Samantha Drew Higdon "From Grief to Grace"

Vogue Italia

Vogue Italia

This five-foot-nine-inch model, Samantha Drew Higdon, began her career at age 15 with Barbizon Midwest of Traverse City, MI. At 16 she was selected to attend the prestigious International Modeling and Talent Association in Los Angeles where she received awards in make-up, TV Beauty, Commercial, and Fashion Print. Samantha received over 30 call backs.

DEVASTATION TAKES HOLD

But her career came to a sudden hault when the day after the convention her younger sister, Sarah, was tragically killed in a snowmobile accident.

According to an interview Higdon conveyed, "Everything just came to a stand still and I just put everything on hold." She later enrolled in Michigan Technological University to study Environmental Science. "Modeling was still on my mind, but coming to California wasn't everything I thought about. I wanted to be a biologist."

OVERCOMING TRAGEDY

Samantha Drew/Ford Models

Samantha Drew
"Old Navy"

By age 19, Samantha Drew appeared in the Italian Vogue (photos above), which features the world's most avant-garde fashions by the world's top designers. The shoot was an advetorial for Fendi, an Italian luxury fashion house. Besides the "Vogue Italia" magazine, she has modeled for jewelers, independent designers, and even small stores in Canada.

SAMANTHA DREW TODAY

We could post tons of beautiful fashion and commercial photos, as well as runway images. But we thought it best, to allow Samantha to convey the art herself.

Samantha Drew/Photography Arturo Paulino

To Samantha,

Where they end and where we begin is often so seamless, the loss of a sibling can be a crippling blow to our understanding of who we are and how we function and relate to others. To have allowed yourself to rise from grief into this world, more beautiful and successful then ever, is forever empowering and inspirational to everyone around you. We are so proud.

For more on Samantha check out her website: http://samanthadrew.net