Morgan Featherstone
Encyclopedia
Morgan Featherstone is a fashion model based in Melbourne, Australia.
Featherstone's modeling career began at six months of age when she appeared in a national Australian Dairy Farmers cheese commercial and she quickly became one of Australia's top child models. She was the subject of controversy when, at 8 years of age, fashion photos of her were displayed around the world.
Featherstone's pictures were used to market goods in the Australian and Asian markets, but they generated a public backlash when her mature poses were seen as the naturalized sexualization of young girls' bodies. According to her parents looking older was not the intention.
The publicity generated helped to boost her career; she flew to Hollywood to audition for roles in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
and the drama Charmed
, and she was also signed with a cosmetics company in a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars and signed with model agents in Berlin
, Tokyo
and Los Angeles
.
She was also the subject of German and British documentaries, and signed a financial contract with Scottish documentary makers Wark Clements in 2004.
Featherstone was the youngest ever cover model on "Who Weekly" magazine (25 August 2003) and has also appeared on the covers of Australian magazines "New Idea
"(twice),"Woman's Day
", London's celebrity magazine "Celebs" (23 May 2004) and numerous others worldwide. Photos of Featherstone with celebrities such as Delta Goodrem
, Cameron Diaz
, Alyssa Milano
, Rose McGowan
, Kiss
, Cold Chisel
, the Veronicas, Anthony Mundine
and Brian McFadden
have appeared in numerous magazines around the world and Featherstone appears in a Gene Simmons
DVD being bounced playfully on Simmons knee. When asked about Featherstone Simmons replied "she will go on to big things, I'm sure of it". Featherstone is also an admirer of Simmons having stated in several interviews how she is impressed by his strong views against any use of drugs or alcohol.
Featherstone was used as the feature model in newspaper stories (Courier Mail
14/7/2006) based on research conducted which suggested good-looking people are more intelligent. The article highlighted her academic achievements countering suggestions that her modeling career would hamper her schoolwork. Despite intense media speculation that her modeling career would cause long-term harm to her development it appears from media articles that the opposite has occurred with journalists commenting on her friendly and down to earth personality.
This was highlighted in September 2007 when Featherstone appeared in a two-page article in Sydney
's Daily Telegraph (Daily Telegraph 20/9/2007) with the headline "From Child Model to Model Child" and on Channel 9
's "A Current Affair" highlighting her modeling and academic achievements and detailing her wishes to be involved in animal conservation. She rejected claims that her modeling career ruined her childhood and said she would be happy to stop modeling if it meant she could realize her dreams of working with animals.
In October 2007, Featherstone appeared in a two-page article in Australia
's Woman's Day
magazine (15 October 2007) where she stated she would never smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs. When asked what she would do when someone asked her to try them she replied she would tell them that "I haven't been hit by a car yet and I don't want to try that either".
In November 2007 Featherstone held a fashion parade in Brisbane
City that raised $10 000 for charity. Unconfirmed media reports have recently stated Featherstone is currently registering a charity to raise funds for under-privileged children. When asked about the charity Featherstone refused to confirm or deny the story and stated "I don't like to talk about things that haven't happened yet, particularly things that take so long to organise". In October 2009 Featherstone organised $5000 worth of prizes and personally sponsored the photography for the Downs Syndrome Association of Queensland's Annual Gala Ball.
Featherstone appeared on Australian current affairs program "Today Tonight
" (26 February 2008) in a story that labelled her as "Australia's youngest home owner" where she proudly showed off her 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house she was in the middle of renovating.
In the same week Featherstone's photo was used as a background photo on Australian television breakfast program "Sunrise
" for an interview with Doctor Karen Brooks about bad role models for children. Also featured in the interview were Paris Hilton
and Britney Spears
. Brooks has criticized Featherstone in the media about being a bad example for other children numerous times since 2003. Featherstone has stated that she has never met Brooks but "she is allowed to have her opinion about me. Miss Brooks has never asked to meet me but I would be happy to as I'm sure that she would rather base her assessments on me personally rather than on a photograph of me. I would like to think that my choices to not smoke, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs or swear would be looked at favourably but I respect that Doctor Brooks chooses to disagree". When asked whether this criticism upset her Featherstone replied "not at all, I don't worry when people say bad things about me. They don't know me and are only guessing. I'm happy with myself and my life and I hope they are as well".
