She may be only 20-years-old, but Irish beauty Rozanna Purcell has accomplished a hell of a lot! From winning Miss Universe Ireland and becoming the first Irish model to be in the Top 15 of the Miss Universe contest, Roz is now living the dream in New York and has transformed in to a sexy young woman and a supermodel.
"Modelling was always something I was interested in but I wouldn't have pursued it if it wasn't for someone telling me to do it! I always wanted to model when I was younger but when I got to the age when everyone was starting to go to college, I thought it was a bit un-realistic. I never planned to be a model after that, but then one day I was shopping in Dundrum shopping centre and an agent came up to me and asked me to enter a modelling competition and that's how it all started!"Just like our current Miss Ireland, Emma Waldron, Roz was spotted in a public place, yes her beauty is that noticeable. Then in 2009, she came second in the Miss Universe Ireland competition, and came back fighting in the 2010 competition finally winning the title she deserved. Looking at Roz now she is the perfect model. With beautiful long flowing chocolate brown hair, ocean blue eyes, long slim figure and seductive lips she is every designers dream!
However, before Roz rose to her current model status she had some tough experiences to go through. After winning Miss Universe Ireland, she faced four weeks in Las Vegas, battling against 82 other women to secure the a place in the Top 15. I ask Roz did she think she had a chance of winning the competition:
"I didn't know if I'd go far when I was in Las Vegas. But I became one of the top favorites, so then I thought maybe I do have a chance"
The Irish beauty did make it in to the Top 15, but missed out on the Top 5. Everyone cried in-justice when Roz didn't get through, as her striking features and glowing beauty had everybody won over. But Roz says she's not too upset that she didn't make the Top 5:
"I was thinking at the time that everything happens for a reason, I wasn't disheartened about not being in the Top 5. I knew that maybe I was better off not getting through. There ended up being much more hype surrounding the fact that I didn't get in, then there would have been if I did"
Needless to say although Roz didn't officially win the competition she definitely came away with a life-changing prize. The day after the finals Roz received a call from none other then Donald Trump, and from that moment on her entire life would change. Donald Trump had hand-picked her to work for his modelling agency, and she was asked to move to New York:
"The next day after the finals, I got a phone call from the Miss Universe Organization saying that Donald Trump wanted me to come to New York and have a meeting with him. The Director of Trump's agency had met me earlier on in the competition and she said she was interested in taking me on. And he said he really liked me as well"
So far, everything Roz has told me sounds like a Hollywood movie, she got to meet Donald Trump in person where she says:
"It was so surreal. He was really nice though and chatted away, he was pretty normal."
Then she was whisked off to live in New York and now has a seriously buzzing career, so I have to ask her has her entire world changed? Surprisingly she says despite her huge success, she is still the exact same person:
"Yes, I haven't changed at all but my life has definitely changed."
It's great to see that Roz hasn't fallen in the life that most celebs lead. She's certainly not big headed and she's fully aware that hard work alone has got her to where she is today. She doesn't believe that she's simply just got 'lucky' for one second. And that's why I think she is so grounded, she didn't reach stardom out of nowhere, she's been working really hard on her career and has made a lot of sacrifices.
Roz is living a seriously fast-paced life now, modelling at all hours of the day, attending events and trying to keep fit, it sounds completely different to her life in Ireland. Before entering the Miss Universe contest, Roz was studying History and Politics in UCD, it seems she's a lifetime away from those days. Roz says life in the Big Apple is tough:
"I'm working all the time and there are a lot of early mornings. But the modelling industry over there is completely different. In New York modelling is just a career, there's no real interest in their social life. It's really really competitive there. There's a lot more models going for a lot more jobs and there's much more money involved."
When Roz is explaining the extreme competitiveness of the industry she has entered, I can't help but wonder how this young girl is coping with a career that most know can be full of bitchiness and serious pressure. However Roz says the harder the job, the more motivated she is:
"Even though it's extremely competitive that's what makes it more challenging, and I really want to do this. "
But I wasn't wrong in thinking that Roz is under a lot of pressure. Everybody knows that size zero is becoming more and more popular in the fashion industry, especially in the US. Although with a figure like our Miss Universe Ireland's there's no way bosses want her to lose weight, is there? Yes, amazingly there is. Roz admits that she deals with pressure to lose weight all the time:
"Yes there's even pressure on me. You have to be really, really, really skinny, they don't even want toned bodies, they just want skinny. I'm told to eat less, and they won't think twice about taking out their measuring tape and seeing if you've lost any weight. There is loads of pressure on me, it's really hard".I can't even begin to contemplate why anyone would tell the 5 foot 11" model to lose any weight. Her physique is amazing and her face is stunning, she looks like a Hollywood star worthy of the top fashion campaigns. It just goes to show what models have to deal with on a daily basis. I'm sure others can't handle the constant pressure, but behind Roz's delicate eyes there is definitely a strong confident woman that won't be messed around with.
