Coco Rocha is just beautiful inside and out. She has a lot of advocacies and she uses her God-given looks to fuel those… And what could be more beautiful than that? I mean, having the heart that equals her face and physique.
This woman became the first high-fashion model to reach 1,000,000 followers on Google+ in 2012. And yes, that says a lot about her. Coco truly deserves a Friday feature and you’d all agree.
Who is Coco Rocha?
Coco, a Canadian fashion model, has collaborated with renowned designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, and Chanel. She also starred on Oxygen’s 2013 reality show The Face. She advocates for awareness of eating problems in the fashion business.
Coco is recognized as one of the first “digital” supermodels and is noted for her support of younger models. As an author, she worked on the 2014 book Study of Pose. Rocha also founded the Coco Rocha Model Camp and co-owns the Nomad Management Modeling Agency.
Cocos’ most visible work was her longstanding partnership with the handbag company Longchamp, for whom she starred in various ads. Other commercial campaigns feature Zac Posen, Banana Republic, L’Oréal, Sass & Bide, Massimo Dutti, and Diesel. Rocha has also walked in catwalk shows for brands like John Galliano and Miu Miu.
Coco’s editorial portfolio is substantial, with appearances on the cover of Vogue Italia and in numerous American Vogue editions. She has also appeared on the covers of several overseas editions of major fashion periodicals, including Vogue Thailand, Elle Korea and Spain, Elle Brazil, and Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.
Her Early Life
Coco Rocha was born Mikhaila Rocha in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Richmond, British Columbia, where she went to Hugh McRoberts Secondary School.
She is of Irish, Portuguese, and Ukrainian origin.
Career Journey
Coco Rocha began her professional career in 2004 when she signed with the Supreme agency in New York after being discovered at an Irish dancing competition in Canada by Charles Stuart. Two years later, Rocha met fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who placed her in an editorial alongside Gemma Ward and Amanda Moore. The editorial launched her career, landing her on the cover of the February 2006 issue of Vogue Italia.
Rocha and photographer Steven Sebring co-authored the book Study of Pose in 2014, which is an encyclopedia of 1000 stances she has modeled, including ones inspired by Botticelli’s Venus and Jessica Rabbit.
In 2016, Rocha became the owner and model for Nomad Mgmt, a global model and talent management organization that also serves as a brand director and model mentor. She also developed the Coco Rocha Model Camp, a multi-day master class for female models and photographers that now has its retail line under the creative leadership of her husband, James Conran (who is also a co-owner of Nomad Management).
Philanthropy and Activism
Rocha is one of the few models who speak out against the prevalence of eating disorders in the modeling profession.
Coco introduced a “Photoshop-free” campaign in June 2011, in collaboration with Canadian fashion retailer Jacob. Coco appeared on Anderson Cooper’s daytime television show, Anderson, in October of the same year, where she asserted models are scouted too young and put under pressure to keep slender and behave artificially while they are “still minors”.
On November 1, 2011, she released Coco Rocha for Senhoa, a collection created in collaboration with Senhoa, an organization that assists Cambodian survivors of human trafficking. She designed seven unique pieces for the capsule collection, which were handcrafted by human trafficking survivors. The entire revenues go directly to the Senhoa program. Coco enlisted the support of supermodels Chanel Iman, Caroline Trentini, and Behati Prinsloo to raise awareness for the cause. In the first of two campaigns, Nigel Barker photographed Iman, Trentini, and Coco.
Coco also collaborated with The Model Alliance to enhance underage protection legislation in New York State, pointing out that models did not have the same rights as other minors in the entertainment sector. The state implemented new labor protections to help prevent such abuses.
Facts and Trivia
Rocha has been a dedicated Jehovah’s Witness since childhood, and she indicated in a 2013 interview that she continues to preach door-to-door with other Jehovah’s Witnesses. She describes herself as “a Christian first and a model second” and adds that because of her faith, she will not pose naked, with cigarettes, patriotic emblems, or religious artifacts.
Rocha married artist James Conran on June 9, 2010, and the couple has three children.
Kanye West’s 2010 song “Christian Dior Denim Flow” mentioned twenty-one high-fashion models, including Rocha.
In October 2010, Rocha received Marie Claire’s Prix d’Excellence as model of the year at an event in Paris. The following month, she received the Seventeen Body Peace award from Seventeen magazine. Coco provided several articles to the magazine about girls’ body image and self-esteem. On February 14, 2011, Boy George presented her with the Elle Style ‘Model of the Year’ award in London.
On June 16, 2011, Rocha and her husband James Conran were honored for their charity efforts at the Pay It Fashion Forward event in Manhattan. The following year, Vogue Paris named her one of the top thirty models of the 2000s.
On February 1, 2014, Rocha received the “Model of the Year Award” at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards in Toronto, Canada. On April 24, 2014, she got the renowned Vienna Fashion Award as Style Icon at a sumptuous ceremony in Vienna’s Museumsquartier. In 2019, she received Harvard University’s Identities Leadership in the Arts Award.
Coco won the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization’s Fashion Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022, recognizing her as a trailblazer and innovator in her area. The distinguished award, which is also recognized by the United States Congress, honors women entrepreneurs and the significant impact they have on the world.
Her Body Measurements
Coco Rocha stands 5 feet, 10 inches and she possesses a 33-25-35 figure.
Coco Rocha Photos
Join her over 2.1 million followers on Instagram for her latest lifestyle content.
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