Niki Taylor This hazel-eyed, blonde-haired beauty is only in her early thirties, but already considers herself essentially retired from a long and prosperous career in modeling. Supermodel Niki Taylor, born Nicole Renee Taylor on March 5, 1975, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has reportedly chosen motherhood over modeling. The famous ex-Cover Girl model began her journey as a model at the tender age of thirteen. Niki is the child of Ken and Barbie—or Ken and Barbara Taylor—and has two sisters: the older Joelle, and the younger Kristen, who actually died in 1995 at only seventeen from a heart condition called arrhytmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. Niki Taylor says that as a child she always wanted to become a model, and at age thirteen, she was granted that wish when she was able to sign on with a Florida modeling agency. Soon after, Taylor connected with renowned photographer Jean Renard, who later became her modeling manager, which led the young aspiring model to win New York City’s Fresh Faces contest in addition to a $500,000 modeling contract, both of which propelled her into the competitive and fast-paced world of modeling and garnered her international recognition as a young teen model.
Taylor officially became a professional model at only fourteen years old, and just two years later, had become a world-renowned millionaire after having launched Niki, Inc., her own company, of which she was president. She graced the cover of Seventeen, and then when she actually turned seventeen, Taylor landed the coveted cover spot on Vogue magazine. In May 1996, at twenty-one years old, Taylor accomplished what is now known as the “Niki Six,” in which she hit the covers of six popular women’s magazines all in that one month: including Vogue, ELLE, Allure, Shape, and Self. Taylor has a collection of other notable accomplishments under her modeling belt, including landing a spot in People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 1991, and she also managed to snag the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue for three consecutive years in 1997, 1998, and 1999. However, Taylor is probably most known for her major contract with cosmetics conglomerate Cover Girl, and for becoming one of the most popular Cover Girl models ever, alongside supermodel Christie Brinkley, and other models such as Tyra Banks, Faith Hill, Brandy, Queen Latifah, Molly Sims, and Rihanna. Taylor signed a contract for Cover Girl when she was eighteen, and when on to model for and endorse for other major companies such as L’Oréal, Liz Claiborne, and Pantene, among others.
Taylor is also known for having two major health issues in 2001: one for attending rehab for her Vicodin addiction; and the other for her recovery including more than fifty operations as well as extensive physical therapy, following a major car accident in which the model sustained a collapsed lung, severe liver damage, and was also unconscious for six weeks. In 1994, she married Matt Martinez, a football player, and the couple had twin boys born that year although divorced two years later. Taylor then participated in a romance with noted Australian country singer Keith Urban, who is currently married to Nicole Kidman and also in rehab for drug addiction, for three years, until 2005. But then in 2006 she married NASCAR driver Burney Lamar. Although she has very little to do with modeling these days, Taylor is a busy wife and very focused and dedicated mother. In addition to raising her children she runs a French colonial home in Tennessee, recently opened a clothing store, and is involved with the Begin Foundation for the Advancement of Women in Business organization, which she founded. YUDDY |