So let's get down to the most important part of Roz's life... fashion! Yes, the 20-year-old was been thrown into one of the Fashion Capitals of the world, living the dream. Roz tells me that her favorite Designer has to be Marc Jacobs, a great choice I might add. But what style does she have herself? So many celebs claim to have an 'individual look' and try to differ from each fashion season, but Roz is completely honest with me:
"I usually just follow the trends. It depends on what I'm dressing for. On nights out I like to be casual. But I love to follow trends, whatever is out in Top Shop and other high street brands, I like to stick too."Thankfully there's a Top Shop in New York (opened by none other than Kate Moss) and luckily it's located in Soho, where Roz lives almost full time now. What would an Irish girl do without Top Shop, seriously??
When I meet Roz for our interview she is back in Ireland, and has been here at home for the last 4/5 weeks but it's the first time she's returned from New York since August! Although she's had a little bit of a break she's not off the hook yet! She'll be back to being a busy bee in two weeks time when she heads off to South Africa for an intense two months of modelling. So I ask Roz, with all the travelling involved and living permanently in New York, does she ever get homesick?
"I was never someone who would get home sick, but I do feel it now a little bit. After a while I start to miss people. I see my friends on Facebook and they're all in college, and especially around birthday's... I get really homesick then."
Next up I had to ask Roz how she keeps her body in such amazing shape, will all of the industry's eyes focused on her, how does she keep her beautiful physique intact? Roz says she likes to live a healthy lifestyle but she doesn't do any crash diets:
"I try to be healthy but even today I went out for lunch with a friend and we both had dessert, I'm not too strict. But I don't eat too much Pizza or Potatoes but I do have a really sweet tooth, so at the moment I'm trying to change from milk chocolate to dark chocolate!"
The most important thing for her body is to exercise, she tells me, managing her gym routines is easier than dieting and restricting her favorite foods:
"I also go to the gym most days and do yoga two or three times a week. I feel if I do exercise I can eat that little bit more!"
On top of her tight and toned body, Roz is blessed with flawless skin! Everyone has to struggle with weight but it's nearly impossible to get that clear, glowing luck. Roz says her parents are to thank for that:
"My skin luckily has always been clear. Even when I was younger and I was eating junk food. That must be genetics!"
With Roz Purcell being the first Irish contestant to get to the Top 15 of the Miss Universe contest, the next Miss Universe Ireland has some serious shoes to fill (tall, beautiful and sexy ones at that!). So I ask Roz what advice she has for the next girl trying to dominate the modelling world and go far in the competition. She gives me a completely honest answer, you have to be seriously determined:
"Don't do it unless you're willing to put 100% in and work really hard at it. Because it's not something that's easy to do, when you get over to Las Vegas it's no holiday, it's actually really hard. So you won't be able to do a good job unless you're willing to do your best at it."
Much like most jobs in the fashion/showbiz industry all is not what it seems. Roz sometimes works all day long, and has to get up seriously early, she also has to deal with huge amounts of pressure and constant travelling. She admits that any stories you may have heard about backstage bitchiness at pageants or fashion shows are probably all true.
So for the girl who thinks she can handle all of that, what does she need to have that can get her far? What boxes does she need to have ticked?
"It's not about looks, you just need to be determined to do it. If you think you are able to travel and you don't get easily home sick then go for it. Also personality is a huge aspect of the competition. The Top 15 of Miss Universe was judged on our personality and how we got on with people in the organization and what we were really like. It really is important to be nice. I noticed that some of the girls that weren't too nice didn't make it!"
So what's next for our Miss Universe Ireland? It's clear after speaking with her that she's a determined young woman and at the age of 20 she's already shown the world that she's versatile, hard working and strong willed. Roz admits that she's really enjoying her life right now and for now, college has been put on hold while she continues with her blossoming modelling career:
"It's on hold, I'm just kind of going with the flow at the moment and seeing where this takes me but I would like to go back eventually".
It's evident that Roz doesn't just have beauty on her side, but smarts too. She admits that she needs a career that will always provide new challenges, and right now modelling does that and more for her. But when I ask her where she would like to be in five years, she says she'd like to try out the media world:
"I'd like to get involved in the media. I love modelling but I'm sure after a few years this won't be as challenging anymore so I'd love to eventually go in to media, I'd love to work in TV or radio"
And with the experience she has had in the Fashion industry and definitely think she could have an amazing career in the media. Nobody would be stepping on her toes, that's for sure! I could definitely see Roz in a presenting position on TV, and I'm sure TV network's will be dying to grab her once she's free to do so.
"I read the book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne so my motto to life would be love and attraction, you get whatever you attract, so positive thinking is always important and you will attract everything good"
So there you have it guys and gals. The outstandingly gorgeous Irish beauty has truly become a global supermodel and she has a budding career ahead of her. As she continues to travel the world and do more amazing photo shoots, I expect to see her on billboards soon, working for the top fashion designers and doing campaigns for the most successful brands.
PS
PREVIOUS STARS:
- January Star Of The Month: Laura Whitmore
- December Star Of The Month: Miss Ireland - Emma Waldron
- November Star Of The Month: Conor J Ryan
- October Star Of The Month: Leanne Moore
- September Star Of The Month: Miss United Nations Ireland 2010 Sami Long
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