THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411230088
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
MENTION THE NAME Jenny Brunt and the response you'll get is a glassy-eyed stare, followed by a ``Jenny who?''.
Identify her as the Revlon model in the ``I'm too sexy'' commercial and smiles of recognition light people's faces.
Although not yet a household name, Jenny is following in the footsteps of her peers, models who don't need to attach their last names to their first: Cindy, Claudia.
In Hampton Roads recently to promote Revlon's Ultima II products and the new fragrance ``Head Over Heels,'' Jenny arrived while hurricane warnings loomed over us.
Clad in a 2-piece pink boucle short suit by Gianni Versace and matching Pepto-Bismol pink shoes, the model arrived at Leggett's Revlon counter amid a flurry of excitement. She wouldn't let a bit of bad weather dampen her spirits.
``I didn't bring the weather with me from England,'' she joked to the small crowd brave enough to show up.
They wanted to know more about her. How old are you (25), how tall are you (5'9''), are you married (engaged to a photographer named Don), are you going to have children (yes, in a few years), what do you eat (lots of fruits and vegetables).
Then, they stood politely in line for autographs - the teeny-boppers who dream of their own fame, the star-struck housewives, the aging gentleman who said that Jenny was his ``idol.''
What makes a model who has uttered but a few scripted words to the world via television endearing to her fans is a mystery. Perhaps it's the absence of words or perhaps it's just that fabulous pout.
Born in England, Brunt was spotted by a London Fashion College vice president where she was studying fashion design. He recommended that she'd try her hand at modeling.
She signed with the Elite Modeling Agency and made Paris her home for four years. She is fluent in French.
``I am very lucky,'' she says, of the turn her career has taken, ``I don't believe that I am better than anybody else. . . I am just really, really lucky.''
Lucky enough, indeed, to have landed a major contract with Revlon's Ultima II line of cosmetics.
Revlon, being one of the most coveted prizes any model could win, guarantees major exposure, major money and, surely, a foot in celebritydom's door. Look what it did for Cindy.
``I love to be in front of the camera,'' she says. ``I have great fun.''
And it shows. It's her spunkiness and freshness that distinguish her from other models who may take their beauty a bit too seriously.
Take away the trappings of fashion biz and her designer clothes and what you have is the girl-next-door who is surely more at ease in jeans and a T-shirt.
Fresh, fun and friendly, she is certainly no great mysterious beauty. She seems almost baffled by her new-found celebrity status, acting more like a cheerleader to her audience than the celebrity that she is fast becoming.
Like many other models who know that their careers are short-lived, Brunt already is branching out in a new direction. She has hosted a Canadian fashion show (``Ooh-La-La'') and started co-hosting on MTV.
``I am not worried about my career,'' she says. ``I am still working a lot.''
Brunt says that she doesn't pattern herself on any other model but, she adds, ``I have a lot of respect for models like Linda Evangelista, who is a chameleon in the business and for Cindy Crawford who has managed to turn a modeling career into a television-hosting one.''
In a system that's turning models into glamorous stars, Brunt knows that she needs to arm herself with business savvy if she wants to succeed.
``It's funny, I'm always mad at the image models have,'' she says. ``I think that to manage and build a career successfully and to be on top of what you do, you have to be smart.
``I have a lot of friends that are models and they are all smart.''
And as smarts go - Brunt gave some smart advice to those who wanted to know more about a career in modeling.
``Stay in school,'' she said, ``and finish school.''
She also gave a dose of reality to those who do not have the physical attributes to be models and who may try.
``If you're 5'4'', you can't be a model - and I'd be very weary about people who charge a billion dollars for a portfolio.''
What's next for Brunt?
Following the success of ``I'm too sexy'' commercials, she is poised to launch another Revlon product - the nature of which she wouldn't reveal. She would only say the commercial would be ``fun and sexy.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jenny Brunt is the model featured in Revlon's ``I'm too sexy''
commercial. by CNB