Australian model Mary Vitinaros is drawing comparisons with Megan Gale

She gets mobbed in the streets of Greece but is unknown when she returns home. Meet Mary Vitinaros – Australia’s next Megan Gale.

This Australian beauty is a household name in Greece, but virtually unknown in her home country.

Meet Mary Vitinaros – the Aussie who is mobbed in the streets of Athens by fans, eager to catch a glimpse of the striking and statuesque 31-year-old, yet she can easily fly under the radar in Australia.

While the term “one to watch” is thrown around freely, Vitinaros is the real deal with top agencies in Australia anticipating big things for the Melbourne-born blonde who, after seven years overseas, has returned with the hope of forging an equally successful career on home turf. Vitinaros’ modelling career started in 2017 after being scouted by multiple agents.

“When I was younger I wanted to be a tennis player,” she says. “I was very sporty and went to a tennis school, and I actually had an Australian ranking in women’s tennis.

“But then I kept getting scouted when I was younger wherever I went, like at tennis camps or shopping with mum, so I thought I should see what it is about and I loved it.

“But I made sure I finished school, went to uni. I got a degree, worked in an office, but realised I really loved modelling.”

Victorian Miss Universe Contestants in 2013: Mary Vitinaros, Natasha Leevi Harris, Chontelle Berryman, Sarah Macleod Bourke, Olivia Wells, Sarah Czarnuch, Saasha Burns.

In her first few years as a model in Australia, Vitinaros achieved middling success, having placed fourth runner-up in Miss Universe Australia, made a brief appearance on Project Runway, walked for a few David Jones and Melbourne Fashion Week shows, and worked for brands including Nine West, Swisse, SuperDry and Bardot.

However she never really cracked the Australian market or made it to the heights of top models including Miranda Kerr, Elle Macpherson and Gemma Ward.

That didn’t stop an ambitious Vitinaros from trying to make her mark in another country. She headed to New York where she started to gain momentum. It was there she worked for Ralph Lauren, L’Oreal, Net-a-porter, Rebecca Minkoff and Nautica before setting her sights on evolving from model to TV starlet.

Australian model Mary Vitinaros on location in Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie

Vitinaros has become a household name in Greece. Picture: Ian Currie

“In 2021, I moved to LA and booked a Guess campaign and it all started happening from there,” she says.

“Then I decided I wanted to get into TV and, having a Greek background, I had a good feeling about Greece. I didn’t know anyone there, so I had no idea how to get into the TV industry there. I mentioned to a friend I had seen they have a version of Next Top Model in Greece, then a couple of months later the production company messaged me to say they had seen all the work I was doing and wanted to know if I wanted to go over there.”

The transition from model to TV personality didn’t come without its challenges. Vitinaros didn’t know how to speak Greek.

Eliza Baker, Montana Cox and Mary Vitinaros with Jesinta Campbell (second left) who judged hundreds of hopeful models vying for the chance to share the runway with her at the David Jones Autumn Winter 2016 Fashion Launch. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“My dad is Greek and my grandparents migrated from Greece for a better life after the war,” she says. “They spoke Greek so I had always been around people speaking Greek, and went to Greek school when I was younger, and loved the culture and language. I knew basic Greek, like if I went there I could get a souvlaki and directions. But I couldn’t express myself and definitely wasn’t fluent.”

Following a number of 6am Zoom phone calls where she would cram the language, she made her way on set for her trial.

“I gave it everything. I was throwing out words I knew, smiling and hoping it made sense,” she admits. “They said, “OK, you can come over for the show but you only get to do the boot camp as a coach/judge, and if you do well you can stay and, if you don’t, you can go. They ended up saying I was great and keeping me for the season.”

Vitinaros ended up becoming the face of the popular program.

“I moved all my stuff from LA and have been there ever since,” she says.

“It was a challenge but I liked that.”

In Paros, Greece, for Tigerlily's Fall 24 campaign. Picture: Brett Goldsmith

It was then Greece realised they had discovered a star. Since her time on Greece’s Next Top Model, she has been invited on all of Greece’s top rating programs including Breakfast at Star, Happy Days, Super Katerina, The Morning Show and Traction, with the young beauty capturing the hearts of millions of citizens from her ancestral homeland.

“It is crazy,” she says.

“My brother came to visit me this year for my birthday and we went to see the Acropolis. There must have been a school camp and all of a sudden we were surrounded by 50 people asking for a photo of me. It was so nice. Then on the way home on the plane, people were asking for a photo with me. It’s bizarre. I used to just go out and not think about how I was looking in the shopping centre, and now I have to think twice.

“I love how Greece has embraced me. I feel like they have been on the journey with me. I feel like they have supported me. They even tell me they can’t believe how far I’ve come with speaking the language.”

Mary Vitinaros has been compared to Megan Gale. Picture: Tony Gough

Her story is not too dissimilar to Megan Gale’s, who, despite struggling to get Australia to take notice of her, became an overnight success story after being cast in the ad for the Italian telecommunications company Omnitel (now Vodafone Italy).

Gale was fast described as “Italy’s hottest star since Sophia Loren”, resulting in her becoming one of our most successful models.

“I love these kinds of success stories in the modelling industry as they are rare, but they give girls who are struggling to succeed some hope,” Gale says.

“I recall seeing Mary years ago, and if I recall correctly she was one of the models used when I was hosting Project Runway.

“It is still fantastic that it has happened for her overseas.

“Sometimes that’s how it plays out, but it’s a case of better late than never and proof that you should never give up!”

Mary Vitinaros and Stacey-Ellen Fleming modelling at Atlantic, Crown. Picture: David Caird

Vitinaros is grateful for the comparison to Gale.

“That’s a very flattering comparison,” she says.

“Sometimes it is about having success in a different market then coming home and showcasing that.

“Megan has had a great career and I really admired what she has done so much.”

Both Gale and Vitinaros have redefined how to “make it” and her agent, Chic Model Management director and co-founder Kathy Ward, is excited by her.

“Mary was a very successful model and tennis player in Australia but … found international fame later on in her career,” says Ward.

“A little similar to how Megan Gale built her career. We get very excited by these sorts of situations.

“Mary’s story is really unique and wonderful. As you can tell, she is very down to earth, but having the profile and having achieved what she has in Greece, learning the language, becoming a household name, to have her back here to launch in the Australian market place is amazing.”

Back home, Vitinaros is set to attend Oaks Day on Thursday, where the Inglis Bracelet race is scheduled.

“I must thank the team at Inglis who have been instrumental in getting me here today. I am so excited to be back in Australia. I have a special connection with Australia. It is where my home is and where my family are. It’s so nice to have so many opportunities over there and back here.”