Rainbow Beach’s Ella Grace on her way to be Australia’s next top model

by Michelle Gilmore

Not just Australia – holiday-local, Ella Bond has been signed on an international modelling contract and will travel to Paris and London!

The ex-Rainbow Beach State School student just turned 16 and is starting Year 11 in Melbourne. Richard and Althea Bond and family lived here for four years between 2008 – 2011, as most of Richard’s work was in Queensland.

“Every chance we get we’re here,” smiled Althea. They love our relaxed lifestyle – it’s a huge contrast to the busy pace of Melbourne.

Holidays in Rainbow Beach include a holiday job, Ella says, “I’ve worked at Crème de la Crème since I was 13, serving ice cream and occasionally in 13th Beach.”

This Easter the whole family, including 8-year-old Callum and 10-year-old Lily, will spend their school break in Europe.

For Ella (“Ella Grace is what I am called at work”) it is a dream come true, and highlights so far were shows for Dior and Chanel.

“She has wanted to be a model since she was 13,” explained Althea. “I said no.”

“Mum entered me in Vivien’s 2015 Modelling Competition – they picked someone older but signed me up anyway.”

A week before it was all official, another Vivien’s agent stopped in the street to give Ella her card.

“When we see it we just know,” explained Nicola Atwa from Vivien’s Models Management in Melbourne.

“It’s always hard to explain what we look for in a potential model, aside from the right height and proportions, healthy skin, hair and nails etc.. it’s something unique and individual, the elusive X factor.

“Ella Grace has it all, the figure, the face, the personality and the professionalism to make it to the top.”

The Elite Network and The Society have their pick of thousands of potential models to sign each year. Nicola says you have to be truly exceptional to be offered a Worldwide contract with them.

Normally girls travel as individuals, but The Elite Network were agreeable for Ella to stay with family whilst she worked in Europe.

Although Vivien’s has many girls in common with the agency, she said the speed with which Ella was signed up was unprecedented.

“We believe that Ella Grace has the potential to succeed in all of the main fashion territories – New York, London, Milan and Paris. We are incredibly excited to see how things develop for her over the next couple of years.”

And how does Ella feel about it all, working with the same agency that has Kendall Jenner, Josephine Skriver and Adriana Lima? “I don’t know – excited, a bit scared. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Ruyton’s Girls School are also supportive of Ella – with classifying her model work as a co-curricular activity and she is also enrolled with NIDA Open (National Institute of Dramatic Art). Said Ella, “Modelling and acting complement each other.”

“I definitely want to go to uni – something in that industry – marketing or creative director, co-ordinating shoots. I really enjoy making art and being a part of the team.”

The last days of her holiday were spent at the flags, gym, scooping ice creams then jet skiing and learning to drive at Double Island Point, before the whole family left for Sydney so Ella could attend castings and meet clients with “all the big magazines”.

Already Ella has over 3000 followers on Instagram  – where she describes herself as “Professional Peanut Butter Eater”.

The sensible, intelligent and grounded young lady hopes in the future to integrate business into her modelling and promote Rainbow Beach.

You can see more beautiful images of Ella:

Instagram: ella.grace and www.viviensmodels.com.au/models/ella-grace/