Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Arts and Culture

18-year-old "It-girl" Cory Kennedy doing what she does best

Even if you don't recognize her, you might have heard of her at one point or another. Cory Kennedy began her career as an Internet celebrity, leaping towards stardom through MySpace. But the fifteen minutes of fame have lasted longer than expected for the 18-year-old girl.

Her career can be placed in the same ranks as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, which unmistakably translates into being a socialite, rich and famous for doing nothing. Cory Kennedy is considered an "it" girl by many, but what exactly is "it"?

Kennedy was discovered in the summer of 2005 when she met photographer Mark Hunter ("The Cobrasnake") at a concert in Los Angeles. She began an internship at his office, appeared in his photographs and accompanied him to various parties. Their professional relationship became a personal one as Kennedy became Hunter's muse and girlfriend, despite the age difference. Before she knew it, she was being featured in a photoshoot for Nylon magazine's piece on music and Myspace, starring in mock music videos, and getting paid to make appearances at clubs - all at 16. She soon captured the attention of the media with mentions in Gawker.com and a profile in L.A. Weekly.

Today, Kennedy chronicles her life on her daily blog, has close to 14,000 friends on MySpace, and now even has her own column in Nylon.

She has popularized the "grudge" style - slightly dishelved, the appearance (or reality) of unwashed hair, and clothes put together to look, well, not put together. She is the envy of female hipsters and the ultimate "scene kid". She frequently makes the lists for fashion icons and is a style role model for dozens of scenesters, ranking up there with the boho-chic Olsen twins.

These days, her presence is positively ubiquitous. In the past two months alone, she has been featured in New York Magazine, The Observer's (UK) fashion supplement, and spotted sitting in the front row at New York as well as Paris Fashion Week.

Despite her many appearances, people continue to question what she does. Take, for example, New York Fashion Week. At the Karen Walker show, an interviewer for BlackBook began by asking her name before springing the inevitable question - "what exactly do you do?" To this, Kennedy paused before replying, "I'm not quite sure." The interviewer than asked why exactly she was sitting in the front row. Kennedy again replied, "I'm not quite sure."

Continued...

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