Sometimes the start of one's celebrity career can be as clich� as being discovered by a talent scout.
No one knows that better than Gemma Ward who was first discovered at a modeling competition that she herself never planned on entering.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Ward admitted she was simply accompanying her friends to this competition. She said she had just come from her aunt and uncle's farm, cloaked in a big, gray barn jacket covered in mud. The scout apparently approached her and she even declined any offer he could come up with. Her friends, however, weren't going to let her pass on an opportunity and forged her mother's signature as parental consent was mandatory for the contract to be binding.
Ward did not win the competition that day but Vivens Model Agency was still only too eager to sign her on. By age 18, the resistant Ward was walking some of the best catwalks in the world.
She is also famed for being one of the youngest Vogue models - a list which also includes fellow supermodels Daria Werbowy, Gisele Bundchen and Natalia Vodianova.
Over the years, Ward has been in a number of top brand campaigns like Yves Saint-Laurent and graced the shows of popular designers such as Versace, Chanel, Gucce and Valentino.
Like many other models who create trends, the exotic blonde is no exception. Ward's signature baby-doll like look became a popular new look among many models including Heather Marks, Jessica Stam and Vlada Roslyakova.
Besides baby doll, many fashion reviewers call Ward's look "out of this world" or "ethereal."
Acting in dramas is a passion Ward has held since childhood. She has been cast in the Australian film The Black Balloon also starring Toni Collette and Rhys Wakefield and directed by Elissa Down.
Hollywood would be more apt to recognize her from the suspense thriller The Strangers in which she is cast opposite Liv Tyler and she plays one of three masked intruders.
Look for her face in films coming out in the future.