Seventeen-year-old model Corinne Iris Cameron is preparing to take on the runway at Paris Fashion Week this October—a milestone she once thought would be impossible after a devastating car accident two years ago left her with life-threatening injuries and a stroke.
Cameron, who recently graduated from high school, says her recovery journey has shaped her outlook on life and her future in modelling.
“When I was 15, I was in a car with friends and the driver was going way too fast,” she says. “I wasn’t wearing a seat belt. I was thrown from the car. I don’t remember everything, but I know I almost died.”
She was left in a rural driveway until a passerby found her and held her hand until first responders arrived. Initially, doctors told her family she had suffered only a concussion, but a CT scan days later revealed a major stroke caused by a carotid artery dissection in her neck.
Her mother, Julie MacPhee, recalls the uncertainty when doctors reviewed the brain scans.
“They showed us the images, and the entire left side of her brain was white,” says MacPhee. “They didn’t have much hope for her recovery. But she’s proved everyone wrong.”
Cameron spent three months in hospital, relearning how to walk, talk and rebuild her speech. She credits persistence—and her parents—for pushing her through recovery.
“I just had to keep doing awkward things, like going to school when my speech still wasn’t good, or going back to dance even when I couldn’t feel my hand,” Cameron says. “Every time I tried, I got a little better.”
Her determination has carried into her passions: modelling and pageantry. Before she was scouted, Cameron competed in smaller pageants and later in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant in Toronto. She says pageantry gave her confidence and the opportunity to have a platform and share her story
“People think pageants are just walking in pretty dresses, but they’re so much more,” she says. “I was able to talk about my stroke, about seat belts, and inspire others.”
Cameron’s modelling career took off earlier this year when she booked a training session with Soli Coaching, the day before The Mills Halifax Fashion Week casting. Her walk caught the attention of her now-agent, who she credits with helping her believe in herself and embrace what she calls her “invisible disability.”
“At first, I didn’t want to say I had a disability,” says Cameron. “But my agent taught me that confidence means owning every part of who you are. Now I want to use modelling to raise awareness about invisible disabilities and show others they can be proud of themselves too.”
This fall, Cameron will also begin working with the RCMP on a seat belt safety campaign, something she hopes will help young people understand the risks of not buckling up.
“I really want to go into schools and talk about it,” she says. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.”
She leaves Oct. 3 for France, where she will walk her first Paris runway for designers A.Kith and Drunk Gurl.
“I’ve always dreamed of this, but to actually go is incredible,” says Cameron. “I want to keep doing commercial modelling and one day write a book. But more than anything, I just want to show people that even if life changes in an instant, you can still make your dreams happen.”
MacPhee says she’s proud of her daughter’s resilience.
“At first she didn’t want to identify as having a disability,” she says. “But through modelling and pageants, and her agent Solitha, she’s learned to be confident in who she is, and that strength is what inspires people.”
For Cameron, the message is simple.
“If I can do it, anyone can.”