Biography of Laetitia Casta

Laetitia Marie Laure Casta ; born 11 May 1978) is a French actress and model. Casta became a "GUESS? Girl" in 1993 and gained further recognition as a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1998 to 2000 and as a spokesperson for cosmetics company L'OrÃ©al. She has appeared on over 100 covers of such popular magazines as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Elle and Glamour, and has modeled for designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli, Lolita Lempicka, and Vivienne Westwood. Casta became an actress, appearing in the films Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life , in which she portrayed sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, Face and The Blue Bicycle , as well as the play Ondine at the theatre Antoine. Casta's modeling career reportedly began when she was discovered by the photographer Frederic Cresseaux, during a family holiday in her father's native Corsica, at age 15. After her unexpected registration by Jeeby, Casta was elected Miss Lumio 93. Casta has been the L'OrÃ©al Paris brand ambassador since 1998. She has been featured in Guess? Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, Miu Miu, Pepe Jeans, Alberta Ferretti and XOXO ad campaigns. Casta has appeared on more than 100 magazine covers including Victoria's Secret catalogs, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE and Vogue magazines. She walked down the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Casta was one of the company's signature Victoria' Secret Angels from 1998 to 2000. She claims that her career with Victoria's Secret ended because she was "too much of rebel". She also appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue three consecutive times, Rolling Stone, as well as the Pirelli Calendar 1999 by Herb Ritts and 2000 by Annie Leibovitz. In 1999, Casta was ranked first in a national survey ordered by the French Mayors' Association to decide who should be the new model for the bust of Marianne, an allegorical symbol of the French Republic, which stands inside every French town hall. Casta became the focus of a controversy when, after being selected to be Marianne, newspapers in Britain and France reported that she had relocated to London where taxes on high earners are lower. Casta's father said she went to London for professional reasons; on a TV show, she also said that she rented a flat in London to be near her boyfriend. The French minister of the interior spoke about Casta on the radio; comparing the advantages of living in France with regard to the drawbacks of London after political opponents used Casta's relocation to London as an opportunity to criticise the government. She is the face of fragrances Chanel's Allure, Givenchy's Forbidden flower, Cacharel's Promise, Bulgari's BLV II, Ralph Lauren's Notorious, and on 15 June 2012 D&G's Pour Femme shot in Erice by Mario Testino. The Parisians could follow her Adventures in the Galeries Lafayette by Jean-Paul Goude. For Christmas 2011, Peter Lindbergh shot True Love, the very thought of Casta at the summit of Manhattan and between the snowy lions of marble of the New York Public Library for Tiffany & Co. On 10 March 2010, in Paris, she opened the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show. On 27 September 2010, she closed the Roberto Cavalli SS 2011 fashion show in Milan. Her first role was as Falbala in Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar directed by Claude Zidi, a live-action adaptation of the comic book Asterix, in which Obelix, portrayed by GÃ©rard Depardieu, plays Casta's love interest. Casta appeared in Les Ames Fortes, a dramatic film directed by Raul Ruiz. Her interpretation of Brigitte Bardot in the movie Gainsbourg resulted in her Cesar Award nomination. Casta served as a jury member at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.