Catching Up With 2000s Supermodel Heather Marks

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Back in the mid-to-late 2000s, you couldn’t open a magazine or turn on a fashion show without seeing the angelic, heart-shaped face of Heather Marks staring back at you. She was everywhere — dominating editorials and campaigns alongside other doe-eyed supermodels of the decade like Jessica Stam, Gemma Ward, Caroline Trentini, Lily Cole, and Siri Tollerød. 

It’s been 23 years since Marks burst on the scene and we here at The Daily Front Row decided it was high time we checked in with her for a walk down memory lane and a peak at what her life is like now.

Heather, it’s so great to get this chance to catch up with you! We know you’re still modeling, but we understand you are working in real estate now. How did that happen?

I always loved real estate. I bought my first apartment in New York at eighteen. So [after modeling] when I decided to move to Los Angeles, I knew I needed a shift — something else in my life — though I wasn’t sure what. I didn’t really know how real estate would tie in, but something cracked open for me when I got here. I just fell in love with the architecture.

That’s quite the transition — from model to real estate agent.

It was really scary, honestly. All I’d ever known was modeling and fashion, and it took me a long time to believe in myself and push forward. But I’m so glad I did and, honestly, I feel like I won the lottery with the team I ended up with. When I was searching, I took a lot of meetings, but the day I got on a call with Carl Gambino, everything just aligned. Carl and the whole Gambino Group are so rare. I really don’t think real estate teams like this exist [elsewhere]. I get to work alongside genuinely good people and learn from the best of the best. I feel so lucky every day.

Any sales you’re particularly proud of?

I’m really proud of my first sale. I actually got to work with a client from the fashion world. It was an extremely difficult sale. Honestly, just about every problem that could come up with a home came up. And all at once! But I persevered, I figured it all out, and I came out the other side on top. That was the moment I realized: oh, I’m actually really good at this. I’m someone who, when I do something, I have to give it a hundred and ten percent. So it was about stepping way out of my comfort zone, learning the ins and outs of a whole new business, and finding that I genuinely loved it. That’s the thing that makes me happiest: I’m doing something I really enjoy.

What’s a typical day like for you now?

No two days are ever the same, which I love, but now it’s on my terms. I start the morning with a walk with my English bulldog, Kevin, and a podcast. That’s my favorite way to ease into the day. Then I’m usually off early: showings, preparing listings, meetings. I try to get my Pilates in, which is really my meditation. And I try to be outside as much as I can. Being in nature was a big part of why I moved to LA. I’m always working, I don’t sit still much, but I love it.

You were pretty busy during your modeling days too. You were everywhere! How were you discovered?

I was actually scouted at the women’s show in Calgary — this big convention — by Kelly Streit, who owns Mode Models in Canada and became my mother agent. There was a model search and he came up to me and my mom and asked if I’d enter. I absolutely did not want to get up on that stage — I was twelve, pretty low confidence, a total tomboy, kind of awkward — but my mom pretty much insisted. She thought it would be good for me. And I ended up winning. I was only twelve, so they kept an eye on me for a couple of years after that.

So your mom really encouraged your career.

Yes. She was never a stage mom, though. She was just supportive, and there when I needed her. My mom had four kids, so traveling with me wasn’t easy. Sometimes she’d send an older sister with me, but she came with me a lot. And I’ll never forget, during fashion week we’d rent these apartments in Paris, and at the end of the day all the girls would come back from shows and castings and my mom would have dinner waiting for everyone.

I was so young. I look back now and think my parents were a little crazy to let me do this, but I wouldn’t have gotten through any of it without them.

What was your first major booking?

Walking Chanel Haute Couture in Paris when I was 14. Karl Lagerfeld brought me in and it was the very first fashion show I’d ever walked. Linda Evangelista was in it, Gisele — these huge supermodels — and there I was, 14, having never set foot on a runway. And it wasn’t a simple walk. They put me in a skirt that went all the way down to my ankles, so I had to sort of penguin walk down the runway, and the shoes were these stilettos built right into the pants. The runway itself was cobblestone.

I remember shaking in my boots and Karl walking me through the whole thing. At the time, I was just terrified and trying not to fall. I actually came across the video again recently and it brought me right back. Looking back, that was really the moment that put me on the map.

You got to work with so many amazing people throughout your career. Any favorites?

I really loved working with Steven Meisel, especially in my early years. He’s such a visionary. He doesn’t just take a picture, he builds an entire world and you get to step into it. And for someone of his stature, he had this rare gift for making you feel completely comfortable, like you could become anyone he imagined. Pat McGrath was often part of that same world, and she was so special too. She just had the best energy and knew how to make all of us girls feel amazing and comfortable. Being in their orbit is something I’ll never forget.

