Actresses

biography

Born the 11th of May, 1978, Laetitia Casta is the middle child to father Dominique and mother Line. Dominique, raised on the island of Corsica, moved to Normandy where he met Laetitia's mother. Laetitia (which means 'joy' in Latin) enjoyed drawing and writing stories at an early age, and admits that she was quite a daydreamer in grade school.

Although she surprisingly didn't attract many males while in school and recalls feeling awkward and self-conscious, her luck began to change at age 15. Casta was discovered by a photographer and an agent from an important Paris modeling agency, Madison Models, while on a beach near Corsica.

After her father finally agreed to the agency taking some test photos of Laetitia, it took the founder of Madison Models no time to see Casta's unmistakable potential; she didn't even need the help of makeup or nice clothes, as she came to the photo shoot in jeans and a t-shirt. Laetitia's career took off when the extremely busy director of the French edition of Elle was also impressed by Laetitia's looks.

Modeling contracts and appearances in magazines quickly ensued. In search of another star, Paul Marciano -- founder and art director of Guess? and credited for the success of Claudia Schiffer -- was immediately taken by Casta's perfection. Thanks to Marciano, Americans had the luxury of getting acquainted with Casta for her work in the Guess? ad campaign. Her work as the Guess? Girl was her debut advertising campaign. Next came her work with Victoria's Secret, in 1996. Casta graced many covers of the Victoria's Secret catalog, featured as one of the Angels, the name attributed to the other four models of the company. In 1997, Casta joined the ranks of fellow models by appearing in the popular Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, for a total of three consecutive years.

One year later she was honored by Rolling Stone, who named her the hottest model of the year, and placed a nude Casta on the cover of their 'Hot' issue. Although this was not the first time the magazine had featured a nude celebrity on the cover, it was considered the most controversial issue.

In addition to Rolling Stone, Casta has graced the pages of many magazines, including the Italian edition of Glamour; Vogue; and Cosmopolitan, to name a few.

Guess? and Victoria's Secret weren't the only modeling contracts signed by Casta. She became a spokesperson for the cosmetics company L'Oreal in 1998, following the paths of fellow model Kate Moss and actress Jennifer Aniston.

One of the biggest highlights of Casta's career is her relationship with designer Yves St. Laurent. The designer has considered Casta an inspiration since 1998, and consequently the outfits Casta wears to public appearances are all personal Yves St. Laurent creations.

Her appearance in the exclusive Pirelli calendar -- considered a collector's item because of the beautiful shots of only the best photographers -- can also be considered one of Casta's accomplishments. The 1999 issue, themed "Women Through the Decades", features Casta as representative of the women of the 1950s. As if an illustrious modeling career wasn't enough, Casta has also taken her talents to the big screen in her feature film debut -- 1999's Astérix and Obélix -- the most expensive French film ever made, co-starring Gerard Depardieu and Oscar winner Roberto Benigni. Casta will also star in La Bicyclette Bleu (The Blue Bicycle), a three-part made-for-French TV movie set in World War II France.

filmography:

Grand appartement, Le (2006) .... Francesca
Déraison du Louvre, La (2006) .... La visiteuse
"Luisa Sanfelice" (2004) (mini) TV Series .... Luisa Sanfelice
Errance (2003) .... Lou
Rue des plaisirs (2002) .... Marion
Âmes fortes, Les (2001) .... Thérèse
Gitano (2000) .... Lucía Junco
"Bicyclette bleue, La" (2000) (mini) TV Series .... Léa Delmas
Asterix and Obelix Take on Caesar (1999) .... Falbala