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Niki Taylor: South Florida
built 176 days ago
Niki's full name is Nicole Renee Taylor. She was raised in Fort Lauderdale and as a child she dreamed of becoming a model. Her dream came true at age 13 when she was accepted onto the books of a Florida agency, going on to win a Fresh Faces contest in New York. Her prize was a $500,000 modelling contract. By the age of 16, she was a millionaire and president of her own company, Niki, Inc. At one point... Niki had planned to become a marine biologist (she has a tattoo of a dolphin on her ankle, as well as others such as a sun on her foot). Despite her rocketing modelling career, Niki continued with her education.
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Taylor grew up wanting to be a model and at age 13, she signed with Irene Marie Models in South Florida. There she met up with photographer Jean Renard who became her manager. She subsequently won a Fresh Faces contest in New York City and a $500,000 modeling contract. She began professional modeling at the age of 14 and two years later Taylor was a millionaire and president of her own company, Niki, Inc. Her first magazine cover was an issue of Seventeen and at 17, she graced the cover of Vogue, becoming the youngest model to do so. She has over 400 worldwide magazine covers to her credit and her six covers of Allure, Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire, Self, and Shape, all in the month of May 1996, have become known as the "Niki Six." She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1991 and appeared in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, as well as on the 1998 cover of their swimsuit calendar.
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Despite the years of attention she received as a model, Taylor's friends still described her as "down-to-earth" and "unaffected," choosing to remain in her Florida home rather than move to New York or Los Angeles. However, Taylor suffered from an abuse of prescription drugs. Her problems started with a prescription to Xanax for general anxiety and progressed to the painkiller Vicodin. Several people reported incidents in which she fell asleep at restaurants, and in February of 2001, Taylor checked herself into a 28-day rehabilitation program in Maryland.
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Taylor knew she wanted to be a model at a very young age and at 13, she signed with a Florida modeling agency. She later met photographer Jean Renard who became her manager. He sent pictures of Taylor to the newly formed agency called Spectrum. She then competed in and won Spectrum's "Fresh Faces" contest in New York City and a $500,000 modeling contract.
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After more than 50 surgeries to repair her body, Taylor, who was living in her native Florida at the time of the accident, says she needed a fresh start. She moved to Tennessee after falling in love with the area during a visit.
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