One look at the reality show Top Model may make you realize that there’s no shortage of young girls who would do anything to become a model.
While the lifestyle of a model is often imagined as a life of leisure and luxury, rarely do we ever get a glimpse at the downside of the modeling industry—that is, until last week when ABC aired their Nightline special called “A Model Life.”
In the investigative show, cameras follow model scouts Mary and Jeff Clarke as they scour pumpkin patches, fashion malls and Jonas Brother concerts for potential models that they can cash in on.
The couple or “professional stalkers,” as they refer to themselves, discovered Ashton Kutcher in 1997 at a bar Iowa as well as a then 13-year-old Karlie Kloss at a model search for a charity fashion show in St. Louis.
Once Mary and Jeff find a model that they believe will be successful, they invite them to live in their house, where the couple will feed, train, and provide an allowance in exchange for 10 percent of the model’s potential earnings throughout her career.
While the girls are participating in their “training” sessions, they are only allowed to eat celery, carrots, water, and egg whites and are required to workout several times a day to burn it all off and meet the proper measurement requirements.
In the promotional segment promoted by Good Morning America (above), Mary Clarke insists that they are not pushing these girls down a dangerous path because she constantly stresses to them how important it is to stay healthy whilst going through their boot camp training.
Healthy or not, this segment certainly sheds some light on what goes on off the runway.
If you missed this fascinating segment, you can watch the show in its entirety here.
