Erika Thompson is exactly the kind of person you might term a model Bermudian.

The slender 21-year-old redhead recently landed a modelling contract with Premier, the same agency which manages supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Kate Hudson.

And although she's only been modelling for a month, Erika's already posed for magazines such as 'Elle', 'Cosmopolitan', and 'Glamour'. She's also done casting for agencies in Milan and Tokyo.

Erika's modelling career seems to have launched practically overnight through a series of serendipitous occurrences. A fellow university classmate studying fashion and textiles had designed a dress for London's Alternative Fashion Week, and asked Erika on the spot if she would be willing to model the dress.

She did, and after the show a talent scout from Premier asked if she was a model. When Erika said that she was not, but would like to be, the agency took a photograph of her as part of a modelling competition.

"The photograph was this terrible Polaroid of me with pale skin and red lips, but four days later they called and said I'd won," said Erika. Shortly afterwards, she was offered a contract and took it home during Easter break to discuss the terms with her family.

Erika said she became particularly excited about the offer when she went to the agency's website at www.premiermodelmanagement.com and realised some of the biggest names in modelling worked with Premier.

She decided to sign the contract, but with a more practical goal in mind than becoming visually famous - Erika decided to use modelling as a way of earning money for her university education.

"The main reason why I decided to do this is to earn money for school," said Erika. While home in Bermuda for the summer, Erika works at the Pickled Onion. When the school year resumes, she will spend between 12 and 15 hours per week in front of a camera as well as working in a London pub in addition to attending classes full-time.

She has been studying graphic design at the Chelsea College of Art & Design, University of Arts London, for a year, following a two-year stint at Carleton University where she studied journalism.

"I wasn't enjoying journalism, which is why I went to London to study graphic design," she said. "Working with images and words is a lot more fun."

Erika, who attended the Bermuda High School for Girls, moved to Nova Scotia with her family when she was 12 and lived there until she graduated from high school at 17.

Despite her identical twin sister Nina's interest in modelling, Erika never thought that she would be able to model because of injuries sustained in a car crash when she was 16. Erika broke her back in the wreck, and had multiple internal injuries.

"They took ten days to operate on my back because they didn't know how to do it without breaking my spinal cord," she said. "I also have a lot of internal injuries. I was in hospital for two months, and out of school for six months."

She has completely recovered from the accident, and luckily, the scars on her back and stomach will not affect her modelling.

"I can't do lingerie and swimsuit shots, but I wasn't interested in doing that anyway," Erika said.

Despite her new-found fame, Erika said she's not sure if she wants to make modelling a permanent career.

"I worry about negative feedback - you really need to be thick-skinned, and I'm not very thick-skinned" she said.

She also said that modelling can at times be tedious and uncomfortable.

"There was one time when they spent five hours curling my hair for a shot," she said. "People are always in your face fixing you and touching you."

Although perhaps difficult to curl, it's precisely her hair, red with gold highlights, that is considered her best asset as a model. In an industry where 34-24-34 bust-waist-hip dimensions are the standard, Erika's naturally flame-coloured tresses are part of what helps her stand out.

However, the promise of international recognition has not swayed her decision to focus her energies on more than just her external beauty.

"School comes first," Erika said firmly. "Modelling is a side thing, and if I can make any money doing it, I'll be happy."