Jessica Gomes Biography

Jessica Gomes (born 25 September 1985) is an Australian model who appeared in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of the Swimsuit Issue of the American Publication Sports Illustrated. She is the featured spokesperson for Australian corporations David Jones Limited and Qantas. She is also a spokesperson for Korean conglomerates LG Electronics and Hyundai. She is also the face of the Estee Lauder/Sean John fragrance "Unforgivable". She is known as the voice of Rick Ross' label Maybach Music Group. She has strong followings in Korea and in the East Coast Hip Hop community.

Modelling career

She is the daughter of Joe Gomes, from Portugal, and Jenny, a Singaporean Chinese. Although sources such as her Fashion Model Directory listing contain a Perth, Western Australia, birthplace, other sources state that Gomes was born in Sydney or nearby Wahroonga in New South Wales. She was raised in Perth. Ocean Drive writer Peter Cullum presents one of the more detailed biographical sketches of Gomes in which he claims she first lived in Sydney and then the family "opted out of Sydney for the semirural isolation of Western Australia" where she had a "a semi-rural tomboy childhood". She is the youngest child in her family that includes two older sisters and an older brother. Gomes' mother sent her to modelling classes at Linda-Ann Model Academy in Perth suburb Midland at the age of 13. There her acting led to a modeling contest and the start of her career. In 2004, she signed with IMG Models after moving to New York City. She has avoided Paris and Milan and done extensive work in most of Asia's major markets — including Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai — where she feels mixed heritage models are more successful.

In 2007, Gomes appeared in advertisements for Hyundai Sonata. In 2008, Gomes appeared in advertisements for LG Cyon Bikini Phone. For promotional use, she played baseball with the Korean baseball team LG Twins which led to celebrity-status in South Korea. Between her spokesmanships and Korean television show appearances, she had reached iconic status in Korea by 2013. In the industry, she is regarded as a "nontraditional" beauty and in her Australian homeland she is regarded for her multiracial background.

Campaigns

She has appeared in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Glamour, American Glamour, Italian GQ and Victoria's Secret catalogue , and has modeled for DKNY Jeans, Garnier, Levi's, Motorola, Urban Outfitters and Victoria's Secret, and appeared on the cover of Biba. She signed with Estee Lauder as the face of Diddy's Unforgivable fragrance. She has been featured in ads for Jay-Z Rocawear. She was the Maxim Cover girl for November 2011. On Friday 22 March 2013, Jessica Gomes was announced as the fashion ambassador for Australian retail giant David Jones Limited, replacing Miranda Kerr and joining Megan Gale, Jason Dundas, Montana Cox, Gai Waterhouse and Emma Freedman. At the time Gomes was also the ambassador for Quantas. She debuted for Jones on the runway that July. After Gomes became the face of Enprani Cosmetics, they launched a lip gloss named Gomes Pink. As a popular celebrity in Korea in the early 2010s, she is featured in ad campaigns for LG Electronics and Hyundai.

Sex symbol

Gomes was listed at number eight in the 2013 AskMen international poll of "world's most desirable women". She had been ranked number 34 in 2012. She is listed at number 25 in the Maxim Top 25 Hottest Females of 2012 and number 8 in Maxim Australia Hot 100 of 2012 .

By 2013 she had appeared in six Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (2008–2013). In 2008, she was part of a record group of seven "rookie" Swimsuit Issue models, along with Quiana Grant, Melissa Haro, Yasmin Brunet, Melissa Baker, Jeisa Chiminazzo and Jarah Mariano. That year, she was featured in a bodypainting layout as a canvas for bodypaint artist Joanne Gair, who was in her tenth year of producing bodypaint art for the Swimsuit Issue. By the time of her fifth consecutive Swimsuit issue, she had surpassed all models of Asian heritage.

Television

In Midland before she began modelling, she appeared as an extra at age 10 on the Australian miniseries Bush Patrol which lead to a modeling. Her mixed heritage gives her a somewhat native Korean appearance. In 2009, her reality TV-show "My name is Jessica Gomes" was launched on the English language Korean television network On Style owned by On-Media. In the shows second season it chronicled her time in New York. She is regarded as a choreographer and made her dancing debut in the Korean version of Dancing with the Stars on June 10, 2011. She placed third that season.

Other

In January 2012, Gomes was revealed as the voice behind saying the name of Rick Ross' label Maybach Music Group at the beginning of every track that the company produces. She is "name-checked" in the Kanye West GOOD Fridays song "Christian Dior Denim Flow". She participated as a celebrity driver in a promotional celebrity challenge racing event by Mazda associated with the 2013 Australian Grand Prix. She was featured in a Yoga video entitled Body Art.

Personal

Her brother is named Nathan. She counts Australian Elle MacPherson and the multiracial China Machado (the first non-Caucasian model on the cover of any US fashion magazine) as her role models. She dined with Perth native and friend Heath Ledger in New York the day before he died.

In 2005, she moved to New York City and was a roommate of Gemma Ward. She continued to live in New York at the time of her Swimsuit Issue debut in 2008 and as late as 2011. She formerly attended La Salle College. In 2012, she was living in Los Angeles with Melbourne property developer Sebastian Drapac. Gomes' mother was born in Hong Kong before being raised in Singapore and her father is from Portugal before spending time in Paris. Both emigrated to Australia.