When Kim Basinger was 16 years old, she started her modelling career by entering and winning the Athens Junior Miss contest. She followed that up by winning the title of “Junior Miss Georgia.” Basinger then headed to New York City to compete in the national Junior Miss pageant. It was there that Basinger was approached by fashion modeling mogul Eileen Ford, who offered the young beauty queen a modeling contract with Ford Modeling Agency. Initially turning down the offer in favor of singing and acting, Basinger reconsidered and headed back to New York to become a Ford model.