Gabriella Riggon-Allen: Supermodel in waiting

The 5'11" beauty is being shot by photographer Gustavo Papaleo for one the most prestigious fashion magazines in the country, Grazia, which dedicates no fewer than 10 pages to her.

Signed to Models 1, the agency that also represents Linda Evangelista, Yasmin Le Bon, Alessandra Ambrosio and Bar Refaeli, the 24-year-old is on the cusp of something very special. She is a supermodel in waiting.

Not bad for a girl from Willenhall.

"Modelling was never really something I dreamed of doing," laughs Gabriella. "I wanted to be a nurse or go into forensics. I'm still hoping to go into medicine full-time once my modelling is done.

"But people were always coming up to me and saying things like 'you're so tall and skinny, you should be a model' so I thought I'd give it a go and it took off. Modelling is such an all-or-nothing profession that I'm fully committed to it now and medicine will just have to wait."

Just like our other homegrown supermodel, Erin O'Connor from Brownhills, Gabriella was discovered at Birmingham's Clothes Show Live as a teen. It'll come as no surprise that the agency scouts were all over her as soon as she stepped foot in the NEC.

Trips to London followed to decide on the perfect agency and, following several interviews, Gabbie chose the dream destination of Models 1.

She landed her first ever cover the very next day.

"It was the front cover of Blackhair magazine," she says in her soft Black Country accent. "I couldn't believe it. Things were moving so fast and they were so exciting but it was quite nerve-wracking too. I was only 15 but here I was surrounded by adults thinking 'oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm here'."

After that, the high-profile jobs came in thick and fast, with clients including Nintendo, Ann Taylor, Fossil, Net-A-Porter, Selfridges and Avon. To date, Gabriella has featured in Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines in the UK and Seventeen over in America. She is currently the cover star of the high-end John Lewis Edition magazine.

But the whirlwind of flashbulbs, catwalks and designer names is a far cry from her humble Black Country beginnings.

Gabbie was brought up in Willenhall and attended Clothier Street Primary School – now part of the Fibbersley Park amalgamation – before moving to Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, when she progressed to St Thomas More Catholic School. Her mum and little sister moved to Birmingham four years ago, while her dad lives in Jamaica.

And Gabriella? Her current address? Well, that would be New York City.

"I moved to New York about four years ago. Before then, I was living in London but would still come back home whenever possible.

"The move to NYC came about, not because I was fed up in London, but because I felt that I had achieved all I could there and this was a great chance to travel. New York is very multi-cultural and I just thought it would be the perfect place for me. I signed to Q models over there for my US agency and I initially thought I'd be there for just three months but everything took off.

"But oh my gosh, the move was so daunting and so scary. I was like 'oh no, I'm going to be all by myself and it's so different to little old Wolverhampton' but once I got there, it was quite similar to London and I started running in to loads of my modelling friends at castings. The modelling world is actually quite small. Yes, we fly all over the world but it's all the same people.

"New York is a great experience for me. I actually really like living there now. It's a great place and it's the heart of the fashion world. And they like me over there because I'm a British girl and they like my accent – although no one's ever heard of Wolverhampton, they're like 'oh my God, are you from London?'. The funny thing is, whenever I come back home, all my family keep expecting my accent to have changed but it never does. It's still exactly the same. I think it will always stick with me, which I like."

But it's not just her accent that makes her stand out, Gabriella is a statuesque 5'11" tall and has towered over people all her life. But, like Erin O'Connor who admitted she was teased at school for looking so different, have her out-of-this-world looks ever been a hindrance?

"The only time I got slightly teased was when I first joined secondary school. I joined Year 7 and I was super super tall – I've always been The Tall Girl – but all the other kids were so tiny and they'd say stuff to me. But before you knew it, modelling was on the horizon and then no one said anything any more because it had turned into this positive thing. From then on, I'd only get positive feedback."

And now? What's the reaction like when she walks down the street?

"If I'm out and about, I just wear normal clothes but people do come up to me and say 'wow, you're so tall, you should be a model'," she giggles. "I just smile and say 'hmm, maybe'."

While she is no doubt giving modelling her all, her thriving career isn't actually the main focus of her life – that honour goes to her adorable 19-month-old son Elijah, whom she lives with in New York. But how does she juggle motherhood and modelling?

"It was quite hard in the beginning because you're so tied down. Before I had him, if my agency called me up and said 'can you fly to the Caribbean tomorrow for a shoot', I could immediately say yes but now I have to make sure that there's always someone at home to watch him. I don't mind the travelling but it is harder once you have a baby. But we're so happy living in NYC and we make it work. And he'll be at nursery soon and that will make it easier. We're in the UK at the moment but we're going back in May and I aim to live six months there/six months here from then on.

"It's been nice to come back to the UK actually because while I've been here I've landed Grazia and John Lewis and that's been reassuring. It's like 'oh good, they still remember me over here'."

And speaking of that Grazia shoot. . .

"It was amazing!" Gabbie explains "Some of the jewellery was so expensive, there had to be a security guard on set. Everyone thinks it was shot in Greece but it was actually in a studio in London. It's a nice experience to dress up for the day in these fabulous clothes that I probably wouldn't be experiencing otherwise.

"It's a fantastic industry but it is hard work. Like anything, there are positives and negatives, which are the long hours, you have to be really patient and there's always someone poking and prodding you. But the good thing is you get this really great product at the end. And my family and friends are so supportive and helpful. They've supported me every step of the way and they help me out with the babysitting.

"I am a very lucky girl. They get super excited and really happy when they see my work. My mom actually saw me in Grazia before I did and she rang me up screaming 'Gabbie! You're in the magazine!'. I think she's bought about five copies. I keep all my work, I've got all my magazines stacked up so I can show them to my grandkids one day."

We're guessing by the time she calls it a day with modelling, she'll have more than a few breathtaking publications and pictures to show them. But, despite all her success and the glitz, glamour and exotic locations, there's still no place like home.

"I have happy memories of Willenhall and Wolverhampton and Birmingham. The Midlands is my home and always will be – no matter where I am in the world. Things can get so hectic in my world that it's always nice to just come back and chill. It's really humbling and I'll never forget my roots."

By Elizabeth Joyce