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Jennifer Starr is an American casting director best known for her unique style of “street casting” which sent her around the world with a Polaroid camera in hand discovering models for some of the most recognized ad campaigns from iconic fashion brands including Calvin Klein, Versace, Banana Republic, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and The Gap.

Starr was born in NYC and moved to Miami when she was 14 years old where she attended the Ransom Everglades School. When she was just 9 her mother moved her and her brother to the British West Indies for two years where she attended Codrington School in Barbados. When Starr was 17 she met the location director of Miami Vice and started finding locations for the show. A year later, fashion photographer Bruce Weber asked her to find private homes for a Calvin Klein Obsession photo shoot. Starr stayed on as a production assistant until leaving for the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she received a BA in Sociology in 1992.

After College Starr was hired by Bruce Weber as a casting director and soon was traveling the world with a polaroid camera in hand finding fresh faces for his Versace, Abercrombie and Fitch and Banana Republic campaigns. She discoverd famous faces such as Iván de Pineda on a movie line in Argentina and he was soon opposite Stella Tennant in a Versace campaign. She found Adolfo Cambioso and Bartolome Coastagnola on the Polo fields for the same campaign. She cast mechanic Jenny Shimizu and Madonna's then girlfriend Ingrid Casares in a Banana Republic campaign. Under Weber's tutelage, Starr cast Bridget Hall and Tyson Beckford for Ralph Lauren.

In 1996 Starr left Weber to start her own casting company. At Kelly Klein’s Pool Book launch party in Miami Weber introduced Starr to fashion icon Calvin Klein. Starr then worked closely with Klein for the next decade to cast his campaigns and contract models. Calvin asked her to find someone with the looks and charm of Christopher Atkins from the Blue Lagoon movie and she found Travis Fimmel, the first male model to secure a six figure contract to work exclusively for Calvin Klein. In 2011 Starr was asked to cast 26 kids from around the Globe for Calvin Klein’s biggest marketing campaign to date, launching CK1 as a lifestyle brand. Photographed by Steven Meisel with the creative direction of Fabian Baron, this was Rita Ora, Sky Ferrara and Cassie Ventura’s first foray into modeling.

In 1996 Starr also got a phone call while she was surfing in Costa Rica from Richard Avedon. Avedon asked Starr to travel around the world to find the most beautiful women for his 1997 edition of the Pirelli Calander titled WOMEN OF THE WORLD. Starr then went on to cast the next 18 Pirelli Calendars, the most of any casting director, working with photographers including Peter Beard, Herb Ritts, Peter Lindbergh and Annie Leibowitz.

In 1998 Starr went to Milan to cast her first fashion show for Jil Sander. Starr loved how different casting live shows were from advertising campaigns. She then cast critically acclaimed shows for Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Victoria Beckham, and Narciso Roadriquez. Starr stood next to Ralph Lauren for almost 20 years casting his fashion shows and ad campaigns including contract models Tanga Moreau and Gisele Bündchen. She also starting working with Steven Meisel street casting real couples for Dolce & Cabana. In a ground breaking campaign, straight and gay couples were captured very tenderly.

In 1999 Starr was asked by Yvonne Force to enlist the models for Vanessa Beecroft’s breakout performance at the Guggenheim museum called SHOW where 15 women were instructed to stand naked in the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum for two and a half hours. The performance put Beecroft on the cover of Art Forum.

In 2008 Starr was a judge on the hit Bravo TV show, Make Me a Super Model.

As Instagram and social media became part of the fashion and brand equation several years ago, Starr found the need for a more authentic story and encouraged brands to embrace substance by working with influencers who truly had something to say. She was always attracted to the story and to the person.

In early 2018 Starr cast Lizzo in ModCloth's “say it louder” campaign highlighting body inclusivity and celebrating individuality. This was Lizzo’s first ad campaign. Starr continues her groundbreaking work, recently casting Adam Driver, Julia Garner, Andra Day and Ciara for The Gap.