PICTURE THIS

To grace the cover of a major fashion magazine is a dream of many young women, and that dream could come true for Kelly Russell.

Kelly, 15, leaves today for a weeklong all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for Seventeen magazine. She could be chosen to appear on the cover of the October issue.

Kelly is one of eight young women from across the country chosen as finalists in the third annual Cover Model Contest sponsored by Seventeen and JCPenney.

Editors at Seventeen magazine selected Kelly and seven other finalists from more than 33,000 applicants who registered in JCPenney stores across the country.

Last year's contest finalists were featured in a 12-page spread in the magazine.

Just days after her return, Kelly will fly to California for interviews with several modeling companies.

"When I first entered, I never dreamed of winning anything," she said. "I'm sure a lot of people at school are going to say: Kelly Russell, a model? But it seems like a better job offer than umpiring boys baseball."

Kelly is among a number of young women from the area seeking a career in modeling, and she says it can happen in Southeast Missouri.

"But it takes a lot of luck, and, really, the chances of making it are extremely slim," she said.

At 13, Kelly was 5 feet 11 inches tall. "There are a lot of disadvantages to being that tall at that age," she said. "The boys don't like it and clothes don't fit right. But there were two advantages: basketball and modeling."

Kelly chose basketball; then baseball and tennis.

"People often would ask if I had ever considered modeling or that I looked like I should. I would smile and say, thank you. The thought never really crossed my mind."

Then her family noticed a story in the Southeast Missourian about a Charleston girl selected to appear in a fashion magazine.

Her mother, Margaret Russell, said: "That really made us start thinking about it. That girl was from Charleston, from right here."

Her father, Keith Russell, added with a smile, "And I said, `You're prettier than she is.'"

Kelly sent a photograph, taken by her mother in the backyard, to the first Seventeen-JCPenney contest as a lark. "I entered more for fun than anything," she said. "I knew there was such a small chance that anything would come of it. It was kind of an unattainable goal. I never told anyone, even my best friends, that I had entered."

Her father said, "Then she started winning."

Kelly said, "Then we started taking it a little more seriously."

She entered other magazine contests, and began placing in those competitions also.

"I'm not sure why," she said. "The one thing everyone says is my height." She is 6 feet tall.

She said 5 feet 8 inches is a critical height. "Every inch over that is a plus; every inch under that is a minus."

The reason is simple. "Designers create clothes for a woman 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet; they need someone to fit the clothes," she said.

Beyond that, what magazines and designers are looking for remains a mystery.

"I think they are looking for a new, fresh look," said Kelly. "But I don't really know what they are looking for or what they see.

"They don't want to see a lot of makeup and hair; instead, they want to see what you look like. They can do the makeup and hair."

Persistence pays off, she said.

The first year she made the Seventeen-JCPenney contest's first round. She entered the next year and advanced. This year she was selected for the final eight.

"Each year the photos had a different look. We researched and looked at what the winners looked like and made changes," she said.

Keith Russell did a little research himself at Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library concerning modeling and what it takes to make it.

All the photographs were taken by her mother. In some of the competitions, they were sent a roll of film and asked to take their own photographs.

"Don't go out and spend a lot of money on photographs," Kelly advised. "They just want to see what you look like and how you photograph."

At a tennis tournament in St. Louis, the Russells met a family from California. Celeste Burgh, a former model, spotted Kelly on the court and asked if she had considered modeling.

"She sent my pictures to the Nina Blanchard Agency in Los Angeles. The very day they got my pictures they called Celeste and said they wanted to see me."

She flew to California and talked with people from the agency. Burgh also introduced her to others in the California modeling business. She will return to California this summer, depending on what happens in New York.

Now that the unattainable goal of becoming a model seems a little more attainable, Kelly has begun working towards it.

She wears strong sunscreen every day. "Lots of girls are turned away because they have too much sun," she said. "They don't want to see any signs of it; the sun dries and wrinkles your skin."

She has also begun eating very healthy foods. "I haven't had a good hamburger in months. You have to be slim, not skin and bones like in the '70s, but slim."

Eating good also helps improve the look of her hair, skin and finger nails. "I've had to start growing nails," she said, offering her freshly painted fingernails for inspection.

"They want good muscle tone." Her daily exercise includes aerobics and weightlifting.

"And she's still on the A honor roll," her father said.

She said the regimen is worth it. "I'm not going to eat something now if it might ruin my chances."

Kelly struggles with the notion of success based on her looks. "I don't think looks are that important; it's what's inside that really matters."

Her mother said, "That's what we have always taught the children ever since they were little."

Kelly said top models can make $7,000 a day.

"I never thought it would happen so fast," she said. "If it happens it will be great and I will be very excited, but I'm not going to plan my life around this. There is really still such a slim chance that it will really happen. I'm not asking my family to pick up and move to Los Angeles or New York.

"I also know I have to be prepared for a lot of rejection," she said. "They could say, `Too fat,' `Too thin,' `Cheekbones too wide,' and that will be it."

She believes she is ready for that rejection, if it comes.

"I've had to deal with a lot of hostility in my own way. I've been called `beanpole' for a long time. But I've had a lot of coaches and directors and teachers who have let me be myself."

She said her entire family has offered a lot of support. She is one of five children; there are also Keith, 18, Wade, 13, Elizabeth, 9, James, 6.

"I feel a little like Cinderella," she said. "I'm trying to concentrate on having fun and not building up my hopes. But it is very exciting."

The other finalists are: Stephanie Green, Jacksonville, Fla.; Polly Liu, Hacienda Heights, Calif.; Julie Barrett, Houston, Texas; Sarah Liebergen, DePere, Wis.; Lillian Martinez, Isla Verde, Puerto Rico; and Tiffiani Williams, Mount Lebanon, Penn.