Local teen gets taste of modeling through contest

Monday, May 31, 1999 | 9:55 a.m.

Melissa Lee is living out many young girls' dream.

If all goes as planned, her summer vacation will include an apartment in New York City, runway walks and glamorous fashion shoots.

As one of eight finalists in the Chanel/Seventeen magazine New Model of the Year contest, the Bonanza High School student recently spent her 15th birthday in New York City posing for the cameras.

Her photo spread can be seen in a section of the magazine's September issue.

"It was an honor," said Lee, who decided to pursue modeling only a year ago.

Quite an honor. The magazine received 20,000 entries.

"She just has a really interesting look," Lori Burgess, publisher of Seventeen magazine said. "Today beauty has broad and exciting definitions. She's absolutely stunning."

Becoming a professional model is an aspiration of many of the magazine's readers, Burgess said.

And posing for Seventeen is a pretty effective way to begin a career. Model Nikki Taylor was a winner of the New Model of the Year contest. Cameron Diaz, Brooke Shields, Cybill Shepherd, Tyra Banks and Cheryl Tiegs all appeared on the cover of the magazine early in their careers.

The magazine is geared toward teenage girls, has a readership of 14.2 million and covers issues on health, beauty, celebrities and dating.

If Lee should win, she will be featured on the cover a special section of the magazine and receive a five-day trip to Paris and two tickets to a Chanel fashion show along with a $1,000 shopping spree.

The finalists spent May 10-13 in New York, where they met with hair designers, participated in a photo shoot, toured Seventeen's offices and participated in runway modeling in a replica of Coco Chanel's apartment in the Chanel Boutique. Finalists were also introduced to the world press.

"This is a very serious contest," Burgess said.

That's especially true for those hoping to pursue a modeling career.

National media including Access Hollywood, Fox TV and Entertainment Tonight interviewed the finalists, as did modeling agencies, which are always looking for the next supermodels, Burgess said.

Lee, who was interviewed by Extra, said she was asked whether being a Mormon will affect her in the business. "I have limitations," Lee said.

She won't work Sundays and won't show her body in ways that make her feel uncomfortable.

"If they won't compromise with me then I guess they don't want me that bad," she said.

Even with those standards, she was able to land a contract with Madison Models, a Paris-based agency that launched the careers of Daniel Pestova and Eva Herzigova. Laetitia Casta, who has appeared on 85 national magazine covers and is now a Victoria's Secret model, has an exclusive contract with the agency.

Though modeling is a lifelong dream for many young teens, Lee says she got the idea to become a model only a year ago. At the time she was only 5 feet 3 inches tall but joined a local modeling agency anyway.

Just a couple of months ago, her focus was on school and cheerleading. Lee was on last year's dean's list and was head cheerleader at Bonanza.

But she was juggling modeling and acting interests as well. Last July she competed in the International Modeling and Talent Association in both modeling and acting. Most of her awards were in acting so she decided to make that her goal and signed a contract with an agency in Los Angeles.

"I just started acting," Lee said. "I went to California about once a week (auditioning) for movies and commercials and then I entered the (Seventeen) contest."

Winning the contest came as a surprise, she said.

When Seventeen called to tell Lee that she was one of the top 50 selected, Lee was pleased just to receive a Chanel Model of the Year T-shirt and the Allure fragrance. She had no idea there could be more.

Two weeks later she received the call telling her she made the top eight.

"She's very exquisite," Burgess said. "She photographed very beautifully."

Her trip to New York included appointments with hair designers, where to her dismay her hair was cut eight inches and dyed. Her makeup was done at the Chanel Boutique.

"It's really one exciting experience after another," Burgess said.

Lee won't know whether she placed first until August, but her contract with Madison Models will bring her to New York in two weeks to test the waters.

If all goes well and she gets bookings, she will get an apartment for the summer in New York. Only for the summer. She plans to finish school at Bonanza.

"When I turn 19 and am old enough to go to Paris for a week, then I'll go," she said. Until then, she says she doesn't feel comfortable leaving her family. She would rather stay in Las Vegas and help out around her house.

She also hopes to get a part-time job when she turns 16 so she can pay her car insurance and gas. If she gets a booking, however, the part-time job may not be needed. The going rate for her modeling contract is $1,500 to $2,000 a day.

In addition to her one-year contract with Madison Models, she is competing for Seventeen's hair accessories contract, which would last 2 1/2 years.

Is modeling part of her future?

"As far as I can go with it, I'll try my best to proceed," she says.