Galway girl is new queen of the catwalk

When Rebecca O’Donovan was a young girl, she was always keen to grab the limelight. In family photos, she would manage to sneak into the shot, even when not invited.

And by the time the Castlegar girl had reached secondary school she did a summer camp in modelling, keen to learn the tricks of the catwalk.

At 15, attending an Ed Sheeran concert in Dublin, it almost seemed like it was her destiny when she was approached by a scout asking if she was interested in signing up for modelling.

Leah Hibbert is what is called a ‘mother agent’ – somebody who scouts for new talent, becomes their manager and gets new models signed up to agencies.

“For a bright eyed-teenager it was a huge thing. I was about to get braces and immediately thought it would ruin my career before it had begun. She took photos, gave me a card and answered questions so that by the time I went back to my parents I could answer all of theirs.”

Leah rang her mother Brenda and they agreed that Rebecca would travel to London to investigate the possibility of signing to an agency.

At 5’10” and size eight, pale with light brown hair, Rebecca had the ‘classic beauty’ look.

Instead of exploring life’s options in Transition Year in Taylor’s Secondary School in Salthill, Rebecca found herself living in London at 16.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app

The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City  and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.