While Rose Cordero was playing volleyball in her native Domenican Republic, a man got out of his car and approached her. Thinking the man was crazy, she ran away from him, but he insisted on talking to the 13-year-old because he said she had the potential to become a model. Turns out the "crazy" man was Sandro Guzman, the scout with the most Dominican models signed in the international market. He gave Rose her card, but Rose wouldn't put his number to use until her aunt spotted him on a TV a year later. Just call Sandro Rose's fairy godfather.

Her runway debut came in February 2009 at Burberry, and has since been seen strutting for Rodarte, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, and 3.1 Phillip Lim. Referred to as the "Black Rose," she's been likened to Grace Jones and even posed as the model/music icon in the December 2009 issue of Vogue Paris.

Were it not for Sandro, Rose might still be playing volleyball in obscurity, and still getting teased by her classmates. Thankfully that's all behind her now, and, as her résumé and fairy-tale story prove, Rose is primed for greatness.