The day I wrote this in sketch—Tuesday 22 January 2019—a young Dutch model was flying to America, to NY, for the next three years, to work as a model (like Maddie Ziegler) for IMG Models, though based in Paris, London and Milan as well. She, Summer de Snoo, is 9 years old and has been a model since she was 4 years old.
(Photographer unknown) – Summer de Snoo with her mother Jessica in Dutch talk show ‘Jinek’ (2019)
(Photographer unknown) – Summer in the same talk show of Eva Jinek (2019)
I had not heard about her before yesterday, when she was a guest in the Dutch talk show Jinek, run by Eva Jinek. In it she appeared with her mother, her first manager, and clearly still under her ‘watchful’ eye. She also has a professional manager. The mother, and two sisters, moved to NY as well. The father has a company in Holland, but will follow later, when things in the States are settled. The mother was asked by some journalist, whether her daughter’s income will be enough for the family—a bit of a direct question perhaps—but she answered at once that whatever Summer earns herself will remain hers.
Perhaps predictably, and inevitably in our culture, there were questions and remarks about whether modeling by someone so young is a good thing to do, let alone flying to America for it. Summer says that this is what she wants to do: that she likes the variety in clothes she wears and the people she meets. Meanwhile, she has her catwalk workshops, her school, her sports and playing of video games (like Nintendo)—as her mother claims, and as she shows in the few short documentaries about her, seemingly without putting on (modeling) airs. She goes on to tell about one of her more specific dreams: to someday become one of the only 14 Angels of Victoria’s Secret.
(Photographer unknown) – 6 out of 14 Angels from Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (year unknown)
May I mention her beauty, apparent in some well-made photographs, shot in The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe—namely Milan? Today, it is still winter in NY but Summer is there. Later this year, I may try to find out more about her experiences there, as she expands her thoughts about posing, to write a more general post about young girls modeling (and acting and dancing). She will join the ranks of such talents, often with beautiful names, as Maddie Ziegler, Kristina Pimenova, Thylane Blondeau, Laneya Grace, Jade Weber, Laura Niemas, Lily Chee, Lilly Kruk! Kruk…? Well, what is in a name? And maybe a few are a bit less famous, but as bright and beautiful as the rest! And maybe I will find out what, seemingly, brought some of them together, in modeling—at least in photography.
(Photographer unknown) – Laneya Grace and Jade Weber (year unknown)
(Photographer unknown) – Laneya Grace, Lilly Kruk and Kristina Pimenova (year unknown)
(Photographer unknown) – Summer (year unknown)
Sarah Ann Terschegget – Summer de Snoo (2018)
Sarah Ann Terschegget – Summer (2018)
Cooper Seykens – Summer (year unknown)
Studio STIEP Portraits? – Summer (year unknown
Judith Onderstal – Le Portrait (year unknown)
(Photographer unknown) – Close up (year unknown)
I presume Summer can give us a Mona Lisa smile pretty well. One can see her giving smiles pretty well in daily life as well—at least in the daily media. But I have seen her, giving for example, ‘serious’ (1:27) and even ‘angry’, being asked to (1:35), change herself with this serious gaze—or I would say a vanishing point gaze of beauty like those examples above.
Here below acting out her dream and her signature smile.
(Photographers Unknown) – Victoria Secret Angel – Summer (around 2018)
I will let Summer have the last words, a response to the criticism and the issues of modeling so young. In this short clip in Dutch she answers the journalist who asks her what she thinks of all the reactions (beginning at 1:17). Translated:
Eh, very irritating. Because they do not know how I live my life. The only thing they know is that I make nice pictures and of course normal videos and that is the only thing they see of me.
I want to tell all the children that watch me, to follow their own dreams and do not say that you are ugly. Because you are beautiful the way you are.
However, all in all, if her ‘Big Apple’ dream should somehow end, this could be her other dream.
(Photographer unknown) – Summer (year unknown)
However, at least one fan knows how to find her, one way or another.
(Photographer unknown) – from Summer de Snoo Fan Account (year unknown)
A bit of linguistic trivia here:
At first I assumed that her last name means “the snow”, and I was thinking that her parents had a sense of humor when they named her Summer (which means the same thing in both languages).
But then I found out that “snow” in Dutch actually is “sneeuw”.
Hi, I donot know exactly what you mean with Summer or / and Snow meaning the same in both languages. Any how, summer is zomer in Dutch. And her surname De Snoo – I had to search but I could have known – is an old Dutch word for a bad person. Snood or snode. Google translates this as nefarious. The saying in Dutch is ‘snode plannen’. Nefarious plans? Summer has none probably or only figuratively, symbolically.
OK, thanks for clearing that up!
It is not that important but you thought that the word summer was Dutch as well? Besides, maybe her parents doesnot have that humour but has a forecasting eye, where ass Summer is an almost too beautiful name for an international model. Well, never mind…
In the mean time, only two days after this publication, came the news that Summer will get her own reality show (The Summer de Snoo Show?;-)) in Holland. However, she is probably in NY now and will probably be filmed there, at least partly.
I have not found anything yet about her new life in NY except that she goes to school and had a few months rest there before starting modeling and being filmed on the first of May. New comments arrived about whether it would be good for her and kids her age. However, she seems to like it. She says in a short comment that she had rather expected this stage of her career to take place when she reached puberty. Concerns were addressed that she will not work more than 4 hours per session and that she only shows kid’s fashion in which children are needed for models. Comparisons were made with other kids who worked in musicals, singing, acting and such. So whether or not modeling is sexy is probably not on Summers mind.
Summer de Snoo is a beautiful young girl. Her dad must be the ultimate cuckold for showing her off to the world like he does. It reminds me very much of the other Dutch girl Mara Groenstege. Her dad got many positive reactions from girl lovers all over the world when he started posting photos of his young daughter and he continued posting many more photos for years. Until a few weird pedophiles started contacting Mara in front of her school, making photos of her themselves and others started complaining to Mara’s dad about that fact.
Summer probably already has more girl lover fans than Mara ever had.
Love you Summer!
I’m not sure that cuckold is quite the right term but your point is well-taken. The issue of parents showing-off their children has become complex. In a tribal setting, children who show some kind of talent or are exceptional in some way are commented upon among the other members of the tribe. It is a safe environment. This natural tendency goes haywire when the audience is much bigger and anonymous, include those who may intend harm. It will be a while before we adapt fully to civilized life and as technology progresses, those shortcomings become more pronounced. -Ron
Even though it is not the main point here, perhaps this “cuckold” matter should be expanded upon.
The sort-of-archaic term cuckold means a man who is being cheated on by his wife.
Dennis, did you mean a fool, or a naive person, or what?
Let us hope her “girl lover” fans do not pursue her though. Hopefully her dad understands that there are some people out there with bad intentions.
It’s awful, can it be a choice when you are ten ?
Yes, I suppose that she can make that choice and that she has made that and still does. I think she likes modeling like she likes football. I believe that a few girl lovers can never be the reason not to do something like this. I suppose she is well protected. I think it comes from her heart, read somewhere that another model, Laneya Grace, wants to be a model the rest of her life. I believe that girl lovers are also part of this world and that they have the same rights and duties for law and state as anybody else and that is, with civil society and our general culture, the protection. And I suppose, think and believe that girls like Summer have their own reasons to model or act or be a YouTube girl singer and are besides nowadays streetwise enough.