PARIS -- In the modeling world, there are tales of rags to riches -- and then there's the one about Marie de Villepin.
The 20-year-old daughter of French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is the new face of French fashion house Givenchy's latest fragrance, "Ange ou Démon" ("Angel or Demon"). And she walked down the runway for Italian brand Krizia at last week's Milan fashion shows.
Fashion houses say Ms. de Villepin's appeal is her aristocratic look. She is tall (5 feet 11 inches) and she has high cheekbones, thick pouty lips and a self-assured walk. Her famous name currently adds to her mystique, though she tried for a long time to keep it a secret. She still works under the pseudonym Marie Steiss, though the fashion press blew her cover some while ago.
The distinctly patrician name that makes Ms. de Villepin a fashion phenomenon is her father's Achilles' heel. A career diplomat, poet, and Napoleon biographer, Mr. de Villepin was scorned in the French press when he was appointed head of the center-right government two years ago without ever having held elective office.
Mr. de Villepin's clumsy handling of key labor issues has since served to emphasize his detached, upper-crust background. And after his lackluster performance as prime minister, Mr. de Villepin isn't running in France's forthcoming elections.
That's just as well for Ms. de Villepin's career since she can finally promote her modeling here without worrying about how publicity might hurt her father politically.
"There's less pressure on my dad because he's not running in the presidential elections, so I took an agency in Paris," Ms. de Villepin said. Mr. de Villepin did not reply to a request for comment. "I did everything I could to dissuade her," Mr. de Villepin said in October, according to news agencies. "But it seems she's doing it, and that she's talented."
