Rocked by more tragedy than most women face in a lifetime, 23-year old supermodel and multiple mom Niki Taylor has finally found new love and happiness as fashion’s sexiest mother superior.
Niki Taylor may look like an angel but she’s a steel-willed woman who has already been to hell and back. When she found the lifeless body of her beloved 17-year old sister, Krissy, at their family home near Fort Lauderdale, FL, July 2, 1995, she dealt with the devastating death her way—within weeks, she had her long blonde hair hacked off and went back to work, hiding the grief behind the megawatt smile that has made her one of the world’s most successful—and unstoppable—supermodels.
Taylor has always roared through her roller-coaster life at warp speed, but it’s been a bumpy ride. This is the woman who landed on the cover of Seventeen when she was barely 14, made her first million by 16 , sloped with the man she fell madly in love with at 19 , became the mother of twins at 20 and battled her way through a bitter, paparazzi-plagued divorce two years later.

‘I may be 23 but I feel like 50,’ sighs the breathtaking beauty who is now spokesmodel for both Cover Girl cosmetics and designer Liz Claiborne. ‘I’ve been through a lot but everything’s been a learning experience. It’s made me a much wiser, stronger person,’ she admits.

fortunately, her million-dollar spokesmodel deals now allow her to focus on the three most important men in her life: 3 year old twin boys, Hunter and Jake, and new love , 23-year old Florida Panthers center, Rob Niedermayer. ‘I can’t do runway shows now that I have postbaby boobs and hips, but it was worth it,’ she says, proudly whipping kid photos out of her wallet. Even packing on 70 pounds during her pregnancy didn’t cramp this model mom’s career. She happily traded her Pradas for Pampers, ran up to two miles a day into her seventh month , and regained her shape by running with the boys snuggled into a two-seat jogger. Three months post-birth, with the help of a personal trainer, she had worked off the weight and was back in front of the cameras.

But she couldn’t run away from the fact that her marriage to semipro football player Matt Martinez was rapidly falling apart. When the two took off to Las Vegas to tie the knot in 1994, she was only 19 and he 23. They filed for divorce two years later. ‘I was in love—I’d known him only three months, but I thought I would love him forever,’ she says with a wry smile. ‘I was naïve and I rushed into it, only to find out that being married to Matt wasn’t what I thought it would be. Now I know that love is all about time, understanding and being best friends with each other. I’d never elope again—next time, I get married, it’s going to be in a church , in front of a priest and for all the right reasons,’ she insists.

Up until her marriage crashed, Niki had led a charmed life. She grew up in a rock-solid family with her younger sister, Krissy and older sister, Joelle,in the suburban home her parent, Barbara and Ken—a Florida Highway Patrol officer—still live in. Soon after her mom sent photos of 14-year-old Niki to model agencies, she landed her first magazine cover and started skipping school to model thousand-dollar designer dresses on the runways. ‘Modelling came naturally to me—I was just a normal kid who’d fly to Paris or New York City for the shows , then go back to school as if it were what everyone did,’ she recalls. By the time she was 16, she was the youngest model ever to sign a multimillion dollar cosmetics contract—first with L’Oreal and soon after with Cover Girl—and the youngest face to appear on the cover of Vogue.

SUPERMODEL SISTERS
Determined to protect their daughter from the perils of life on the fast track, Niki’s parents quit their jobs and took turns chaperoning her to every shoot, even encouraging her sisters to come along so they wouldn’t feel jealous or left out. Ironically, Joelle didn’t like it but preteen Krissy did. When she joined Niki on the cover of Seventeen in 1990, her career suddenly took off as fast as her sister’s had, and the Taylors suddenly found that they had not one but two supermodels in the family.

‘We were inseparable—Krissy was serious about modelling and had this amazing va-va-voom body. My sister was the strongest person I know—if she wanted something, she went after it,’ recalls Niki, recoiling at the chilling memory of that horrible night when she came home to find Krissy unconscious. She frantically called 911 while her father desperately tried to revive his dying daughter. Although Krissy’s death was originally diagnosed as the result of an asthma attack, it was later attributed to an unusual heart condition called right ventricular dysplasia [RVD], a disease characterise by the buildup of fatty deposits and scar tissue in the heart’s right ventricle, which pumps blood into the lungs. This can lead to the development of irregular heart rhythms that can be fatal, even at Krissy’s age. In fact, according to Robert J. Myerburg, M.D. , director of the division of cardiology at the University of Miami Medical Center, ‘among the causes of sudden death in adolescents and young adults, RVD is one of the more common.’ Sadly, an electrocardiogram may have drawn attention to Krissy’s condition and with treatment, prevented her death.

