Gemma Ward: ‘I’m not hiding as much’

AUSSIE model Gemma Ward has revealed that she used to lie about her identity when approached by fans, instead claiming to be her cousin.

Ward apologises for lying to fans

GEMMA Ward has revealed that she used to lie about her identity when approached by fans, instead claiming to be her cousin.

The Aussie model appears on the cover of VogueAustralia’s January issue, in which she opens up about how she struggled with fame at the height of her modelling career, pretending to be her lookalike cousin in an attempt to fly under the radar.

“I’d say that it definitely wasn’t me, I feel really bad about that now,” the Perth-born beauty tells the magazine, apologising to fans. “If they’re out there, I’m sorry!”

The 28-year-old admits that she was always worried that the real her wouldn’t live up to fans’ expectations garnered from photographs. “I’d apologise,” she says, admitting, “I might still have a bad morning and claim to be my cousin! But I am definitely much more accepting of myself and that is why I’m not hiding as much.”

Ward was once the most in-demand Australian model in the world, traipsing the runways as a regular for Chanel and Givenchy and was named the world’s tenth-highest earning model by Forbes in 2007.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides actress has recently returned to the limelight after announcing her retirement from the catwalk in 2009 and taking a six-year hiatus from modelling.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I describe why I’m stepping away and what I say, and how I talk about how I’ve come back around,” she says.

“I did have a very noticeable retreat from modelling, and there were a lot of personal reasons for that.

“With modelling, there are pros and cons, and it wasn’t all roses. I was struggling. It was just unfortunate that I couldn’t get myself together for a time to work in that capacity.”

The Aussie model says she always worried the real her wouldn’t live up to fans’ expectations. Picture: Lachlan Bailey

Ward revealed in an interview with the Daily Telegraph in 2011 that her move out of the public eye had been spurred by the tragic death of Heath Ledger, who she had started dating after they met in New York when she was 20 years old.

“I’ve taken a break from the media spotlight for the last few years and it was something spurred by Heath’s death,” she said at the time. “[Heath and I] first met in New York and we were both struggling with things that I won’t get into, and we bonded over that.”

Ward gave birth to her first child with her partner David Letts, a baby girl named Naia, in December 2013. The model-turned-actress says, despite her young age, she never forgot how lucky she was.

Ward moved out of the public eye after the death of Heath Ledger. Picture: Lachlan Bailey

“I knew it was a big deal, but I was also aware that I was very lucky, and that it doesn’t happen to everyone,” she said. “I was slightly embarrassed and I felt bad that it was maybe happening to me and not my sister [Sophie, who also modelled], who really wanted it to happen.

“I wanted to get out of Perth. I was interested in fashion. I wanted a different kind of life.”

Ward made her return to the runway in Sydney earlier this year when she walked for local label Ellery at Australian Fashion Week. She has since appeared ion the cover of RUSSH magazine and has been named an ambassador for Coke Life.

“I think a lot of my leaving modelling was trying to search for something spiritual, in a funny way, and so there’s been a lot of delving deep into that world and then coming out and then gaining and losing and gaining again,” she tells the magazine. “I feel like all of those experiences I’ve had on that level have been the most important for me, to pull me out of what I was going through.”

The January issue of VogueAustralia goes on sale on Monday 21st December.