Francesca Rayder, or Frankie Rayder, was born on January 26 1975, in River Falls, Wisconsin, a small college town near the Minnesota border. Frankie Rayder grew up in the same community and never even thought of becoming a model. As a teenager, she went to Minneapolis, the closest big city to her hometown -- a move that would forever change her life. Frankie Rayder was approached by a model scout, who saw in an instant what all of us know by now: if she went into the fashion industry, she'd be extremely successful. Her looks and attitude were exactly what was selling in those days. "Why not?", she thought, and decided to give modeling a try. Frankie Rayder's big break came in 1992, when she met legendary photographer Steven Meisel. At first glance, Meisel fell head over heels in love with her singular appearance and cheery qualities. Such was his interest in the teenager's outstanding persona that he immediately booked her for a photo session, the first of many together. These first photos not only ended up in Italian Glamour magazine but she also made the cover.

This was the big break Frankie Rayder needed and it allowed her to go to Miami Beach, New York, Paris, London, and Milan, working for agencies such as Company, Women Model Management, Page 305, City Models, Take Two, Storm, and Why Not. This hot, new commodity was chosen to appear in print advertising for companies like Givenchy, Valentino, Lagerfeld, Extè, Chanel, Celine, Eres, Gucci, J. Mendel, Mondi, Dolce & Gabbana, Dia, Versace, DKNY, Jitrois, Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger. In New York, Frankie Rayder strutted her stuff on the catwalks for designers such as Anne Klein, Matthew Williamson, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, and Michael Kors. In Paris, Frankie Rayder modeled for such notable fashion houses as Chanel, Lagerfeld Gallery, Celine, John Galliano, Rochas, Martine Sitbon, Christian Dior, and YSL Rive Gauche. She has also worked in Milan for Fendi, Versace, Mila Shön, Cerruti, Alberta Ferretti, Dsquared2, Missoni, Byblos, Extè, and Amaya Arzuaga. Other companies she has worked for include Jeremy Scott, Alexander McQueen, Versus, Stella McCartney, Blumarine, Chloe, Givenchy, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Moschino, La Perla, Roberto Cavalli, Costume National, and MaxMara.