As a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Coco Rocha never expected to become one of modeling’s brightest stars. Her career began when she was spotted by a modeling scout at an Irish dancing competition. Soon after, a meeting with world-renowned photographer Steven Meisel would lead to the cover of the March 2006 issue of Vogue Italia, and there began her meteoric rise into fashion.

She quickly began appearing on the runways for Marc Jacobs, Versace, Prada, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Anna Sui, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Balenciaga and countless others and ignited a firestorm in the fashion industry when she opened and closed the Fall 2007 Jean Paul Gaultier show by performing an Irish dance down the runway.

Fashion editors and photographers were immediately impressed by her instinctive ability to capture the essence of the editorial stories she was shooting, a talent that can be attributed to her background as a dancer. In her short career, she has worked with leading photographers in the industry including Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, Nathaniel Goldberg, Mikael Jansson, Greg Kadel, Steven Klein, Annie Leibowitz, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Nick Night, David Sims, Mario Sorrenti, Solve Sundsbo, Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin. Her advertising campaigns include Christian Dior, Chanel, YSL Beaute, Balenciaga, Lanvin, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, The Gap, PHI, and Nicole Farhi. Coco was also very proud to represent YSL as the face of their fragrance ELLE.

In addition to her advertising and runway work, Coco is frequently featured in the pages of top fashion magazines around the world including the many editions of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Numero and V and has graced the covers of: Vogue (US, Italia, Nippon, Korea, Spanish, Mexico, Latin America and Brazil), Numero (Paris, Korea), ID, Dazed & Confused (British, Japan), Elle (Canada), French, Muse and Time Style & Design. She was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier for the exclusive 2008 Pirelli calendar and participated in the Visionaire 54 Sport project, where her portrait, painted by Richard Philips, was recreated into a “wearable art” polo shirt. In December 2008, Rootstein unveiled a “Coco” mannequin that will be used in various exhibits in Europe and Asia to promote the launch of the book. In October 2009, Coco signed on as the spokesperson for Rimmel and will be appearing in the 2010 ad campaigns.

A resident of New York City, Coco spends her free time with her family, volunteering for charities such as the Children’s Aid Society and Irish dancing.

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