Gina Gardiner & Friends with Karuna aka Caroline Ashley

From being photographed by Pamela Hanson for my first professional portfolio in the wheat fields of Colorado, I have navigated a journey of fantastic and sometimes blistering experiences with over four decades of yoga, meditation, and Ayurvedic diet. I started blind in Paris on a one-way ticket to “make it” as a professional model. After months of fruitless auditioning, on pluck and providence, Guy Bourdin, considered one of France’s most famous fashion artists and photographers, took one concerted look at me and booked me for 6 months at French Vogue. From his photos and legacy, my image is now in museums worldwide. Then contracted as a model with Eileen Ford, who brought me from Paris to New York, exuberant and riding high on the energy, I broke both arms pedaling a bike down Fifth Avenue to a Mademoiselle shoot. Always intent on “Showing Up,” I went to the Ralph Lauren show the very next day, as I was cast to walk the runway and sadly had to observe instead, double-casted. This immediately sparked my advocacy for model protection, and I was one of the first to advocate for emergency insurance. When privacy on set for models became a reoccurring issue, I used my voice and championed those privacy rights along with Jerry Hall. In my next “stage,” I stood on my head to audition for The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School where I graced the same boards as Sir Daniel Day-Lewis and Sir Anthony Hopkins. While still modeling and acting, I raised two very young children, living a very full householder life. I happened to be the daughter-in-law of Laura Ashley who created a fashion empire and left us a legacy championing women, a reason you often saw Princess Diana wearing Laura Ashley. Website: https://lightonkundalini.com