Modeling Casta's modeling career reportedly began when she was discovered at age 15 by the photographer Frédéric Cresseaux, after winning a village beauty pageant during a family holiday in her father's native
Corsica She had been unknowingly signed up for the pageant by her brother Jean-Baptiste. Casta has been the
L'Oréal Paris brand ambassador since 1998. She has been featured in
Pantene,
Guess?,
Tommy Hilfiger,
Valentino,
Givenchy,
Ralph Lauren,
Cacharel,
Lolita Lempicka,
Chanel,
Dolce and Gabbana,
Nina Ricci,
Swarovski,
Yves Saint Laurent,
Louis Vuitton,
Roberto Cavalli,
Jacquemus,
J. Crew,
Tiffany & Co.,
Loewe,
Bulgari,
Giorgio Armani,
H&M,
Miu Miu,
Pepe Jeans,
Escada,
Alberta Ferretti and
XOXO ad campaigns. She has appeared on more than 250 magazine covers including ''
Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, i-D, Rolling Stone and Vogue (Paris, España, Germany, Russia and Turkey). Casta was the last muse of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, serving as the bride in his fashion shows She also appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' three consecutive times, as well at the
Pirelli Calendar 1999 by
Herb Ritts, 2000 by
Annie Leibovitz and 2019 by
Albert Watson. She is the face of fragrances
Chanel's
Allure,
Givenchy's
Forbidden flower,
Lolita Lempicka's
Lolita,
Cacharel's
Promise,
Bulgari's
BLV II,
Ralph Lauren's
Notorious,
Yves Saint Laurent's
Baby doll and
Paris,
Nina Ricci's ''L'Extase'' and
D&G's
Pour Femme. The Parisians could follow her Adventures in the
Galeries Lafayette by
Jean-Paul Goude. For Christmas 2011,
Peter Lindbergh shot
True Love, the very thought of Casta at the summit of Manhattan and between the snowy lions of marble of the
New York Public Library for
Tiffany & Co. On 10 March 2010, in Paris, she opened the
Louis Vuitton fall/winter 2010 fashion show. On 27 September 2010, she closed the
Roberto Cavalli spring/summer 2011 fashion show in Milan. On 18 January 2020, in Paris, she opened
Jacquemus fall/winter 2020 fashion show. In September 2020, Casta appeared in the fall/winter ad campaign for
Yves Saint Laurent and for
Valentino. She was ranked as an "Industry Icon" by models.com, and was ranked as a "New Super" .
Acting Her first role was as Falbala in
Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar directed by
Claude Zidi, a live-action adaptation of the comic book
Asterix, in which
Obelix, portrayed by
Gérard Depardieu, plays Casta's love interest. Casta appeared in
Les Ames Fortes, directed by
Raul Ruiz. Her performance as
Brigitte Bardot in the movie
Gainsbourg (Vie heroique) earned her a
Cesar Award nomination. Casta served as a jury member at the
69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.
Marianne controversy In 1999, Casta was ranked first in a national survey ordered by the French Mayors' Association to decide who should be the new model for the
bust of
Marianne, an
allegorical symbol of the
French Republic, which stands inside every French town hall. Casta became the focus of a controversy when, after being selected to be Marianne, newspapers in Britain and France reported that she had relocated to
London where taxes on high earners are lower. Casta's father said she went to London for professional reasons; on a TV show, she also said that she rented a flat in London to be near her boyfriend. The French minister of the interior spoke about Casta on
the radio; comparing the advantages of living in France with regard to the drawbacks of London after political opponents used Casta's relocation to London as an opportunity to criticise the government. ==Political involvement==