Australian current affairs show "Today Tonight
" arranged for Featherstone (at her suggestion) to be assessed by Doctor Phil Jauncey, a renowned psychologist known for his work with leading sports stars, to determine whether her modelling career had been of any detriment to her with Jauncey stating that, in his opinion, "Morgan is a happy child and her career is doing her no harm" which contradicted Brooks opinion that Morgan (who she had never met) was destined for psychological harm due to her modeling career.
On 5 March 2008 Featherstone appeared in the Courier Mail
newspaper where she spoke strongly against drug use of any kind and criticised the Queensland Premier for announcing she had tried marijuana and didn't regret it. Featherstone stated that she would expect the Queensland Premier to regret doing anything that was against the law and that was so potentially harmful.
On 22 March 2008 Featherstone was interviewed on Australian radio where she was asked what models she admired, to which Featherstone replied "I don't admire models. Let's face it, it's not rocket science. It's fun work and you get paid well but I don't think modeling is something to be admired for".
Featherstone was used in stories on teenage models that appeared on Australian current affairs program "Today Tonight
" (11 April 2008 and 20 May 2008) along with 14 year old Polish model Monika Jagaciak
with both models being banned from appearing in Fashion Weeks due to their ages. Featherstone was again criticised for her involvement in the modeling industry and these concerns were heightened when Featherstone travelled to Hong Kong in June 2008 and appeared in numerous advertising campaigns which many critics believed portrayed Featherstone as being in her late teens. Local media referred to Featherstone as "Australia's supertween model".
Featherstone was featured on Australia's highest ranking television show "60 Minutes" (22 June 2008) where she spoke openly about her modeling career and how much she enjoyed it. In a related story Featherstone was asked what she thought of Brisbane
Fashion Week banning models under the age of 16 from the catwalk to which Featherstone replied "I'm happy to wait until I'm 16 to model older clothes. It really is no big deal".
Featherstone appeared on Australian current affairs show "Today Tonight
" (4 August 2008) as the featured model for a new hair straightener again raising concerns as to whether she was too young to be associated with such a product. It was also announced Featherstone would travel to France and Italy in April 2009 for model assignments.
In September 2010 Featherstone moved from her home-town of Brisbane to Melbourne and no longer models.
Featherstone's modeling career began at six months of age when she appeared in a national Australian Dairy Farmers cheese commercial and she quickly became one of Australia's top child models. She was the subject of controversy when, at 8 years of age, fashion photos of her were displayed around the world.
Featherstone's pictures were used to market goods in the Australian and Asian markets, but they generated a public backlash when her mature poses were seen as the naturalized sexualization of young girls' bodies. According to her parents looking older was not the intention.
The publicity generated helped to boost her career; she flew to Hollywood to audition for roles in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
and the drama Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, and she was also signed with a cosmetics company in a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars and signed with model agents in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
She was also the subject of German and British documentaries, and signed a financial contract with Scottish documentary makers Wark Clements in 2004.
Featherstone was the youngest ever cover model on "Who Weekly" magazine (25 August 2003) and has also appeared on the covers of Australian magazines "New Idea
New Idea
New Idea is a long-running Australian weekly magazine published by Pacific Magazines and aimed at women.-History:The magazine was first published in 1902 by Fitchett Bros. Southdown Magazines purchased Fitchett Bros...
"(twice),"Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
", London's celebrity magazine "Celebs" (23 May 2004) and numerous others worldwide. Photos of Featherstone with celebrities such as Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
, Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
, Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of...
, Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...
, the Veronicas, Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
and Brian McFadden
Brian McFadden
Brian Nicholas McFadden , is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the Irish boyband Westlife...
have appeared in numerous magazines around the world and Featherstone appears in a Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
DVD being bounced playfully on Simmons knee. When asked about Featherstone Simmons replied "she will go on to big things, I'm sure of it". Featherstone is also an admirer of Simmons having stated in several interviews how she is impressed by his strong views against any use of drugs or alcohol.
Featherstone was used as the feature model in newspaper stories (Courier Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
14/7/2006) based on research conducted which suggested good-looking people are more intelligent. The article highlighted her academic achievements countering suggestions that her modeling career would hamper her schoolwork. Despite intense media speculation that her modeling career would cause long-term harm to her development it appears from media articles that the opposite has occurred with journalists commenting on her friendly and down to earth personality.
This was highlighted in September 2007 when Featherstone appeared in a two-page article in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's Daily Telegraph (Daily Telegraph 20/9/2007) with the headline "From Child Model to Model Child" and on Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's "A Current Affair" highlighting her modeling and academic achievements and detailing her wishes to be involved in animal conservation. She rejected claims that her modeling career ruined her childhood and said she would be happy to stop modeling if it meant she could realize her dreams of working with animals.
