably to Swedish actress Anita Ekberg. Born in Rome on January 21, 1988 to an Italian mother and an American father, Vanessa has spent much of her life modeling. Although only 18, Vanessa has already appeared in ads for Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani, and has done runway work for Fendi and Gattinoni. She has worked with celebrities like Claudia Schiffer, and her gorgeous face has graced the covers of TV Spielfilm in Germany and GQ in Italy. In fact, Vanessa is just about everywhere you go in Italy, thanks to a wide-ranging series of promotional ads and billboards. We're sure no one has any complaints about her attempt to single-handedly keep the country beautiful. More than just another pretty face, Vanessa made her big-screen debut in 2005 in the Italian madcap comedy Natale a Miami. The story of two men who flee to Florida for Christmas after being dumped by their wives was such a hit in Italy that it outgrossed King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia in its opening weekend. Although it is unlikely to do much business beyond Italy, the film has helped make Vanessa a star in her homeland thanks to her hilarious role as an underage nympho.
