Canadian cosmetic company Lise Watier has selected the new face for its latest fragrance, and the woman they chose brings a new look to the beauty world.
Simon Fraser University student Jessica Kruger was announced the winner Wednesday night, and what makes Kruger so special is not just her beauty; she’s also quadriplegic.
Kruger started using a wheelchair at 15 after she fell two storeys from a ladder while working for a painting company. She has good use of both her arms, but because of the area of her spine that was damaged, she is considered quadriplegic.
Kruger has not slowed down since the accident and has become an avid traveller and athlete, as well as the only female member of B.C.'s co-ed wheelchair rugby team.
As one of the few disabled models in Canada, Kruger beat out more than 400 competitors in the online competition to become the new face of Lise Watier’s “Something Sweet” perfume.
Kruger told CTV British Columbia last month that she first entered the competition just for fun.
“And then it sort of started to spread around my Facebook. …I realized how excited people were by the idea,” she said.
Now, the 21-year-old can add “beauty ambassador” to her resume, as well as perhaps “role model“ to others with disabilities.
"Hopefully, I will be that face that somebody will open a magazine, somebody with a disability will see me and see that someone in a wheelchair can be in a fashion magazine and can represent a cosmetics company and hopefully that will be inspiring to them,” she said Wednesday.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Scott Hurst
