Carmen Kass (born September 14 , 1978 in Tallinn , Estonia ) is an Estonian supermodel.

Kass grew up in the Estonian city of Paide . There, she was brought up by a single mother and lived in a cramped apartment. At the age of fourteen, she was 'discovered' in a Tallinn supermarket by an Italian modeling scout. Kass had wanted to compete for the Miss Estonia title, but an offer to fly to Milan , Italy to start a modeling career seemed like a more glamorous and lucrative option.

Kass officially moved to Paris at the age of 18. Soon after, she received exposure on the cover of magazines worldwide, such as Vogue ( France ) in 1997 , ELLE (Australia), Image (UK), Madame Figaro , Numéro France , Vogue ( France ), and Vogue (US) in 1999.

In 1999 , Kass modeled for top designers such as Alberta Ferretti , Anna Sui , Bill Blass , Christian Dior , DKNY , Dolce & Gabbana , Gucci , Michael Kors , Moschino , Prada , Oscar de la Renta , Ralph Lauren , Tommy Hilfiger , Louis Vuitton , and Valentino .

In addition, Kass has posed in numerous advertisements for Calvin Klein , Chanel , Donna Karan , Givenchy , Fendi , Michael Kors , Versace , and also for General Motors . She is also recognized for her appearances in a The Gap denim advertising campaign. Kass was a spokesperson for Sephora , one of the world's leading cosmetics retailers, and the Christian Dior perfume, J'adore .

Kass was awarded by Vogue as "Model of the Year" at the 2000 VH1 /Vogue Fashion Awards.

As of 2006, she has appeared in campaigns for Dsquared , Pedro del Hierro , Michael Kors and Chloé with Malgosia Bela.

She is a smoker.

Kass is well-known for her distinctive runway walk. A quirk of the Estonian supermodel is that while she is very tall, her feet are quite small (about an American size seven). It is said that she sometimes simply falls out of her shoes while walking.

In 2005, Kass passed out backstage during the Prada show in Milan, leading some to speculate that she may be pregnant, although this rumor turned out to be untrue. Others feared that she might have developed an eating disorder. Her agency made no comment.

Kass has dated Leonardo DiCaprio and Richie Akiva . She is currently involved with Eric Lobron , a German chess champion.

In 2004, Kass starred in the Estonian murder-mystery film Täna öösel me ei maga ( We Won't Sleep Tonight ). The international release was retitled Set Point .

Also, in February 2004 , she joined Estonia's ruling Res Publica Party . Kass ran for the European Parliament after her homeland joined the European Union in May 2004 . She won about 2000 votes from the Estonian electorate, but was not elected to the European Parliament. That same year she was elected president of the Estonian National Chess League and ran a campaign to obtain the right to organise the 2008 Chess Olympics in Tallinn; however, that right was given to Dresden , Germany.

She is part owner of her mother agency, Baltic Models.

(Source: Wikipedia )