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by | Mar 28, 2018 | Petasites

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Kelsey Alaine Merritt (born October 1, 1996) is a Filipino-American[1] model best known for being the first Filipina to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show[2] and to appear in the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[3]

Life and career

Merritt was born on October 1, 1996, in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines to a Filipina mother and American soldier father of French, German, British and Irish descent who was semi-retired in Clark, Angeles City.[4] In May 2017, she graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Metro Manila, with a degree in communications.[5] She has been modelling in the Philippines from a young age and is currently based in New York City and Los Angeles.

During her career in the Philippines, she did commercials with Palmolive, San Miguel Light, clothing brand Kashieca, and posed for numerous magazine covers. After finishing her studies she moved to New York where she signed with Wilhelmina.[6][7] On October 9, 2019, Kelsey posted on her Instagram that she signed with her new management, The Society in New York City.

In 2018, she walked for in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York and was announced to be the first Filipino-American model to walk the runway. It was also her first ever runway show.[8][9]

She was featured in the pages of the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[3]

On June 13, 2020, she signed her contract with the Viva Artists Agency.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Meet Kelsey Merritt, the 21-year-old who will make history as the first Filipino woman to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show". INSIDER. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Kelsey Merritt Responds to Being Called a "White Passing" Filipino Victoria's Secret Model". Teen Vogue. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. ^ a b James, Xandria (February 16, 2019), Drumroll, Please! Kelsey Merritt Is the Latest SI Swimsuit Rookie, retrieved April 30, 2019
  4. ^ "Kelsey Merritt Just Learned More About Her Ancestry". Cosmopolitan Philippines.
  5. ^ "7 Things to Know About Kelsey Merritt, the First Filipino Model in the VS Fashion Show". Teen Vogue. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "KELSEY MERRITT Wilhelmina". www.wilhelmina.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Kelsey Merritt felt self-conscious around English-speaking classmates in Ateneo". GMA News. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  8. ^ Vogue (November 13, 2018), Victoria's Secret Model Kelsey Merritt's Guide to Freckles & Better Brows | Beauty Secrets | Vogue, retrieved November 16, 2018
  9. ^ Yam, Kimberly (November 12, 2018). "First Filipina Victoria's Secret Show Model Fielded Criticism For Being 'White-Passing'". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kelsey Merritt joins Viva's roster of talents". Rappler. June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.

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