Model pupils

SHE'S ONLY six months old, but little Ghislaine Crofts is already primed for stardom.

Gurgling happily to herself, the beaming youngster has already been signed up by Clive Crowther at Claremont Model Agency as a potential face for the future.

But it wasn't money or prestige that prompted Ghislaine's parents Bernadette and Martin to have their daughter signed up at such an early age.

Says Bernadette: "Ghislaine's such a lovely little girl and she generates so much happiness wherever we go.

"People often stop us in the street and say, 'why don't you take her to a modelling agency?'

"So we decided to give it a go - we see it as a way of spreading the happiness she creates, it's not a question of money but a question of getting her face seen."

But although Bernadette, 40, and Martin, 43, are keen to see their daughter succeed, they don't really see modelling as a potential career for Ghislaine.

"I would always leave it up to her to decide, but at the end of the day, it's only a bit of fun," says Bernadette.

"When she gets a bit older, I'd like her to take up swimming or gymnastics or something like that. At the moment, modelling is just a bit of interest for us."

And there's also a more poignant meaning behind the couple's decision.

"I became pregnant with Ghislaine a month after my mum died," adds Bernadette.

"She's very much like my mum so it's quite symbolic for me. That's probably one of the reasons we decided to approach the agency, as a tribute to mum."

The couple, who live in Farnley, Leeds, have four other children, but Ghislaine is the only one they've taken to the agency.

"They've all gone off in different directions and we've always left it entirely up to them," says Bernadette.

And as for Ghislaine, there's no modelling contract yet, but the couple believe it will only be a matter of time.

"I could see her face on an advertisement, something big and luminous to cheer people up on a miserable day," says Bernadette.

"Everyone would just love it to pieces!"

Shona's face fits!

An ill-fitting jumper was the reason Shona Jackson missed her break into the modelling world.

Shona, who was then just seven, had been signed up to model knitwear for a catalogue company, but the jumper she was given simply didn't fit.

But now, at the age of 14, Shona has decided to give it another whirl and has signed up with the Claremont Agency - together with 38-year-old mum Annette Klava! "It's only a bit of fun, but when Shona signed up, I decided to have a go myself," says Annette, from Keighley. "I'd had some pictures taken and I showed them to Clive, who put me on the books. Now I'm just waiting to see if anything comes of it."

Shona's career meanwhile, began at a much earlier age.

"It all started when she was a baby," says Annette.

"Shona used to have lovely blonde curly hair and everybody used to stop me and say how pretty she was.

"At that time, her grandma used to work at Hayfields in Glusburn where they had a child model agency.

"When she was one and a half years old we went to the agency and they chose her to model a pattern. But because she was so young, she couldn't sit up straight and so they couldn't use her in the end. Then there was the incident with the jumper that didn't fit when she was seven.

"But I always thought I'd approach another agency when Shona got a bit older, and here we are!"

And Shona, who goes to Holy Family School in Keighley, has certainly not been put off by her previous experiences.

"I'm prepared to do any sort of modelling, but being in a television advert or something like that would be great," says Shona.

"But I don't see modelling being a future career for me, I just see it as a bit of interest."

Asked if her other friends are jealous of what she's doing, Shona says, "no way."

"My best friend has done modelling before and she'd like to get back into it - I think she's been spurred on by me.

"My other friends think it's a good thing to have done and they're really interested.

"They understand that it's just a bit of fun and that I don't take it too seriously."

The pair found the modelling agency by looking through the Yellow Pages. After making an appointment, they showed Clive their pictures, who immediately signed them up.

Mum and daughter are now confident that they'll soon be snapped up.

"We're just going to see how it goes," says Annette.

"It would be nice to get some work, but at the end of the day, it's only a bit of fun.

A sister act that could run and run

Pretty Lauren Moore sits patiently with her sister, Olivia, as they wait to have their pictures taken at the model agency.

At just five years old, Lauren is already an old face at Claremont, having been on Clive's books since she was nine months old.

And her younger sister Olivia, three, is set to follow in her sibling's footsteps as the pair wait for their first commission as child models.

The girls' mum, Debbie, is obviously very proud of her young daughters, as she watches them having their pictures taken. And she hopes that signing up with the Claremont Agency will be the start of something much bigger.

Says Debbie: "Modelling's a good thing for the girls to do and I hope it's something they will consider getting into later on in life.

"It would be great to see them in an advert, a catalogue or fashion magazine, and we're just waiting for the first job to come along."

As yet, there's been no history of modelling in the family, from Allerton, but Debbie says she was prompted to bring the girls along to give them a bit of interest and confidence.

"It's all about giving them a good start in life," she says.

"I also think bringing them along to the agency gives them a bit of interest and confidence, as well as giving them a little extra money when the jobs come in.

"It would be nice for them to have a career in modelling, but I know it's not as easy as that to get into."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.