A SINGLE snap, killer cheekbones or piercing eyes can turn an ‘ordinary’ person into a global obsession overnight.
From viral mugshot star Jeremy Meeks and “the most beautiful girl in the world” Thylane Blondeau, to celebs like Michelle Keegan, being good looking can open doors…but it can also come at a cost.
Behind the glossy pictures, brand deals and millions of followers lies a much darker reality…
Dubbed the “world’s hottest felon,” Jeremy Meeks turned a 2014 viral mugshot into a modelling career with the likes of Tommy Hilfiger – and amassed an estimated a £3.7million fortune.
But long before the fame, his story was far from glamorous.
In 2002, the 42-year-old from Washington State was charged with robbery and violently assaulting a 16-year-old boy when he was 18.
He later accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to two years in a California prison. However, he ended up spending nine years in jail.
More than a decade later, in June 2014, Jeremy was charged again, this time with gun possession and resisting arrest. It was this arrest that unexpectedly thrust him into the spotlight after police shared his mugshot on Facebook – an image that quickly went viral.
He was jailed once more and was released from Mendota Federal Correctional Institution on March 8, 2016, but behind bars, the sudden surge of attention was overwhelming.
“I was probably getting 300 letters a day – and it was just too much,”he explained, speaking on the Matthew Cox True Crime podcast.
“I’m getting naked pictures, I’m getting money orders, movie opportunities. While I was in the feds, I signed a deal with a management agency.”
Strangers even attempted to visit him in prison, forcing him to turn them away before they reached him.
“I’m like, ‘I don’t know who that person is’… I can see them through the glass and I’m like, ‘I don’t know who that person is’.”
With visits capped at three per week, the attention came at a personal cost – limiting precious time with his own family.
“My son’s five years old and he doesn’t understand why I’m not home, and he needs to see me,” he said. “So, I’m just gonna ask that you, please, don’t come back.”
Meanwhile, Thylane Blondeau, who is the daughter of former French footballer Patrick Blondeau and actress/TV presenter Veronika Loubry, was just six when she was labelled “the most beautiful girl in the world.”
With piercing blue eyes and tousled hair, she was already on the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier aged four and by 10, she became the youngest model to appear in Vogue Paris – a shoot that sparked outrage for “sexualising” a child.
Despite going on to lead campaigns with Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, L’Oréal Paris, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss, Thylane has repeatedly rejected the title that defined her childhood, insisting she’s more than just a face.
“When you’re small, you don’t really pay attention,” she said, speaking to The Telegraph. “People are like, ‘you know, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world,’ and you’re like, ‘I’m not, I’m just playing with my iPad.’
“Even today, people are like, ‘you are the most beautiful girl,’ and I’m like, ‘no, I’m still not, I’m just a human being, a teenager.’”
Even today, scrutiny hasn’t eased. After stepping out at Paris Fashion Week, Thylane has faced constant speculation over her appearance.
“‘I know that in this generation people tend to do things very early, but I’ve never touched anything,” Thylane, who is now engaged to Ben Attal, said.
“You can look at photos of me when I was younger nothing has changed.
“People love to compare and make things up but just because I wear makeup or use a lip liner doesn’t mean I’ve had my lips or face done.
“At some point we need to stop with that.”
Then there’s Stefan-Pierre Tomlin – aka “Mr Tinder” – who racked up 14,600 right swipes, making him the app’s most desired man in 2017.
While he was receiving around 40 matches a day, he admitted that fewer than five per cent ever led to a meaningful conversation.
Things only got worse when he “shot to fame” in 2017.
While his devilishly handsome good looks resulted in him modelling for Burberry, they quickly became a disadvantage when it came to the dating game and led to “inauthentic interactions.”
“My success with dating apps plummeted after I became Mr Tinder,” Stefan-Pierre said. “It stopped being about connection – people were swiping on me for what I represented, not who I am.”
And it’s not just viral stars who feel the pressure…
Michelle Keegan – who shot to fame as Tina McIntyre on Coronation Street – has long tried to shake off the “sexy” label that followed her career.
The 38-year-old – who won the Sexiest Woman soap award 12 times and was named FHM’s sexiest woman in the world in 2015 – has spoken of how frustrating she found the “judgement” of her appearance while her hard hitting storylines weren’t recognised.
“It was embarrassing,” she said in an interview with The Observer. “Because I was in a lot of heavy storylines…and then at the end of it, when the accolade was sexiest female, it was so frustrating.”
She also admitted feeling pressure to pose for men’s magazines, even when it made her uncomfortable.
“Yes, I felt pressure and I am a bit of a people pleaser, I try to go with the flow,” she explained. “But there was something in me that was like, ‘I really don’t want this. I don’t want to be on the front cover in my underwear.’ So, eventually, I gathered the courage to say no.”
Even supermodel Cara Delevingne has spoken of feeling “hollow” under the pressure of perfection.
With her striking looks, bold brows and cheeky charm, she shot to global fame in 2011 as the 18-year-old face of Burberry and went on to front campaigns for Saint Laurent, Dior, Calvin Klein and Chanel.
She also twice scooped “Model of the Year” at the British Fashion Awards, but for Cara, being labelled “pretty” wasn’t empowering.
“Modelling just made me feel a bit hollow after a while. It didn’t make me grow at all as a human being. And I kind of forgot how young I was…I felt so old,” she said in an interview with The Times when she was aged 23.
Now 33, Cara, who has previously told how she checked into rehab and began a 12-step programme to break free of drink and drugs, revealed things are even worse for younger models.
“I am a bit of a feminist and it makes me feel sick,” she said. “It’s horrible and it’s disgusting…we’re talking about] young girls. You start when you are really young and you do, you get subjected to … not great stuff.”
The pressure didn’t just stay on the surface.
“I was, like, fight and flight for months,” she added. “Just constantly on edge. It is a mental thing as well because if you hate yourself and your body and the way you look, it just gets worse and worse.”
