She joined modelling as a casual hobby only to
be become the face of some of the leading brands in Pakistan. She is
probably the most photographed model in the country and has done
shoots or shows for almost every, if not all, designers in the
country. Her unconvential looks proved to charm the nation, as did her
leggy form and graceful carriage
Biography
Early life
Vaneeza Ahmad was born in Pakistan but later moved to Germany with her parents to study. She was pressured by her parents to get into medicine when she was in high school. She was to return to Pakistan at the age of 18 to study further medicine but her plans were thwarted by a lack of high school physics and she decided to rather attend Kinnaird College in Lahore.
With her interests still inclined towards medicine, she graduated from Kinnaird College with a bachelor's degree in psychology. In her brief stay at the college, she started to model casually. Not much interested in modelling as a career option, she was showered with offers from various fashion designers, some of which were notable in the Pakistani fashion industry including the likes of fashion designer Nilofer Shahid with whom she did her first shoot, and photographer Khawar Riaz. She is a close friend of the makeup duo Athar and Shahzad, as well as designer Umar Sayeed and often speaks favourably about them in the press.
She is quoted as having said (in a talk show on TV) that she does not want any children.
Vaneeza dated Ali Azmat for several years, the couple lived together for a long time before breaking up due to the latter's infidelity. Vaneeza is said to have been considering saying yes to a marriage proposal from Azmat when she discovered his affair. They are still friends.
She was later involved with Sheryar Sumar, belonging to the Mohd Farooq Textile Mills family. During their relationship, the couple came up with the "V9 project", this project focused on designs of fabrics and outfits for trendy young women, and was marketed using Vaneeza as the model, until the couple split. After their breakup, things reportedly went sour between the two, and Vaneeza is no longer a part of the V9 project. She is now said to be involved with another similar project with another textile mill.
Modelling as a career
When Nilofer approached Vaneeza, she was unsure of which career to pursue and settled for fashion modelling. Her initial walks at fashion shows led fashion critics to praise her elegance on the cat-walk. In dealings with corporate heads of the entertainment industry, her business acumen was similarly praised.[2][3]
Vaneeza, the brand
Recently Vaneeza conjured a brand name V9 for her range of lawn clothing along with Shehryar Sumar of Muhammad Farooq Mills where the clothes were manufactured. Vaneeza was chosen as the brand ambassador and the branding created a hype among the fashion conscious public. The collection consisted of nine different lawn prints created by designers that included Nomi Ansari, Umar Sayeed and Hassan Sheheryar Yasin. In March 2006, the collection sold-out in a series of exhibitions and since then has acquired great acclaim.
Upon consultation and her inclinations towards
superstitious beliefs,Vaneeza changed the brand name in 2008 to ‘V Lawn’
while Sumar carried on the banner for the V9 clothing line.[5] She has
now teamed up with more designers including the likes of Mehdi and
Maheen along with designers that worked with her on the V9 collection.
The new collection is not limited to lawn clothings but also features
chiffon, raw silk and khaadi wear. With her initial exhibitions in
Lahore and Islamabad already a success in April 2008, she planned to
launch fashion shows to promote her brand under the new name for which
she was supported by many Pakistani designers including Deepak Perwani
and Sonya Battla[6] for they had lent their support for her previous
collection as well.
Acting and acclaim“ I could lie about it and say I’m in this field for the love of art. But I admit that I’m doing it for money. ”
—Vaneeza Ahmed
Over her fifteen year reign in the fashion industry her business etiquette has helped her to survive her chosen career. In a country where women are not expected to be make smart and calculated decisions in business matters of monetary concerns, Vaneeza always stayed with the career for the sake of money.[9] With her peer Iraj Mansoor, Vaneeza is described as having ‘amassed a veritable fortune via straight-shooting endorsement deals and sensible choices’ within a decade and a half.
Vaneeza now divides her time between Europe and Pakistan, on projects from fashion shoots and shows to filming drama serials and television programs.[4] She is currently making her travelogues around the world for cable TV.Ahmad also recently signed on as brand ambassador for Lux's new variant Aqua Sparkle and brand ambassador for Mobilink's premier Indigo.
Ahmad made her acting debut in Jamal Shah's controversial saga Kal and has since acted in Marina Khan's Tum Hi Tau Ho, Janey Anjaney and Tum Say Mil Ker; Armaan; and Talaash. Most famous role to come her way was that of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah's daughter Dina Wadia in Jamil Dehlavi's 1998 biopic of the leader titled Jinnah.
On 16 April 2008, Vaneeza Ahmad was selected as one of the Olympic torch bearers when the torch arrived in Islamabad. Sponsored by Samsung, she was one of the few selected celebrities to hold the torch in the relay out of the chosen 66