LIFE AFTER DEATH
The tragedy tore through Niki and her family, ultimately drawing them even closer together. United in grief, they often picnic under the tree they planted in her memory in a public park near Fort Lauderdale. Her mom also maintains a memorial web site for her much-missed daughter.

‘There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her or talk to her,’ says Niki, touching the blue daisy entwined with Krissy’s name she had tattooed on her hand. Her mom has one too. ‘Everything—her death, the divorce—all happened at the same time. I thought it couldn’t get any worse than this,’ says Niki.
Happily, it didn’t. As luck would have it, even though her chances of falling in love with a hockey player in Florida were slim, five months after the divorce, Niki met Rob on a blind date. ‘I was incredibly nervous,’ she admits, ‘but when he walked in, I thought, wow!’ They’ve been together ever since. ‘I’m so in love,’ she gushes, marvelling at the little things he does to win her heart, ‘like leaving flowers for me to come home to or putting the toothpaste on my brush. Everything we do is romantic, whether it’s putting Jake and Hunter to bed or watching the sunrise together.’

But this time she’s not in any hurry to tie any knots. ‘It’s a comfortable relationship. We’re best friends—homebodies who are happy to rent a movie or read a bedtime story to the kids together,’ she muses.

Meanwhile, the supermodel mum is content to keep work to a minimum so she can spend time with the twins. These days, she passes on almost all but her Cover Girl and Liz Claiborne jobs, mostly limiting travel to two or three-day trips to New York City for shoots every month. Although Jake and Hunter have had the same nanny since they were 4 months old, when she’s at home, Niki is a full-time mom, happily taking the twins to preschool and weekly swimming lessons and to watch Rob’s hockey practice at the local ice rink. ‘When I’m away, I think, What is I’m missing something or there’s an emergency and I’m not there for them?’ she worries out loud. ‘The best thing for me is waking to their little faces in the morning and hearing them say ‘Mom, I want chocamilk.’ Although the twins looks alike, do everything in duplicate and hate to be apart, Niki swears they have totally different personalities. ‘Jake is the cuddler who needs affection and Hunter is more independent,’ she says.

As for the future, now that Niki and her family are learning to live with their heartbreak, she admits, ‘My life is all about moving on.’ One day, she would like to open her own spa. ‘I know exactly how I want it to be,’ she says, eye focused on her blue daisy tattoo, as she describes a retreat into the middle of nowhere, surrounded by beautiful scenery. ‘People wouldn’t want to leave because it would be just like heaven. Krissy would like that.’ –Barbara Sgoi

Niki Au Naturel
Cosmo cover girl Niki Taylor may have supermodel status but this 23-year-old beach beauty lives more like the girl next door than a glamorous celebrity. In fact when she’s not posing for Liz Claiborne and Cover Girl ad campaigns, Florida-native Niki spends most of her time at home, chasing after her twin 3 year old toddlers, Jake and Hunter. And this model mom wouldn’t have it any other way. ‘Things are perfect as they are,’ she says.

How were you discovered?

When I was 13, my mom sent pictures of me to agencies in Florida. One of them signed me up and pretty soon, I was doing French catalogues and shoots for magazines like Seventeen.

What clothes do you feel most comfortable in?

Jeans, T-shirts and flip-flops.

Do you work out?

Yes. My motto is catch it before it falls. I exercise with a trainer four times a week and focus on different body parts each session. I also kick box and do yoga.

Do you stick to a special diet?

I’m basically a meat-and-potatoes girl. And I love desserts! However, I do try to eat veggies occasionally.

What important items are in your makeup bag?

Cover Girl lipstick, mascara and blush.

What’s the best makeup tip you’ve learnt from makeup artists?

Put concealer on before applying base. This helps hide blotches that really need to be camouflaged.

What’s your favourite thing to do when you have a day off?

I love hanging out poolside with my kids and spending time with my boyfriend, who’s a pro hockey player.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you?

My two twin sons and my boyfriend.

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