Got milk? Mark Vanderloo did, when he landed, by happen stance, a national commercial for Holland’s dairy board 10 years ago.Mark Vanderloo, born in Waddinzveen, Holland, is now the number one male model in the world. At thirteen he was the hardest-working paperboy in town, running three routes, later on he worked in bars and cafes, and everything he made, he’d spend.
At 22, he entered the University of Amsterdam to study history. Accompanying a model girlfriend one day to a shoot, he found himself modeling for the very first time. The photographer had another assignment he needed to complete, for a milk advertisement and liking the look of the two of them together, he shot them for the ad. Mark just hated the way he looked in the pictures and thought that was the end of a very short modeling career.
But a local agency liked the pictures and came after him offering him money; after six penniless months at college, he found it an offer impossible to resist. Hungry for a male supermodel, the industry pounced on the broad-shouldered boy. In 1994, he moved to Manhattan, bought a pair of rollerblades and became Calvin Klein’s Obsession model. (Yes, that one-the guy in the white briefs, rolling around in the sand.) By the following season, he had become a print sensation. His live appearances in the Calvin Klein, Versace, Hermes, Valentino and Boss shows brought in screaming girls (and men) and much needed attention to men’s fashion.
In 1995, he landed the role as face-and body-of Boss’ couture and ready-to-wear lines. Three other male models, including Vanderloo’s best friend, Alex Lundqvist, joined him to become the Fashion Fab Four. The troupe now rules the runways. In 1996, they became the first men to appear on the cover of Marie Claire. Donna Karan hired Vanderloo that year for a hush-hush spring ad campaign, launching her new men’s collection. While print remains Vanderloo’s bread and butter, the model continues to balance a schedule of up to 50 shows per year. Perhaps that’s why VH1’s Fashion and Music Awards recently named him Male Model of the Year.
Mark has appartments/houses in New York City, Paris and Amsterdam. He dated supermodel Carolyn Murphy for years, was married to supermodel Esther Caņadas. Mark tells you he has the greatest job in the world - not only for its material benefits but for putting him to work with some of the most amazingly creative minds in the world. So he gives everything of himself to his work, even of his very soul, so that he says when he looks at one of his pictures, he can always tell what he was feeling when it was taken.