Fashion Woman Get Models Jobs in Modeling Promotion

According to the official program notes for The Beautiful Life, a new CW and A channel ensemble drama about wannabe fashion models produced in part by Ashton Kutcher -- the show, that is, not the models -- "the life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model quickly learns, behind the beautiful facade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition."

And that's just America's Next Top Model.

The plot of The Beautiful Life -- yes, there is a plot -- goes something like this: Two teenage models are about to discover the dark underbelly of high-end modeling promotion for themselves.

Raina Marinelli (Sara Paxton), "a stunning beauty with a secret past," is on an upward track to stardom, and has just stolen the spotlight from her best friend at a high-end fashion models shoot.

Meanwhile, Chris Andrews (Ben Hollingsworth), "a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy," is just starting out. He's on the bottom and starting to work his way up, you might say.

He must be strikingly handsome -- Hollingsworth is from Canada. Born in Brockville, Ont. to be exact. Hollingsworth last appeared in The Movie Network and Movie Central's ensemble street thriller The Line, set in some of Toronto's grungiest neighborhoods. Manhattan's Upper East Side looks pretty good after that. (As with Gossip Girl, The Beautiful Life is set and filmed in New York City.)

Hollingsworth's character is loosely based on Kutcher's own life. Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids and was plucked from obscurity while drinking in a bar. He was underage at the time, he admitted -- somewhat sheepishly.

"It was a completely alien experience," Kutcher said of his transition from Iowa farm country to the bright lights of New York City.

"I think that's why it makes interesting fodder for a fashion woman show like this. It's such a foreign world. It was for me, anyway.

Supermodel Elle Macpherson has a recurring role in The Beautiful Life as the owner of the (fictional) Covet Modeling Agency.

"This is a fabulous role for me because it allows me to express and explore my experience in the fashion models jobs industry. My character, Claudia, is the head of a modelling agency.

The modelling industry is a multi-billion-dollar business. It is not a fly-by-night thing. We have TV programs. We have whole TV channels that are devoted to the fashion modeling promotion industry. We create a lot of money for the global economy.