After she battled with depression.
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia began yesterday and Australian supermodel, Gemma Ward appeared at the opening, after having six years out of the fashion scene.
The Australian model had left her modelling career after her close friend Heath Ledger passed away in 2008, when she was just 20 years old. Ward has revealed that afterward she dealt with depression. She has said that having her daughter, Naia, 1 played a huge part in getting her back on the catwalk.
The 27-year-old spoke to The Daily Telegraph about getting through her depression and how motherhood has been a turning point for her.
“It has been fun to show Naia new places as we travel around for work. It is amazing because you don’t know how much having a baby is going to change you but it gave me focus and direction. I know what is right and she is a priority — it played a part in coming back to work,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
Ward left modelling at the height of her career - at the time she was asking $25,000 a show and had been on 24 Vogue covers worldwide. As she fell in to deep depression though she knew she just needed time for herself.
"I was willing to do it because I wanted a break. I didn’t think it was going to be so long," she told The Daily Telegraph.
The young model and mum opened up to the publication about how after Ledger's death she spoke to her parents about what she was going through and said they were very supportive and suggested that she seek help from a professional. Her parents' telling her that getting help was not shameful had a huge impact on Ward.
Ward told The Daily Telegraph that while going through something like she did, you must never lose faith that one day it will get better, even though that's so hard to believe at the time. To get through it the former model (at the time) started to explore new options like acting and travelling.
