michelle behennah
Michelle Behennah was born January 7, 1977, in Singapore. Michelle's parents are divorced (her biological father is a former Hong Kong school principal), but her mother Rosemary got remarried, and her mom and stepdad presently run a B&B in France. The youngest of 3 siblings, Michelle relocated with her family to Sheffield, England, where Michelle was raised. Always a bookworm, Michelle originally wanted to go to medical school and become a plastic surgeon, but her mother saw Michelle's modeling potential. She went to London at the age of 14, where her mother entered her in a contest sponsored by a shampoo company.
Michelle won the contest and next entered the 1993 Ford Agency "Supermodel of the World" competition. It's no surprise that Michelle was a finalist, along with now fellow model Magdalena Wrobel.
After her win, Michelle moved to Paris, where she spent 7 years of establishing her name in the modeling industry. While there, she appeared in magazines such as Elle US, Glamour Italy, Vogue Italy and Spain, Mademoiselle, and Cosmopolitan.
She also walked down runways for designers like Cynthia Rowley, Valentino, BCBG, Donna Karan, Emanuel Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, Chanel, and Thierry Mugler.
In 1999, Michelle made the move to yet another world fashion center, New York, where her career has really taken off. Besides the fact that she has appeared in high-profile advertisements for Burberry, Esprit, Givenchy, Vanderbilt Jeans, Hewlett Packard, J. Crew, Kenzo, L'Oréal "Elnett" hairspray, Mango, Nina Ricci, Saks Fifth Avenue, Swatch watches, and Tommy Hilfiger, she has also posed for what every model seems to aspire for -- Victoria's Secret.
Michelle has also modeled swimsuits (as if anyone notices those) for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, in 1999, 2000 and 2001, the latter in which she practically steals the spotlight from Elsa Benitez and Molly Sims, a hard feat to achieve.
A model for IMG in New York, Ford in Paris, Fashion Model Management in Milan, and Models One in London (Michelle sent in photos that her stepfather, a photographer, had taken of her), Michelle's face is certainly known worldwide, and her model status was cemented after her consecutive 3-year Sports Illustrated appearance.
She also took her beauty to television, appearing on MTV for the network's Model Search and Fashionably Loud. She also hosted a Top 10 Music Show on VH1 and has appeared on Access Hollywood.
Michelle loves to bury her nose in books (especially gory ones), and hanging out with her model best friends Angela Lindvall, Esther Canadas and Cristina Kruse in her spare time. She swears by her various pairs of jeans, her collection of pumas, and the candles in her room.
Although she has a boyfriend, we know the way to her heart: she loves fish & chips, baked beans, mushy peas, and chocolate covered gummi bears -- not like any of this food even shows up on her body.
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