Born in Wilton, CT, in 1984, Lydia Hearst is an heiress to the multimedia empire The Hearst Corporation. It was important for her to get an education, and she attended Sacred Heart University, where she majored in communications and technology. In 2004, while a freshman at college, she was discovered by fashion photographer Steven Meisel. “I started at the top,” she says. “My first job was the cover of Italian Vogue, which is the equivalent, essentially, of winning an Academy Award. So there was nowhere else to go from there. I have been very fortunate, because I have been able to maintain that level. I love it. It’s a job just like any other, and what kind of girl growing up doesn’t want to be Barbie, and doesn’t want to play dress-up every single day?”

An American model, Lydia has appeared on the cover of magazines such as Avenue, Vogue Italia, German Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, New York, Marie Claire Japan, BON, Flaunt, Nylon, and Vogue Hellas. People named her one of its 50 Most Beautiful People in 2004. Lydia has lent her memorable face to several high-profile campaigns, including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, DKNY, Bottega Veneta, MAC Cosmetics, Clinique, L’Oréal Feria, Puma’s French Collection, SAKS Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Jovovich-Hawk, Heatherette, Rene Lezard, Roberto Cavalli for H&M, Sephora, NARS, Escada Perfume, Perry Ellis, MYLA Lingerie, Max Studio, H&M, and Pringle.

Lydia has worked with remarkable photographers, among them Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Ellen von Unwerth, Mario Testino, Paolo Roversi, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Bettina Rheims, Mark Abrahams, Peter Lindbergh, and Terry Richardson.

From 2007 to 2008, Lydia wrote a column called “The Hearst Chronicles” for Page Six magazine, and she appeared on the cover of the September 30, 2007, issue of the magazine. “My column is my observation on life, my reaction to the people I’m surrounded by, and the experiences that I have,” she explains. Lydia says that she would write it sitting at her desk, which belonged to her great-grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, the famous newspaperman.

In 2007, Lydia teamed up with Heatherette designers Traver Rains and Richie Rich to design a collection of handbags for sportswear brand Puma. The 10 limited-edition Puma Lydia bags, around $100, are inspired by the French 77 Racket Bag. “Fashion is a living form of art. I love fashion and I love art, and this has been an incredible opportunity for me to let my own vision come to life.” Lydia has been working with Puma since April 2007, when she starred in the company’s global launch event in Monaco for French 77, and she is putting the finishing touches on a line of Puma fitness wear. Apparently, she sometimes stays up all night looking at color swatches.

Lydia’s television and film appearances have included the season-one finale of the CW hit show “Gossip Girl,” H&M commercials, a short film for Bebe directed by Tara Subkoff and written by Carrie Fisher, and her upcoming silver-screen debut in the independent film “Last International Playboy,” alongside actresses Shannon Click, Nicole Trunfio, and Lisa Cant.

Most recently, Lydia became an international ambassador for the Operation Smile Foundation. Lydia and her sister Gillian have already helped build over 12 hospitals in Cairo, and they continue to raise funds and awareness for the foundation. They are planning upcoming missions to Cairo in August 2009 and Vietnam in September 2009. Lydia also delivers food for the charity God’s Love We Deliver and recently helped found the charity Designers for Darfur.

“Everything I do, this is not a hobby for me,” she says. Indeed, Lydia considers even fitness part of her job, and spends between two and four hours a day with her personal trainer when in New York. “I am all business, I am all work,” Lydia continues. “You have to take it seriously—this is a world that will eat you up and spit you out faster than you know what hit you, and you need to stay ahead of the game, and you need to understand that it’s not all about the parties.”