In October 2007, Featherstone appeared in a two-page article in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
magazine (15 October 2007) where she stated she would never smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs. When asked what she would do when someone asked her to try them she replied she would tell them that "I haven't been hit by a car yet and I don't want to try that either".
In November 2007 Featherstone held a fashion parade in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
City that raised $10 000 for charity. Unconfirmed media reports have recently stated Featherstone is currently registering a charity to raise funds for under-privileged children. When asked about the charity Featherstone refused to confirm or deny the story and stated "I don't like to talk about things that haven't happened yet, particularly things that take so long to organise". In October 2009 Featherstone organised $5000 worth of prizes and personally sponsored the photography for the Downs Syndrome Association of Queensland's Annual Gala Ball.
Featherstone appeared on Australian current affairs program "Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
" (26 February 2008) in a story that labelled her as "Australia's youngest home owner" where she proudly showed off her 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house she was in the middle of renovating.
In the same week Featherstone's photo was used as a background photo on Australian television breakfast program "Sunrise
Sunrise (TV program)
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network. On weekdays the programme follows Seven Early News, and runs from 6am through to 9am.-History:...
" for an interview with Doctor Karen Brooks about bad role models for children. Also featured in the interview were Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
and Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
. Brooks has criticized Featherstone in the media about being a bad example for other children numerous times since 2003. Featherstone has stated that she has never met Brooks but "she is allowed to have her opinion about me. Miss Brooks has never asked to meet me but I would be happy to as I'm sure that she would rather base her assessments on me personally rather than on a photograph of me. I would like to think that my choices to not smoke, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs or swear would be looked at favourably but I respect that Doctor Brooks chooses to disagree". When asked whether this criticism upset her Featherstone replied "not at all, I don't worry when people say bad things about me. They don't know me and are only guessing. I'm happy with myself and my life and I hope they are as well".
Australian current affairs show "Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
" arranged for Featherstone (at her suggestion) to be assessed by Doctor Phil Jauncey, a renowned psychologist known for his work with leading sports stars, to determine whether her modelling career had been of any detriment to her with Jauncey stating that, in his opinion, "Morgan is a happy child and her career is doing her no harm" which contradicted Brooks opinion that Morgan (who she had never met) was destined for psychological harm due to her modeling career.
On 5 March 2008 Featherstone appeared in the Courier Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
newspaper where she spoke strongly against drug use of any kind and criticised the Queensland Premier for announcing she had tried marijuana and didn't regret it. Featherstone stated that she would expect the Queensland Premier to regret doing anything that was against the law and that was so potentially harmful.
On 22 March 2008 Featherstone was interviewed on Australian radio where she was asked what models she admired, to which Featherstone replied "I don't admire models. Let's face it, it's not rocket science. It's fun work and you get paid well but I don't think modeling is something to be admired for".
Featherstone was used in stories on teenage models that appeared on Australian current affairs program "Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
" (11 April 2008 and 20 May 2008) along with 14 year old Polish model Monika Jagaciak
Monika Jagaciak
Monika "Jac" Jagaciak is a Polish model. Since signing with IMG Models in 2007 Jagaciak has been given the nickname "Jac" by the agency.As of July 2011 Jagaciak currently ranks 8th on the Top 50 Models Women List by Models.com...
with both models being banned from appearing in Fashion Weeks due to their ages. Featherstone was again criticised for her involvement in the modeling industry and these concerns were heightened when Featherstone travelled to Hong Kong in June 2008 and appeared in numerous advertising campaigns which many critics believed portrayed Featherstone as being in her late teens. Local media referred to Featherstone as "Australia's supertween model".
Featherstone was featured on Australia's highest ranking television show "60 Minutes" (22 June 2008) where she spoke openly about her modeling career and how much she enjoyed it. In a related story Featherstone was asked what she thought of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
Fashion Week banning models under the age of 16 from the catwalk to which Featherstone replied "I'm happy to wait until I'm 16 to model older clothes. It really is no big deal".
Featherstone appeared on Australian current affairs show "Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
" (4 August 2008) as the featured model for a new hair straightener again raising concerns as to whether she was too young to be associated with such a product. It was also announced Featherstone would travel to France and Italy in April 2009 for model assignments.
In September 2010 Featherstone moved from her home-town of Brisbane to Melbourne and no longer models.