Amber Valletta Biography Quotes 5 Report mistakes
| 5 Quotes | |
| Occup. | Model |
| From | USA |
| Born | February 9, 1974 Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Age | 51 years |
Amber Evangeline Valletta was born on February 9, 1974, in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Encouraged by her family, she began exploring modeling as a teenager. Her mother enrolled her at the Linda Layman Agency in Tulsa when she was about 15, a decision that set her on a path to the international fashion stages of the 1990s. After early test shoots and local jobs, she signed with Elite Model Management and soon relocated to Europe, where the rigorous pace of shows, shoots, and castings quickly sharpened her instincts and presence in front of the camera.
Breakthrough in Modeling
By the early 1990s, Valletta had joined the elite ranks of global supermodels. She appeared on numerous covers of Vogue and other leading magazines, a run that reflected her versatility: she could be luminous and romantic on one page and modern and austere on the next. Editors and photographers championed her. She collaborated frequently with Steven Meisel, Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, and Mario Testino, whose photographs helped define the era's aesthetic balance of strength and ease. On the runway she was a fixture for major houses, walking for Gianni Versace and, later, Donatella Versace, as well as for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Miuccia Prada at Prada, Tom Ford at Gucci in his breakthrough period, and Calvin Klein. The fashion editors who shaped that landscape, notably Anna Wintour, featured her at pivotal moments, cementing her image as both accessible and aspirational.
From Supermodel to Media Figure
Valletta's appeal extended beyond print and runway. In the mid-1990s she co-hosted MTV's House of Style with Shalom Harlow, bringing behind-the-scenes fashion culture to a wide audience and offering viewers a candid look at the people who made it happen, from stylists and designers to hair and makeup luminaries. The show's reach deepened her connection with fans who knew her not only as a face on a magazine but as a personality capable of translating the language of high fashion to mainstream audiences. Her long-standing collaborations with designers, photographers, and creative directors fostered a professional circle that guided her as she began to explore new forms of storytelling.
Acting Career
Transitioning into acting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Valletta pursued roles that used her cool poise and dramatic reserve. She appeared in What Lies Beneath (2000), opposite Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, in a turn that mixed glamour with unsettling tension. She reached mass audiences with Hitch (2005), playing Allegra Cole alongside Will Smith, Eva Mendes, and Kevin James; the film's buoyant tone showcased her comedic timing and graceful screen presence. That same year, she co-starred in Transporter 2 with Jason Statham and Matthew Modine, portraying Audrey Billings in a high-velocity action setting. Valletta's subsequent roles included Premonition (2007), with Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon, and Gamer (2009) with Gerard Butler, where she explored dystopian themes of control and identity. She also appeared in The Spy Next Door (2010) with Jackie Chan, aligning her brand of elegance with family-friendly action-comedy.
Television further broadened her acting profile. She took on the recurring role of Lydia Davis in the series Revenge, joining an ensemble that included Emily VanCamp, Madeleine Stowe, Gabriel Mann, Josh Bowman, and Henry Czerny. The part allowed her to bring layered complexity to a character enmeshed in power, loyalty, and betrayal, demonstrating precision in serialized storytelling. She later starred in the prime-time drama Blood & Oil, playing Carla Briggs opposite Don Johnson, which returned her to a modern morality play about wealth, ambition, and the combustible nature of relationships at the top.
Advocacy and Entrepreneurship
Even at the height of her modeling success, Valletta used her platform to participate in conversations about responsibility in fashion. She became a visible advocate for sustainability and conscious consumption, seeking not only to change how clothes are made but how they are valued. She partnered with retailers and digital platforms to promote responsibly produced collections, notably launching the Master & Muse initiative on YOOX to spotlight designers with ethical and environmental commitments. She has spoken publicly about the need for supply-chain transparency, fair labor, and reduced waste, urging the industry to reward innovation that lessens environmental impact.
Valletta has also shared her personal journey with sobriety, discussing past struggles with addiction in interviews and public talks to destigmatize recovery. By placing vulnerability alongside professional success, she has mentored younger talents and collaborated with wellness advocates, demonstrating how accountability and support networks can restore agency and purpose. Her advocacy work has included appearances at industry panels and conferences, where she brings together designers, executives, and activists to accelerate change.
Personal Life
Valletta's life away from the camera has included relationships that shaped her path. Earlier in her career, she married French model Herve Le Bihan. She later married Olympic volleyball player Chip McCaw, with whom she has a son. As her career expanded into acting and entrepreneurship, she balanced professional commitments with family life, crediting the steadiness of relatives, close friends, and longtime collaborators for helping her navigate an industry that is both glamorous and demanding. Her friendships with peers such as Shalom Harlow, and creative partnerships with designers and photographers she has known since her teen years, created continuity through the different chapters of her work.
Legacy
Amber Valletta stands as a defining figure of the 1990s supermodel generation who successfully bridged fashion, entertainment, and advocacy. Her collaborations with the likes of Gianni Versace, Donatella Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Miuccia Prada, Calvin Klein, Steven Meisel, Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, and Mario Testino placed her at the center of an era that still influences the aesthetics of advertising and editorial photography. Her ease in translating that visual authority to film and television, working with Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Jason Statham, Matthew Modine, Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Gerard Butler, Jackie Chan, Emily VanCamp, Madeleine Stowe, and Don Johnson, expanded the public's understanding of what a model could be. Meanwhile, her efforts to foreground sustainability and speak openly about recovery have made her a guidepost for a younger generation. Through decades of reinvention, Valletta has kept her focus on craft, community, and conscience, leaving an imprint that is both stylish and substantive.
Our collection contains 5 quotes who is written by Amber, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Wisdom - Art - Soulmate - Youth.
Other people realated to Amber: Aaron Yoo (Actor)