Pampers, Matalan and 90s music videos: Meet the former child models

Retro baby fashion, nappy adverts and photos with people who definitely aren’t their parents – child models found fame at an extremely early age.  

Years on from posing in pint-sized floral dresses and size one shoes, the child models of the past are all grown up and at university.

Here’s what happened to the child models of the 90s.

Izzy Morrow – Pampers model who had her own advert

Durham fresher Izzy Morrow broadcast her bum to the world when she became the star of a Pampers advert centred entirely round her.

Being a baby at the time, she doesn’t remember a thing and her first memory of the clip was when her mum showed it during a show and tell at school.

She told The Tab: “I think it’s really funny because my bum was on TV and people used to recognise my mum when she would take me out to the park.

While Izzy doesn’t remember how much Pampers paid her, she remembers a year supply of nappies arriving when her younger brother was born.

She said: “I got the job because a scout from Saatchi and Saatchi came to a music group that I used to go to.

“They spotted me then asked my mum if I wore pampers, which my mum thought was a bit weird at the time.

“A crew came over to our house a few days before Christmas to shoot it all, and it took about 3 days to get this 42 second advert.”

Her first memory of Pampers fame came from a show and tell presentation, where she told her classmates all about the nappy advert.

Izzy said: “I went home and asked my mum what to bring in and I’m pretty sure she said to tell people I was a pampers baby and show them the video.

“I don’t even think my show and tell was the best one.”

Speaking on the video, Izzy said: “My mum didn’t realise they were still filming at the end so hence her saying ‘not like my bum’.

“They kept it in anyway and people would recognise her and ask if she was ‘not like my bum’.”

Jess – Appeared in a Suede music video

Third year Leeds History student Jess Austin appeared in the Suede video for “We are the Pigs” as a giggling baby.

While most babies are safe at home in a pram or cot, Jess describes her acting as “playing a baby on a bonfire in a weird piggy apocalyptic world”, which puts her in the same bracket as the famous baby on the cover of Nirvana’s “Nevermind”.

Jess said: “My mum used to do a lot of work with music videos and she’s also in the video. I think they needed extras so they used us.

“I think I found out about the video at age six. I did some modelling for Paul Smith too but haven’t seen the modelling photos in years,

“I just remember mum telling me I got fired because I gave all the other baby models nits.”

Despite starting life as a promising model and getting scouted by Storm when she turned 14, Jess chose to turn her back on a catwalk life.

She said: “After visiting the agency I decided I’d rather eat pies than be a model.

“I just remember asking my mum if we could go and get a pasty once it was all over.

“She said ‘you can’t really eat pies if you want to be model’ – and that’s when I decided it had to be pies over modelling.”

Far from being embarrassed about being a giggling baby on screen which was broadcast to millions, Jess is extremely proud of her performance.

She said: “It’s quite a good song, it’s on my iPod anyway.

“I saw suede in concert last year with my mum and they were great.”

She apparently even brings it up in seminars from time to time too.

Go to 3:40 to spot Jess.

Lydia – Jewellery catalogues

Lydia Robinson is a  third year French and Spanish at Edinburgh Uni who also featured as a child model.

She confessed: “They’re just funny childhood photos, I don’t think I was a very good looking child so that makes them funnier really

“I don’t really remember much about the shoot itself, apart from being pretty bored.

“My dad found the catalogue recently so that’s why we have the photo – but it’s definitely not framed on our wall!”

Aside from modelling jewellery, Lydia was also in a fashion show for a designer children’s shop which she describes as “weird”.

She said: “I haven’t done any modelling since, absolutely not.

“But the picture is something my friends find really funny.

“I was asked to be photographed for the children’s clothes company because we shopped there a lot – and the jewellery catalogue was actually for my dad’s company.”

Will – Scandinavian clothing

Despite being thoroughly British, Bristol grad Will Lloyd happened to look relatively Scandinavian as a child so landed a brief role as a Norwegian model as an ambitious four-year-old.

He explained: “My dad works in packaging and at the time he did a lot of work in Norway.

“They were looking for child models in London who had the Scandi look – blonde, blue eyes, rosy cheeks and I really fit the bill.

“I remember standing on this big white thing and being given a toy truck to play with. I vaguely remember taking direction and there being other scandi kids around.

“When I was really young I was completely bald – think of a baby Phil Mitchell- and then when I eventually did have hair it was so, so blonde for a few years that I could get away with this Scandinavian thing.

“Now it’s brown and the modelling work has dried up.”

Will happened to look to Scandinavian as a child, people would often get his nationality confused.

He said: “Apparently people would come up to my Mum and Dad and start yakking away in Danish and they’d have to be like ‘Sorry, we’re not actually Danish’.”

Far from being embarrassed about his modelling days and slightly odd posing, Will admits he finds the picture funny.

“The picture is on my phone because I wanted my WhatsApp picture to be different for a bit, and I thought this one was funny.”

Rosie – Clothkits catalogues

Not long after she started school, Rosie Eckert modelled in a clothing catalogue in an edgy raincoat and wide-brimmed hat which most of us wouldn’t be too ashamed of wearing today.

Rosie said: “My friends call me the giant baby because they say I haven’t changed looks-wise since I was three.

“When I was around 5 years old Clothkits paid for my family to go out to Spain.

“I’ve been told they paid a few hundred pounds but I never really chased it up with my mum and dad.”

Rosie remembers the scene well, and recalls that the photographer even brought in props to keep her entertained.

She added: “They had this toy sunflower that sung which they would wave behind the camera, that’s what I’m looking at in this picture I think.”

Rosie has graduated from Bath Uni and now works as an insurance broker.

She said: “My modelling days are behind me. I peaked too soon”

Grace – Matalan Child model

Manchester grad Grace found brief fame as a Matalan catalogue model, styling floral dresses getting photographed with strangers.

She said: “They are not my parents in the picture – I don’t know who they are.

“I did get some free clothes but I wasn’t interested in the frilly dresses, I only wanted Disney stuff.

“I remember I really wanted a set of the Matalan purple pjamas with Jasmine from Aladdin on and I finally got them.

“Looking back I actually really like the florals they dressed me in, I’d definitely wear them now.

“I’d even wear the whole outfit with the hat.”

Grace was only aged three or four at the time of the shoots, but recalls a time when she kicked off in front of the camera.

She said: “I do remember one diva meltdown once about missing my mum.

“I cried so much and my face was so puffy that they couldnt take pictures of me anymore – my mum wasn’t pleased.

“Maybe that’s why I never booked any other jobs with other brands.”