Cape Girardeau 15-year-old lands modeling contract

Last November, at the suggestion of the Cheekwood Studio photographer who took her freshman pictures, Ali Turner sent a few photographs to Ford Modeling Agency. Ford, the most famous name in modeling, receives hundreds of unsolicited photographs each month and rarely finds a model among them.

But one day at the end of November, Ali found the words "Ford Modeling Agency" on her caller ID.

Life hasn't been the same since.

Ali and her mother, Patty, left for Chicago Monday on the 15-year-old's fourth modeling assignment for the agency. One was a runway show for Armani in Chicago. In July, they go to New York City to meet the owners and some of the company's clients. Ford wants Ali to spend September and October in Paris.

Aside from a family trip to the Bahamas, Ali has never been out of the United States.

Ford usually rejects studio photographs from prospects because they want to know what the model really looks like. But something about Ali stopped them.

"She has beautiful eyes and skin tone," said Jade Robertson, an agent for Ford's women's division in Chicago. "She seemed very natural and had a serene quality in her photos."

Ali is 5-foot-10, weighs 108 pounds and has a 23-inch waist. Her only previous foray into the world of beauty was entering last year's contest for Sikeston Rodeo queen. She didn't win.

No preparation for catwalk

Her family knew nothing about the modeling world Ali suddenly has been thrown into. Her father Dennis works for a pest control company, and Patty is employed by Deer Creek Christian Academy. Ali has two older sisters: Amy, a government worker, and Sarah, who works for Skyview Animal Clinic.

The first thing Patty did is buy "Modeling for Dummies," a book written by a model.

Ali had no preparation before getting on the catwalk for Armani. "I had never walked in spiked heels before," she said.

She also did an in-store job at a Nordstrom's in Chicago and catalog work for Elder Bierman Department Store in Dayton, Ohio.

Ali is not accustomed to fancy clothes. She wears jeans with holes in them at home and says, "I don't like shopping."

She does like horses and barrel racing, which she used to do competitively. When she isn't modeling, you might find her in a barn shoveling manure.

Ali attended Clippard Elementary School and is entering her sophomore year at Central High School. She views modeling as a means to own a ranch someday. She wants to become a horse trainer and hopes modeling can pay her way to a university with an equine program.

Ali doesn't mind the work. "It's neat to get up in front of a camera," she said.

Most of all, she says, "I like the money." Her only previous job was baby-sitting.

The part she doesn't like is being away from her boyfriend, Ian, and her horse, Cheyenne.

Probably won't last long

Some of her friends were jealous when they heard about her modeling contract and some refused to believe she'd gotten one, Ali said. Now some of them are trying to become models, too.

Ali knows that modeling is for the young and probably won't last long. Some of the "older models," who are 19 and 20, have told her so.

"They were talking about how new models come in and take their places," she said.

Patty has to know more about the situation in Paris before agreeing to let Ali go. Ford wanted her to come alone and stay at the company's apartments, but neither Patty nor Ali is ready for that. She can attend the American School while in Paris.

Ford thinks Ali has a great deal of potential, Robertson said. The magazines Elle Girl and Glamour are interested in using her photograph. "A lot of people are already excited about her," Robertson said.

Patty and Dennis are being protective but know their daughter's on the verge of a whole new life.

"They told her to get a passport when they first started talking to her," Patty said.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182