Jean Maley

International Model

Jean began modelling in 1950 after being approached by a man while she was having coffee with a friend. He gave her a note with a phone number, and Jean’s mother rang the number to find out more.

The next day Jean went to Lee's Mannequin Agency in Perth with her mother and started the process to becoming a mannequin and a model. She learned about makeup, walking, posture, all the things needed to show off the clothes, shoes and hats she would be modelling. After six weeks she was squeezing modelling jobs for lingerie, daywear and evening gowns in around her regular cleaning job at the Cottesloe Picture Theatre as a usherette.

Jean decided to go to Sydney where there were more opportunities, but after putting her name down with an agency there and not getting any work, she decided to head to England with a friend. Once in London, she signed up with Molyneux Agency and worked there for 3 years, modelling clothes for adults and children, making television appearances for children's programs, and appearing in a publication called 'Conversation with the Deaf'.