Barbara Meier (born 25 July 1986) is a German fashion model and actress. She is best known as the winner of
the second season of ''
Germany's Next Topmodel
''Germany's Next Topmodel'' (often abbreviated as ''GNTM'') is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with ''America's Next Top Model''. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the l ...
''.
Early life
Born in the small
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
n town of
Amberg
Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town.
History
The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...
, Meier did not originally aspire to a career in modelling. Instead, after graduating from school, she enrolled at the
Fachhochschule
A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied ar ...
Regensburg in order to study
mathematics.
Career
''Germany's Next Topmodel''

During her studies, Meier was approached by a model scout in a shopping center in Regensburg who invited her to the
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...
of the TV show ''Germany's Next Topmodel''. In the course of the show, she had to face a series of challenges in order to outrival her contestants. Even before the end of the show, one of these minor competitions had her win a leading role alongside
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the '' Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secr ...
in a nationwide TV commercial for
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...
. Meier did not have any modeling experience before that but she was able to prevail against 16,421 competitors and became the winner of the season on 24 May 2007. The prize included a contract with the modelling agency
IMG Models
IMG Models is an international modeling agency headquartered in New York City and with additional offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. It is a subsidiary of the talent management company International Management Group. The c ...
in Paris, an appearance on the cover of the German edition of ''
Cosmopolitan'' in August 2007, and a contract as the face of the next
advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it att ...
for the clothing company
C&A.
Magazines / Editorials / Cover
Meier was featured in editorials of many international magazines such as
''Vogue Taiwan'', ''
Grazia'', ''InStyle'', ''Elle'', ''
Madame Figaro
''Madame Figaro'' is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', focusing on and catering to women.
History and profile
The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by ...
'', ''
L'Officiel
''L'Officiel'' () is a French fashion magazine with a USA edition. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of ''L'Officiel'', ...
'', etc. and appeared on the cover of over 15 German and international magazines such as
''Cosmopolitan'', ''Icon'', ''Style International'', ''Tango'', ''She'', etc.
Advertising
She was the face of many advertising campaigns for the brands
Pantene,
C&A,
Disneyland Resort Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
, Yogurette, Müller Milk and McDonald's and also internationally for Maybelline, Fabi, Borsalino, Save the Queen, Colin's Jeans, C'est comme Ca, Charactere, Miss Poem and many more.
Since January 2016, she has been promoting the cosmetics manufacturer Schaebens.
She is also the German advertising face of the American shoe brand
Skechers and the pulse watch manufacturer
Polar.
Catwalk
Since the beginning of her career, Meier has been on the catwalk for national as well as international brands. At the beginning of 2011 she ran for the fifth time for various designers at Fashion Week Berlin. In addition to shows in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Bangkok Meier participated in the Fashion Week Paris in the spring of 2010, where she was booked by the designer Wolfgang Joop for the prêt-à-porter show of his brand Wunderkind.
Acting
In 2010, Meier was invited to a film casting for the ProSieben mystery thriller ''Schreie der Vergessenen''. She had no acting experience at that time yet and got the role of the deaf medium Morgana. After the broadcast of the film in autumn 2011, she was taken under contract by the Berlin acting agency Fitz & Skoglund.
In summer of 2011, Meier completed a basic education at the
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...
and since then she has taken private acting lessons with various coaches in Germany and the United States. In addition to small roles in TV films, Meier played in main roles of various ZDF crime series, short films, working with Christiane Hörbiger. In 2012, she played one of the leading roles in the short film ''Wiegenlied'' (Director: Selcuk Cara, Germany, 2012), which had its premiere in 2012 under the international title ''Lullaby'' in the Student Etudes Panorama section at the film festival Plus Camerimage in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

In August 2017, Meier shot her first movie,
''The Aspern Papers'', a period drama directed by
Julien Landais and based on Henry James's novel. She played alongside
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films '' Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like ...
,
Morgane Polanski, and
Poppy Delevingne.
Book author
In December 2015, Meier's book ''Dein Weg zum Glücksgewicht'' was published by Dorling Kindersley. She describes the work as an "anti-diet book" and above all wants to motivate women and make them feel better in their bodies.
Charity
In 2008, she was an ambassador for the Year of Mathematics, to which she was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In 2012, she was one of the advertising ambassadors of the Deutsches Museum in Munich. She is the ambassador of the campaign "Inform" of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which is promoting exercise and healthy nutrition of the population. Since 2015, she has been an ambassador of the WWF for the project "
ghost nets", which informs the public about the environmental impact and dangers of the fishing nets floating in the sea.
Since 2017, Barbara Meier has been the ambassador for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for fair and environmentally friendly fashion. Meier is committed to bringing sustainable textiles from the niche to a broader market.
Personal life
Meier married Austrian entrepreneur and investor
Klemens Hallmann in 2019. They had a daughter in 2020.
Agencies
* 301 Model Management, Istanbul
* Fashion Cult Model Management, Athens
* Major Model Management, Munich
* Major Model Management, New York
* Major Model Management, Paris
* Major Model Management, Milan
Major Models Milan
* Yuli Models, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
Filmography
* 2010: (Ver-)Passt (TV trailer)
* 2011: ''Gute Reise'' (short)
* 2011: ''Schreie der Vergessenen'' (TV film)
* 2012: München schaut hin (Socialspot)
* 2012: ''Der Staatsanwalt – Schlangengrube'' (TV series)
* 2012: ''Der Alte'' – Blinder Hass (TV series)
* 2012: ''Wiegenlied'' (short)
* 2013: '' Notruf Hafenkante'' – Das Geheimnis der Braut (TV series)
* 2013: ''Hattinger und die kalte Hand – Ein Chimseekrimi'' (TV film)
* 2013: ''Küstenwache'' – Die Hand des Teufels (TV series)
* 2013: ''Schon wieder Henriette'' (TV film)
* 2013: '' Christine. Perfekt war gestern!'' – Ein Ex zum Knutschen (TV series)
* 2013: ''Apothekerin'' (short)
* 2014: ''Strangers'' (short)
* 2014: ''Sechs auf einen Streich'' – Siebenschön (TV film)
* 2015: '' Stuttgart Homicide'' – Tödliche Tage (TV series)
* 2015: ''Schwägereltern'' (TV film)
* 2015: ''Rico, Oskar und das Herzgebreche''
* 2015: ''Heiraten ist nichts für Feiglinge'' (TV film)
* 2015: '' SOKO München'' (TV series)
* 2016: '' SOKO Wismar'' (TV series)
* 2017: ''Mord in bester Gesellschaft
''Mord in bester Gesellschaft'' is a German television series starring Fritz Wepper and his daughter Sophie Wepper.
See also
*List of German television series
The following is a list of television series produced in Germany:
Current
Drama ...
'' (TV series)
* 2018: ''Oskar — Gehen, wenns am schönsten ist''
* 2018: ''The Aspern Papers''
* 2019: ''Reiterhof Wildenstein'' – Die Pferdeflüsterin (TV Film)
* 2020: ''Endless''
* 2021: '' Army of Thieves''
* 2022: ''Wolke unterm Dach''
* 2022: ''Der Onkel - The Hawk''
* 2022: ''Schächten'' (''post production'')
References
External links
*
Barbara Meier
at IMG Models
IMG Models is an international modeling agency headquartered in New York City and with additional offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. It is a subsidiary of the talent management company International Management Group. The c ...
Barbara Meier
at Major Model Management
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Barbara
Living people
1986 births
German female models
People from Amberg
Germany's Next Topmodel winners