A native of Dallas, Texas, Chandra North was born on 31 July, 1973. Chandra had one aspiration when growing up in Dallas - Ballet. Like many a young girls dream, Chandra wanted to be a ballerina. Every spare moment in her young life was devoted to ballet, such was her determination.
The story of how she started a career as a professional model is somewhat intertwined with her desire to to be a ballerina. It all started when she was on "summer vacation" sun bathing near the swimming pool at Southern Methodist University when another model approached her.
In essence, he believed she had what it takes to be a top model and talked her into modelling. He even helped her off to a good start by getting her stints in newspapers ads and department-store catalogs.
In 1991, Chandra relocated to New York City to further her career and audition for the city ballet company. Her modeling jobs paid the rent and after a short stay, she was sent to Paris. Chandra returned to the US frustrated at the lack of opportunity afforded her in Europe.
But things changed instantly when she arrived back in America. She met her future husband, who at the time was a bike courier. He persuaded her to get back into modeling, encouraging her to go against the grain. With his encouragement, North dedicated herself to modeling again and her new attitude paid off.
With a new love and a new attitude, Chandra hit the big time in 1995, returning to a more accepting Paris, where she did the cat walk thing for Isaac Mizrahi and Richard Tyler.
After this, North's name was on the lips of many modeling agencies and a year later, in 1996, she scored her first gig in the Swimsuit Edition of the Sports Illustrated magazine with a massive two-page spread.
Wearing a bikini made from grass, the 1996 shoot saw her rise to prominence, and she's since been in four other Swimsuit issues, including the 2002 edition.
She has since appeared in the magazine five times. Chandra has also graced the cover of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, W, and Allure.
In future she wishes to own a Texas ranch, raise a family there and do the farmer thing. For now, however, Chandra North is sailing on the winds of celebrity of she goes from strength to strength in the fashion world.
