Amber Smith

About Amber Smith

Amber Smith (born March 2, 1971 in Tampa, Florida) is an American actress and fashion model.

Amber Smith was born in Tampa, Florida, the only child of NFL player Russell Smith (of the San Diego Chargers) and professional model Carol Smith.

Amber followed in her mother’s footsteps when she began her modeling career at age fifteen. She started out locally with newspaper advertisements and weekly fashion shows at the Holiday Inn.

Just before her sixteenth birthday, Amber left for Paris. For four years, she worked in the international modeling circuits in Europe. Her breakthrough came when her naturally blonde hair was dyed red. What was previously a slight resemblance to the famed movie star Rita Hayworth became a strong likeness.

Amber appeared in back to back issues of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she was chosen as Esquire’s first Vargas Girl of the 1990s, and she launched a Wonderbra campaign which portrayed her as the first Wonderbra model.

Amber received recognition with high fashion covers in Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, among many others. The strong editorial coverage led to advertising for L'Oreal, Buffalo Jeans, Camel, Kahlua, Volkswagen, and Panama Jack to name a few. She walked the runway for many famous fashion designers such as Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Amber returned to America with a full portfolio shot by the world’s top photographers such as Ellen von Unwerth, Walter Chin, Arthur Elgort, and Marco Glaviano. Amber was the cover girl for the March 1995 issue of Playboy and has appeared on the cover of numerous other magazines.

Despite a three year hiatus to begin her acting career, she landed the Wolford campaign shot by world famous photographer Helmut Newton and was the model for the 2002 lingerie campaign for Venus Victoria, the European sister company to Victoria's Secret.

Amber moved to Los Angeles, California to begin her second career before the age of twenty three. Amber was cast in her first role in Paul Mazursky's Faithful on a referral from Robert DeNiro that stemmed from her Casino auditions. She was cast in both The Funeral directed by Abel Ferrara and Barbra Streisand's The Mirror Has Two Faces.

Later, she played the part of Susan Lefferts, a Rita Hayworth look alike, in Curtis Hansen's L.A. Confidential. Her resemblance to Rita Hayworth came into play yet again when she landed a role in HBO's The Rat Pack.