Her mother battled racism as she scraped a living picking grapes and shelling shrimp, but Samantha Harris seems destined for a very different life as the world's first Aboriginal supermodel.
The 16-year-old schoolgirl's smouldering eyes, coffee-coloured complexion and bee-stung lips have made her a catwalk sensation in Australia. The teenager, from Queensland's Gold Coast, is on assignment in Fiji this weekend, and later this month will be the star attraction at New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland.
'This is the first time we've had a model of Aboriginal blood who has the potential to go international,' said Kathy Ward, director of Chic Management, the teenager's agency.
'She has everything it takes to get to the top: gorgeous eyes, a perfectly symmetrical face, and lips like I've never seen before.'
Samantha, who has another year to complete at school, was first discovered when she entered a modelling competition in an Australian teen magazine, Girlfriend, three years ago.
Since then, she has modelled for top Australian designers, flown to Tahiti and New York on assignment, and appeared in the Australian edition of Marie Claire, as well as Glamour magazine in the US.
Her exotic looks come from her mother, who is Aboriginal, and her mechanic father, a white Australian of German descent.