Hers was an unscripted, meteoric rise to fame. Mere months after accompanying a friend to a model search, Nadine Willis found herself in the offices of Pulse, and shortly thereafter, on a flight to London. Flash!

British and French Vogue, photo shoots with Mario Testino and David LaChapelle, a Rimmel cosmetics and Gucci campaign. Nadine became the talk of the Caribbean and the world. The British headlines hailed her: ‘From Ghetto to Gucci’. It seemed Nadine in one fell swoop had achieved international supermodel stardom.

Hard-Knock Life

It’s a classic tale of “rags to riches”. Nadine was raised by a foster parent after being abandoned by her mother, and physically abused by her father. With humble inner-city beginnings, she knew from early that if she wanted anything, she would have to work for it.

At the age of 15, Willis took up exotic dancing as a way to earn a living. The unexpected happened — she got pregnant. With no help forthcoming from the father of the child, Nadine was further compelled to make something of herself. She would continue dancing for nine years, until the chance encounter at the Hilton Kingston.

On The Pulse

Apparently there was something special in this girl, because on the day she went with her friend to a model search, Pulse boss Kingsley Cooper gave the dancer his business card, and told her to call him when she “was ready”. Did she need to mature? Be serious about wanting a career in modelling? Whatever the reason, and perhaps there was something about Nadine, Cooper in 2003 took her under his wing. After a whirlwind series of events, her career as an international model took off!

The New York Times predicted that she would take the reins from Naomi Campbell. Naturally, she was poised to become the next black supermodel in the industry, and furthermore, the Caribbean. One by one, she booked campaign after campaign — Gucci, Kenneth Cole, Rimmel, Moschino, Jaguar, along with several other high-end fashion brands. Her face was splashed all over the pages of Vogue, including the French, Italian, Japanese, British and Spanish versions.

Her vibrant and good-natured manner got her far on the modelling and fashion circuit, and it appeared she could do no wrong.

Where Is She Now?

2008 saw Nadine extending her portfolio by venturing into music. She released a single titled So What, which received local airplay. That same year, she gave birth to another daughter, Zein Bell Willis, Tatjana Berg being her first. With her second pregnancy, the model was once again a cover girl, this time fabulously nude (Demi Moore style) on the cover of She Caribbean.

These days Willis takes pleasure in the joys of being a mother and now, a wife. On July 31, 2009, she tied the knot with Christopher Wilson at the Breezes Runaway Bay Chapel.

It is disappointing to many in the fashion industry that this natural beauty and talent, with the uncanny potential to rule (not to mention rock) the runway, is no longer a permanent fixture on the fashion circuit.

We look forward, however, to Nadine Willis’ guest appearance at this year’s Caribbean Fashion Week, set for June 15-21 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.