Niki Taylor, whose photo can be admired in the article, was born on March 5, 1975. She first tried herself as a model at the age of 13. She appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine two years later, becoming the youngest model. She was the face of Cover Girl, Nokia. Having first married at the age of 19, Taylor became a mother a year later. In 1995, her beloved sister Chrissy died of heart disease. The model itself was seriously injured in a car accident in 2001.
Biography
Niki Taylor was the middle of three daughters. She grew up in a modest suburban home in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Her father, Ken Taylor, was a patrol officer and her mother, Barbara, was a real estate agent. In 1989, Taylor's mother sent photos of her daughter to modeling agencies, eventually getting her to work with Irene Marie, Miami's leading agency. At the age of 14, she participated in her first shoot.
Niki Taylor's parentsleft work and took turns accompanying her. When they could not devote time to their daughter's studies, she was seen off by relatives or members of the team. By then, they had hired an agent, lawyers, and a publicist, and formed a company to invest her money. Barbara Taylor invited older sister Nicky Joel and younger Kristen (Chrissy) to one of the first photo shoots. Within a year, Chrissy began her own modeling career and appeared on the cover of Seventeen along with her sister.
Niki Taylor signed a multi-million dollar contract with L'Oreal at the age of 16, and a little later with Cover Girl. She became the youngest face ever to appear on the cover of Vogue and made her first million by the age of 16.
Private life
At 19, she fell in love with Matt Martinez, a semi-professional soccer player, and they eloped in 1994. By the age of 20, she had given birth to twin boys, Hunter and Jake. During pregnancy, she gained 30 kilograms, but returned to the modeling business three months after the birth of the children. Height and weight Niki Taylor - 180 cm and 59 kg.
Marriage ended in divorce two years later.
In 2006, she married racing driver Bernie Lamar, the couple had two children.
Tragic death of sister
The model's life was marred by tragedy when she discovered the lifeless body of her younger sister Chrissy at her parents' home on July 2, 1995. Initially, the cause of death was thought to be an asthma attack, it was later discovered that Chrissy had a rareheart disease - right ventricular dysplasia.
In later years, Taylor shortened her filming schedule in order to spend more time with her twins. With her appearance in the Sport Illustrated issue, Taylor's popularity soared, she became one of the most famous models of the 90s. By 2001, she traveled only four to six days a month to New York and worked exclusively for Cover Girl and Nokia (a cell phone company).
She preferred to live in her home in Florida rather than move to New York or Los Angeles. Soon Niki Taylor began to abuse drugs. Her problems began with Xanax, prescribed for her anxiety disorder, and then she switched to the painkiller Vicodin. There were times when she fell asleep in restaurants, so in February 2001, Taylor enrolled in a 28-day rehab program in Maryland.
Traffic injuries
April 29, 2001 was another ordeal in Niki Taylor's life. She was one of two passengers in a 1993 Nissan Maxima driven by her friend James "Chad" Renegar, a stockbroker. He crashed into a pole on a quiet street in Atlanta. Renegar told police he lost control of the car when he reached for a ringing cell phone. No drugs or alcohol were reportedly found on the driver. Both Renegar and another passenger, John Lauck, a banker, escaped serious injury, but Taylor ended up with internal bleeding, severe liver damage, and a broken vertebra.
Bduring the first few weeks her condition was severe. Her slow recovery included 40 surgical procedures over the next four months. Taylor left Grady Memorial Hospital on June 26, 2001 and moved into a private rehab facility in Atlanta. After so many weeks of intensive care, she needed rehabilitation. The biggest motivator was her sons, who were cared for by their father during her absence.
Finally, on July 17, 2001, Niki Taylor returned to her sons. After this incident, she practically ceased to be interested in a modeling career. In her own words, work is just work, and she is more interested in life. Later that year, she made her first public appearance since her accident, hosting the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.
