From a small town in Indiana to the Paris runway: How one girl began modeling at age 13 to escape being 'the tall, skinny weird girl"
Grace Hartzel, a five-foot-ten-inch
teenager from a small town in Indiana, has opened up about her
skyrocketing international modeling career that began at age 13.
The now 17-year-old went from walking the halls of her Zionsville High School to walking the runways of Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Saint Laurent and Oscar de la Renta after her parents encouraged her to enter the modeling industry as a way to feel positive about her lanky body.
Grace told IndyStar.com: 'People are mean... I remember going on spring break my freshman year (to Siesta Key, Florida) and there were girls from somewhere in Indiana. They were calling me anorexic. It’s been happening my entire life.'
Her parents, Kimberly and Michael Hartzel, first looked into modeling for Grace
four years ago when they were living in the Chicago area, and Grace asked to enter a modeling competition.
'I felt she was being excluded from some things because of her height,' said Mrs Hartzel. 'I was trying to give her something that would help build her up. This is something you can do only if you are tall.'
After the Elite Model Management scout for the competition named her a 'local gem', she booked several small jobs. Then the Hartzel's moved to Indiana a year later, and Grace worked for Saks Fifth Avenue, and become the cover girl for Central Indiana's fashion magazine, Pattern, last year.
The now 17-year-old went from walking the halls of her Zionsville High School to walking the runways of Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Saint Laurent and Oscar de la Renta after her parents encouraged her to enter the modeling industry as a way to feel positive about her lanky body.
Grace told IndyStar.com: 'People are mean... I remember going on spring break my freshman year (to Siesta Key, Florida) and there were girls from somewhere in Indiana. They were calling me anorexic. It’s been happening my entire life.'
Small town girl: Grace Hartzel, a
five-foot-ten-inch teenager from Indiana, has opened up about her
skyrocketing international modeling career that began four years ago at
age 13
'I felt she was being excluded from some things because of her height,' said Mrs Hartzel. 'I was trying to give her something that would help build her up. This is something you can do only if you are tall.'
After the Elite Model Management scout for the competition named her a 'local gem', she booked several small jobs. Then the Hartzel's moved to Indiana a year later, and Grace worked for Saks Fifth Avenue, and become the cover girl for Central Indiana's fashion magazine, Pattern, last year.