Ford Models hires models through casting calls, contests and applications. Plenty of famous faces got their start at Ford, including Brooke Shields, Kim Basinger, Lana Del Ray and Martha Stewart, according to a July 2014 article in the New York Post. Originally established in 1946 by Eileen and Jerry Ford out of their home, Ford Models has grown into one of the most influential and recognized of all modeling agencies.

Apply Online

Ford Models accepts applications online through its online submission form. Provide your basic personal and contact information as well as specific physical characteristics, including your height, waist and bust measurements, eye color and hair color. Include a short blurb about yourself and why you want to become a Ford model. You're required to provide four photos of yourself: one full-length view, one waist-up shot, one three-quarter profile shot and one head and shoulders shot. Photos should be in JPEG or JPG format and not exceed 600 KB in total. Ford asks that you wear solid colored and form-fitting clothing, stand in front of a plain background and not wear makeup. Photos shouldn't be professionally taken. Short videos are optional and shouldn't exceed 25 MB.

Mail in Application

Ford also accepts applications through the mail. Ford's headquarters are located in New York, New York; the address is 57 West 57th Street, Penthouse, New York, New York, 10019. Ford also has offices in Paris, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and Sao Paulo, Brazil. If you're closer to one of these locations, apply directly to it. The corresponding addresses are 278 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75007 Paris, France; 1665 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Miami Beach, Florida, 33139; 9200 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 805, West Hollywood, California, 90069; 311 West Superior Street, Suite 444, Chicago, Illinois, 60654; Rua Findencio Ramos, 195 VL Olimpia, Sao Paulo, SP CEP 04551-010 Brazil. These addresses were current at the time of publication.

Show Up for Casting Calls

Ford Models regularly announces casting calls on its website. A casting call is an open request for auditions for potential models. When Ford announces a casting call, the agency also lets you know what it's looking for, including gender, height and age. In some cases, Ford will ask you to bring photos of yourself, preferably not shot by a professional. Bringing your photo is important, because how your physique translates in a photo can be vastly different from how you look in person. Ford asks that you not try to pose in photos. The agency wants to see you in natural form.

Enter Contests

Ford also regularly holds contests in collaboration with V Magazine in search of Ford's Next Top Model. Enter using Ford's online submission form, or Instagram a photo of yourself to #VFord. Winners earn a contract with Ford Models.

Get Noticed

Bring your personality with you, says Aaron Newbill, Director of Scouting for Ford, in an interview with Marie Claire magazine. Ford wants to see more than pretty faces. Smile, be confident and express yourself while being professional and respectful. Be punctual to interviews and casting calls, and have your photographs or portfolio -- the collection of photos you use to represent your most recent work -- organized. Represent yourself as someone prepared to do the best you can, recommends Ford model Faye Dinsmore

She also recommends not letting anyone change who you really are. Embrace your unique beauty and let the true you shine.