In the early noughties, Abbey Lee Kershaw was one of the biggest stars of the catwalk.
After getting her start as a teen, the Aussie model made waves in the fashion world, walking the runway for the likes of Chanel and Victoria’s Secret.
But around the mid-2010s the homegrown star dropped her surname and hung up her high heels to take on a new career venture as an actress.
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Since then, the star has taken on several film roles and even dabbled in the music scene but kept largely under the radar.
A decade after she stopped modelling in 2014, the now 37-year-old recently made a rare red carpet appearance in London on August 19, 2024.
She was spotted posing shirtless beneath a chic black suit at the star-studded European premiere for Channing Tatum’s latest film Blink Twice, directed by his fiancée Zoë Kravitz who Lee starred in Mad Max: Fury Road with.
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Following her latest stylish return to the spotlight, read on to find out how Abbey Lee first found fame and what on-screen roles you might not realise she’s appeared in over the decade.
Where is Abbey Lee Kershaw from?
The Aussie model-turned-actress, who is the daughter of former AFL star Kim Kershaw, was born and raised in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington.
After attending primary school in North Melbourne, she went to an secondary all-girls Catholic school in Fitzroy. It was during this time she was discovered as a model.
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In 2004 when she was just 17-years-old, Lee won the Girlfriend Model Search and signed with Chic Management.
After graduating high school she relocated to Sydney before later signing with modelling agency Next Management and moving overseas to New York to kickstart her career.
A Victoria’s Secret star
Around the time Victoria’s Secret was one of the biggest runway shows in fashion, Abbey Lee was one of the models walking for the brand.
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By 2008 the Aussie began to make a name for herself, walking for brands such as Chanel and Oscar de la Renta, and famously fainting during an Alexander McQueen show after wearing a too-tight leather corset.
Just four years after being discovered, the star made her Victoria’s Secret runway debut for the 2008 show.
Lee returned a year later for the 2009 show which was her last.
Movie roles
Lee made her acting debut in early 2015 in Mad Max: Fury Road alongside A-listers Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy and fellow model Rosie Huntington-Whitely.
The model starred as ‘The Dag’ in the post-apocalyptic film.
In 2015 the Aussie admitted she “hadn’t actually thought” about acting before starring Mad Mad: Fury Road that year.
”And they found me. I started shooting and was like, “Wow, this is the best thing I’ve ever done in my entire life,” so I gave up everything for it,” she said.
Abbey Lee also dished on how modelling prepared her to take on a career in acting.
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“They’re very different for the most part, but the thing they have in common for me is the technical side. Because I understand camera work, I picked that up quite quickly.”
That same year, the Aussie starred as Zoya in the film Ruben Guthrie.
“I was hesitant taking the role in the beginning because the character is a model, and I’m trying to make a smooth transition to acting and a successful one,” she said at the time.
Lee landed roles in Gods of Egypt, Rabbit, Elizabeth Harvest and The Neon Demon among other credits in the 2010s.
She’s continued acting well-into the 2020s with more recent performances in the 2023 series Florida Man and the 2024 film Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 alongside Kevin Costner.
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What is she doing now?
In 2012 Lee started filming Mad Max: Fury Road and began to phase out of modelling in favour of pursuing a career in acting, even dropping her surname ‘Kershaw’.
“You are so disposable as a model, there is no security in it and you don’t really believe people actually care about you,” she opened up to The Guardian in 2015.
“If I wasn’t a hot flavour anymore, I was going to lose work.”
Since the mid-2010s Lee has moved to Los Angeles and focused on acting.
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In 2024 alone she has made several red carpet appearances, including the Cannes Film Festival in May, Horizon: An American Saga premiere in June and most recently the Blink Twice premiere in London in August.
The actress appears to be dating Milo Phillips and shares life updates to social media.
Though she’s pivoted from modelling to acting, Lee has occasionally popped up for some rare returns to the runway over the years.
Just last year the former model strutted the catwalk for the 2023 Milan Fashion Week during the Roberto Cavalli Ready to Wear Fall/ Winter 2023-2024 fashion show.
Net worth
After a career start in modelling as a teen, being in the rock band Our Mountain in the early 2010s and her continued work as an actress today, Abbey Lee is reportedly worth an estimated $US4 million (approx. $5.9 million), according to Celebrity Net Worth.
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