What was your favorite booking?

Oh, that’s a tough one! I’ve had so many incredible shoots. They’re all memorable in different ways. And so many of my closest friends now came from those jobs. But a really fun one was for Lacoste. We shot for a week straight in Victorville, California, jumping in the air on trampolines the entire time.

Heather Marks (in yellow) in the Lacoste Spring 2008 campaign

It was me, Behati Prinsloo, Shannon Click, and Nicole Trunfio, who are still some of my closest friends to this day. There’s nothing out in Victorville, but right next to our hotel there was this little amusement park with rides, almost like a little fair. And every night we’d go run around like a bunch of kids, because we were. We must’ve been sixteen, seventeen. We just had so much fun together.

A recent pic of Heather Marks hanging out with Shannon Click and Behati Prinsloo (courtesy of Heather Marks)

Who would you say was your modeling bestie, though?

Caroline Trentini. We started together and did all the shows together. People actually called us “double trouble.” She was Brazilian, I was Canadian, but people thought we looked like twins, like sisters. It was so special to have someone like that in the industry, a familiar face I got to see all the time. We had so much fun together, so many laughs, and there was never a competitive moment between us. We were both just always so happy to see each other doing well. She lives in Brazil with her family now, and I haven’t seen her in person in years, but, thankfully, social media keeps us in touch.

https://www.tumblr.com/heather-marks-blog/8829290366

Was there a job you always wanted but never booked?

Honestly, I’ve been so lucky, I’ve shot just about every edition of Vogue I could have, except for French Vogue. So that’s the one I’d still love to do.

When did you first feel like you were really and truly a “top model?”

Probably at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. I had just turned eighteen. I’d done really big jobs before, but this was different: the amount of press that went into it, flying out to LA with all the Angels, doing days of press in Hollywood. It was such a different time back then, before social media. You didn’t publicly share every single thing you did. So the fact that this was live on television, in all the articles, I think that was the moment. Maybe I didn’t fully realize it then, but suddenly my friends and the people I grew up with got to see me on TV. That’s when it felt real.

@sweetlilyponds #HeatherMarks 🇨🇦 for #VictoriasSecretFashionShow ♬ original sound – landxrys🧸

Were there any jobs you absolutely hated?

I did this Goldfinger-themed shoot where they painted me head to toe in gold and then I baked under hot lights for about twenty-two hours straight. It took hours just to scrub all the paint off afterward, and then I got really sick. I was so out of it I didn’t even realize until I started getting better that I’d actually gotten blood poisoning from the paint. And here’s the kicker: in Goldfinger, that’s literally how the girl dies. Covered head to toe in gold. So I really committed to the theme!

What did you love best about that time in your life?

I think just getting to be in a room with such incredible, creative people. I never really thought of myself as creative, but I thrive when I’m on set, getting to be creative, getting to play a character. That’s what I loved most about it: the community, and the thrill of getting to be someone different all the time. And honestly, the travel was pretty great too.

Is there anything from those days that you are happy to have left behind?

I think what I’m most happy to leave behind is the unpredictability — never knowing when you were going to get on a plane, everything being so last-minute. You couldn’t really plan your life. There’s something really nice now about having more control over my days and a bit more stability.

When I modeled, I always had managers and teams, and as much as I loved them, my career was very much controlled by someone else. What I love about my life now is that it’s a different kind of rewarding: the work I put in is exactly what I get out of it. I love having control over my time. I love being able to pick and choose which modeling jobs I want to do and which I don’t. I just have so much more ownership over my own life now.

Do you follow fashion at all these days?

I still love fashion, truly. I joke that I went to the high school of fashion, because I started in this career so young. It’s kind of everything I know. I love following fashion week, and I love that with social media I get to see what all the designers I love are doing, and what all my favorite models are up to. I still very much follow it.

If you had it all to do over again, would you?

Absolutely! I’d love to do it all over again. It might sound cheesy, but I feel so much gratitude to have gotten to live the life I’ve lived. There were moments that were really difficult and really tested me. I didn’t get to grow up like a normal teen, and for a long time I felt like I’d missed out on a lot. But looking back, I didn’t miss out on much at all. I had experiences people would have died for. I got to see parts of the world I never would have seen otherwise and meet the most interesting, wonderful people. How cool is that?

What advice would you give your younger self, if you could?

My younger self — that awkward, insecure girl — I’d tell her to just be comfortable in her own skin. The very things that make you feel awkward now are going to become your superpower.

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