Laetitia Casta biography 2022
Laetitia Casta biography
Laetitia Casta was born on 11 May 1978; she is the middle child of father Dominique and mother Line. Raised on the island of Corsica, Dominique moved to Normandy, where he met her mother.
Laetitia enjoyed drawing and writing stories early and admits to being a daydreamer in elementary school. Although she surprisingly didn't attract many men while in school and remembers feeling awkward and self-conscious, her luck began to change at 15.
Laetitia was discovered by a photographer and an agent from a primary modeling agency in Paris, Madison Models, while on a beach near Corsica.
After her father agreed with the agency to take some test photos of Laetitia, it took the founder of Madison Models no time to see her unmistakable potential; when she came to the photo shoot in jeans and a T-shirt. Her career took off when the extremely busy director of the French edition of Elle was also impressed by her looks.
Modeling contracts and magazine appearances soon followed. Looking for another star, Paul Marciano - founder and art director of Guess? And credit for Claudia Schiffer's success - was immediately taken by Laetitia's perfection. Thanks to Marciano, Americans had the luxury of getting to know Laetitia for her work in Guess?
Next came Laetitia Casta's work with Victoria's Secret in 1996. Laetitia graced many covers of Victoria's Secret catalog, presented as one of the angels, the name attributed to the other four models of the company.
In 1997, Laetitia Casta joined the ranks of fellow models by appearing in the famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition for three consecutive years.
A year later, she was honored by Rolling Stone, who named her the hottest model of the year and placed Laetitia on the cover of their "Hot" issue. Although it wasn't the first time the magazine featured a nude celebrity on the cover, it was considered the most controversial issue.
In addition to Rolling Stone, Laetitia has graced the pages of many magazines, including the Italian edition of Glamour, Vogue; and Cosmopolitan, to name a few. Guess? And Victoria's Secret was not the only modeling contract signed by Laetitia. She became a spokesperson for cosmetics company L'Oreal in 1998, following in the footsteps of fellow model Kate Moss and actress Jennifer Aniston.
One of the biggest highlights of her career is her relationship with designer Yves St. Laurent. The designer has considered Laetitia an inspiration since 1998, so the outfits she wears for public appearances are all personal Yves St. Laurent creations. Laetitia Casta's appearance in the exclusive Pirelli calendar – considered a collector's item due to the beautiful images of only the best photographers – can also be considered one of Laetitia's achievements.
The 1999 edition, with the theme "Women through the Decades," shows Laetitia as a representative of the women of the 1950s. As if an illustrious modeling career wasn't enough, Laetitia has also taken her talents to the big screen in her debut in 1999's Astérix et Obélix, the most expensive French film ever made, starring Gerard Depardieu and the Oscar winner. Roberto Benigni. Laetitia also starred in La Bicyclette Bleu (The Blue Bicycle), a three-part French-made-for-TV movie set in World War II France.
Adding to an already complete portfolio, Laetitia Casta posed nude in print advertisements and billboards for diamond e-tailer Diamond.com. Dressed entirely in strings of precious stones, diamonds had to be digitally added to Laetitia's body to censor the controversial ad. Laetitia Casta ventured into music video when she appeared in the Chris Isaak video for "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing," shot by fashion photographer Herb Ritts. Still, Chris Isaak's most famous video is with Danish supermodel Helena Christensen.
In 1999, Laetitia Casta was honored by her home country when she was chosen by French mayors to appear on French coins and stamps for 10 years as the image of Marianne (the embodiment of the French Republic), an honor previously held by Brigitte Bardot.
The official face of France will next be seen in Les Ames Fortes (a.k.a. Strong Souls). Playing the role of a young farmer must have been a more challenging task for Laetitia, but it was finally the kind of role she was looking for; one that didn't rely on her good looks (who are we kidding, she's a goddess whether she's in rags or a ball gown). Laetitia Casta can also add "Mama" to her list of achievements, as Laetitia had her first child in 2001 with her fashion photographer boyfriend, Stephane Sednaoui.
last updated October 2022
