Baldness no barrier for Kiwi model

She's beautiful, young and Kiwi - and some of the world's top international modelling agencies want her.

Oh, and she's clinically bald.

Eighteen-year-old model Anna Fitzpatrick's smooth, hairless head may look like a stunt for an edgy fashion shoot, but it is in fact a result of an autoimmune disease called alopecia, which results in permanent hair loss.

It affects around 2 per cent of pre-menopausal and 15 per cent of post-menopausal women in New Zealand, and the condition hit headlines a few years ago when stress caused Princess Caroline of Monaco to suffer from nervous alopecia.

Diagnosed at age 7, Ms Fitzpatrick said there were many times when she struggled to deal with it, especially at school. But she now prefers to focus on the positives.

"I've had time to get used to it. I don't see anything bad with it now. I make money out of it, I can wear whatever hairstyle I like, I never have to shave my legs," says Ms Fitzpatrick, whose condition affects her whole body.

Approached by the 62Models agency booker when she was just 14 years old, Ms Fitzpatrick said she had received nothing but encouragement from her colleagues in the appearance-obsessed fashion world, and is asked to model bald more often than with hair.

Ms Fitzpatrick is currently in Sydney for Australian Fashion Week and she plans to head to London next month where the famous Storm Agency - the machine that groomed Kate Moss - has expressed interest in the Auckland native.

"It's a bit scary. You never know how it'll be. They will either love you or hate you. You live your modelling life week by week, but I'm going to give it a go."


- HERALD ON SUNDAY