Simon Nessman (born November 6, 1989) is a Canadian model from

Courtenay, British Columbia Courtenay ( ) is a city of about 26,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest community and only List of cities in British Columbia, city in th ...

Early life

Nessman was born in Courtenay, British Columbia, the son of Carolyn Ireland and Ron Nessman. The youngest of four children, he is of Austrian and Scottish descent. Nessman was discovered in late 2006 after a friend of his sister sent pictures of him to talent scout Kelly Streit of Mode Models of Canada. At the time 17-year-old Nessman was still attending high school at Georges P. Vanier Secondary and did not pursue his modelling career until graduating. Nessman moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to begin his modelling career, staying in the city for the next five years. Nessman was an avid player in his school's basketball and rugby teams and received offers from both the

University of the Fraser Valley The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a public university with campuses in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, British Columbi ...

and

Quest University Quest University (officially Quest University Canada) was a private, not-for-profit, secular liberal arts and sciences university. The university opened in September 2007 with an inaugural class of 73 and suspended academic operations in April ...

in British Columbia. In 2013, Nessman returned to Canada to pursue his college basketball career at Quest University in Squamish. He graduated from Quest in May 2017 and earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science.

Career

Nessman is best known as the current face of

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

. In addition, he has featured in ad campaigns for

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

, D&G,

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert d ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin in Paris. It is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Lanvin Group includes Lanvin, S ...

, Yves Saint Laurent,

Barneys Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks ...

, Gap and

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...

. He appeared in the 2012 music video of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's new song,

Girl Gone Wild "Girl Gone Wild" is a song by American singer Madonna from her twelfth studio album, ''MDNA (album), MDNA'' (2012). She co-wrote the song with Benny Benassi, his cousin Alle Benassi (known together as the Benassi Bros.), and songwriter Jenson V ...

, directed by fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. He has walked in shows for

Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930 ...

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; 15 November 1940 – 12 April 2024) was an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The Roberto Cavalli fashion house sells luxury clothing, perf ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

Viktor & Rolf Viktor & Rolf is a Dutch avant-garde luxury fashion house founded in 1993 by Viktor Horsting (born 1969, Geldrop) and Rolf Snoeren (born 1969, Dongen). For more than twenty years, Viktor & Rolf have sought to challenge preconceptions of fashion an ...

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. (; ) is a French designer sports fashion company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur André Gillier. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The ...

DSquared² Dean and Dan Caten (née Catenacci; born December 19, 1964) are Canadian fashion designers, radio personalities, and businessmen. They are identical twin brothers and the founders and owners of Dsquared², an Italian luxury fashion house based i ...

Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Jesus Rodriguez III (; born January 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer. Early life and education Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, ...

and

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

and appeared in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', '' Details'', ''

Numéro ''Numéro'' is an international fashion magazine published by Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers. It has a circulation of 80,000, and the French edition reached its 100th issue in February 2009. The magazine covers international fashion, beauty, design, he ...

'', ''

V Man ''VMan'' is a magazine featuring men's clothing published as an offshoot of '' V'' magazine. History and profile ''VMan'' was established in 2003, and is published quarterly by Visionaire Publishing, also responsible for ''V'' and ''Visionaire' ...

'' and ''

L'Officiel Hommes ''L'Officiel Hommes'' is a French luxury fashion and lifestyle magazine for men, adapted from '' L'Officiel,'' owned by a Hong Kong company AMTD Idea. It has been published in Paris since 2005 and targets men interested in fashion. History ''L ...

''. He starred in the A/X Armani Exchange Spring 2011 advertising campaign with Clara Alonso, Alejandra Alonso,

Marlon Teixeira Marlon Luiz Teixeira (born September 16, 1991) is a Brazilian fashion model. Career He started his career when his grandmother introduced him to Anderson Baumgartner, owner of Way Model Management and friend of the family. He has walked for nu ...

, and Francisco Lachowski. In 2012 Nessman became the face of the

fragrance Acqua di Gio Essenza in an advertising campaign shot and directed by Bruce Weber. Nessman continued to feature in the 2014 print and video campaigns for the fragrance. From late 2010 to 2014 Nessman starred in multiple print and film campaign advertisements for American fashion designer

with

Karmen Pedaru Karmen Pedaru (born 10 May 1990) is an Estonian model. She is best known for her long-time work with Michael Kors. Personal life Pedaru was born in Kehra, Estonia. She was raised by her grandmother after her mother died when Pedaru was five yea ...

. He appeared alongside British supermodel and actress

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

in the John Hardy Spring/Summer 2015 campaign, shot by

Sebastian Faena Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Achievements

In 2011, Nessman was ranked the second most successful male model in the world behind

Sean O'Pry Sean Richard O'Pry (born July 5, 1989) is an American model. He began his modelling career in the year 2006 and has featured in numerous advertising campaigns and editorials. In 2015, O'Pry was included on Models.com's new 'Supers Men', 'Sexiest ...

on the ''models.com'' list of the Top 50 international male models. In 2013, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked Nessman third on their The World's Highest-Paid Male Models list behind

David Gandy David James Gandy (born 19 February 1980) is an English model and creative director who began his career after winning a televised model-search competition. Widely regarded as the most successful male model of all time, Gandy is both the model ( ...

and

, second and first respectively. In 2014, Nessman was nominated for a Model Of The Year award. As of 2015, Nessman was featured on Models.com's list of Sexiest Men, Top Icons Men, and The Money Guys. In 2019 Nessman is featured on Supers Men, the highest rank male model can attain on Models.com.

Personal life

Nessman currently lives at Vargas Island near

Tofino Tofino ( , Nuu-chah-nulth language, Nuu-chah-nulth: ''Načiks'') is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. The District ...

, British Columbia. In July 2020, he married Romanian supermodel

Andreea Diaconu Andreea Diaconu (; born 28 March 1991) is a Romanian model. She is one of the most popular models from Romania. She has been featured on the covers of magazines from France, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland. Diaconu posed for ''Vogue'' ma ...

. Nessman has listed

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

as a passion.

References

External links

* *
Simon Nessman
at Male Model Scene
Simon Nessman
at The Province {{DEFAULTSORT:Nessman, Simon 1989 births Living people Canadian male models 21st-century Canadian people People from Courtenay, British Columbia Canadian people of Austrian descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Models from British Columbia