Alberta is a land of clear blue skies and the Rocky Mountains, but it’s also home to some of the world’s most beautiful women who’ve built careers in fashion or on the stage. This article recalls some of the region’s most stunning residents and tells the stories of their fates. More at edmontonka.com.
Lisa Kaufman
A few years ago, Lisa Kaufman founded her modeling agency, LK Model Management, which trains a new generation of up-and-coming models. This is a familiar world for Lisa, as she used to be a true supermodel. Her career took off when she was 15, after being noticed at an Elite Model Management casting. Before long, Lisa was walking runways in New York and Paris, and by the mid-1980s, she graced the covers of Vogue and Marie Claire.
She worked with major fashion houses like Fendi and Chanel. Lisa wrapped up her modeling career when she was a mother of two, having appeared on 30 magazine covers. She traveled extensively for work, leaving her with wonderful lifelong memories.
Kim Renneberg
Kim Renneberg was spotted by Western Canada’s leading modeling scout at the time, Kelly Streit, while she was out at a shopping mall. Kelly realized right away that 14-year-old Kim, with her blue eyes, had every chance to conquer the world’s runways. Soon, she was modeling for Jil Sander, Fendi, and Thierry Mugler.
Kim’s unusual features were in high demand on the catwalks of New York, Paris, and Milan. She also appeared on numerous major fashion magazine covers. She has mentioned that, growing up, she was teased for being too tall and thin. Stories like this are common: girls once teased for their looks often become runway superstars. Kim continues to model occasionally. She lives in Chestermere with her husband Chris White and their son.
Tricia Helfer
Yet another story about a girl who simply happened to be in the right place at the right time. Kelly Streit noticed Tricia Helfer at a cinema in a small Alberta town. Since then, her modeling career soared, but Tricia also found success as an actress. Audiences know her from roles in “Two and a Half Men,” along with hits like Battlestar Galactica and Van Helsing.
Besides an array of TV parts, Tricia has starred in feature films such as Beginners Guide to Endings, Authors Anonymous, and Isolation. She demonstrated her talent with voice-over work for the animated production Green Lantern: First Flight, the Cartoon Network telefilm, Disney’s The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Disney’s TRON: Uprising.
Tricia spent her childhood in the rural community of Donalda, Alberta. She even loaded grain sacks for a living before that fateful moment when Kelly Streit discovered her. At first, Tricia doubted Kelly’s claim that she would someday walk the world’s top runways, but she went on to win a “Supermodel of the World” contest sponsored by Ford Models in New York. Soon she was on the covers of Elle and British Cosmopolitan and modeling for Chanel Coco and Giorgio Armani perfume campaigns. Top designers like Christian Dior and Oscar de la Renta chose her for their runway shows. A fairy-tale story for a farmer’s daughter from Alberta!
Heather Marks
Heather Marks was yet another discovery of Kelly Streit. In 2000, at the age of 12—still wearing braces—she applied for Streit’s Mode Models’ search for new talent for a women’s event. She won and immediately plunged into the glamorous scene of New York, working alongside famous faces like Karolína Kurková and Gisele Bündchen. Early in her career, Heather was named one of the “Top 10 New Faces in the World” by Vogue.
In 2014, Heather was among the celebrities affected by hackers who breached their iCloud accounts and published private, intimate photos. Despite the incident, Heather now resides in Greenwich Village with her bulldog. She also has a younger brother Steven and two older sisters, Shelly and Tracy, plus a house in British Columbia that she visits at least once a year.
Nya Getbel
Nya Getbel is a dark-skinned model who suffered bullying as a child because of her skin tone. In 2018, she made her runway debut in Paris and Milan for Comme de Garçons, Guy Laroche, and Giorgio Armani. Her life became a dream when she signed with agent Antonia Klotz. Nya’s family fled Africa when she was young. She often credits her mother for giving her a strong moral compass, and throughout her life, she has aimed to remain kind and caring.
Harlow Monroe
Harlow Monroe reflects the diversity in today’s modeling world. She is a transgender model and has a tattoo on her ankle reading “RIP Daniel,” symbolizing her farewell to her past life. Harlow first began posting pictures on Instagram in 2017, catching the attention of Toronto-based agent Chantal Nadeau, who helped her sign with agencies in Paris and Montreal. Soon, she was appearing in Zink Magazine and working for major fashion houses.
Shayna MacNeil
Another Kelly Streit discovery: Shayna MacNeil is a 17-year-old model who has posed for Tom Ford and Burberry. She has appeared on runways for Valentino and was nicknamed “the face of the new decade.”
About Kelly Streit and Mode Models
Throughout this article, we’ve highlighted Kelly Streit, founder of Mode Models. He launched the agency at age 20 and soon turned Mode Models into one of the most influential agencies worldwide. His record is second to none: he has worked with leading brands for many years, handling management and content creation. Maclean’s named him among “100 Canadians to watch.”
Mode Models could be described as a forward-thinking, ethical, and bold agency committed to finding and promoting top-tier talent. The agency has offices in Edmonton and Calgary, where agents search for promising new faces. Mode Models and Kelly Streit have helped many young women discover their gifts and build stellar careers.
Alberta truly is home to some of the world’s most beautiful women, whose success on international runways has made them the faces of famous brands. They have proven that beauty is about more than appearance: it’s also about hard work, talent, and charisma. Their journeys often combine luck and skill, inspiring anyone with big dreams—no matter where they come from. Alberta remains a place that fosters strong, stylish, and remarkable women who know precisely what they want.