Kelly Kay Emberg is an American former model best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and in advertisements for companies like Cover Girl.
Career
Emberg was born in Houston, Texas, and attended Stratford High School, where she was a member of the school's female drill team, the Spartanaires. She was a cheerleader in her senior year with partner Kelly Bittner. She modeled part-time during high school after being "discovered" by Alan Martin, a local photographer in Houston who introduced her to John Casablancas. Casablancas brought her to New York City to join his new agency Elite Model Management, where her print career took off. She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines. Her first cover was for British Vogue photographed by Alex Chatelain. She also appeared numerous times in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and in advertisements for Cover Girl cosmetics, Napier Jewelry, and Calvin Klein. After her modeling career, Emberg attended UCLA for three years studying interior design. She worked for interior designerMichael S. Smith and owns The Cotton Box, with a shop on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Her biggest client is Rod Stewart. Emberg created the interior designs for the guest house on his Los Angeles estate in which Ruby, along with Kimberly and Sean, Stewart's children by Alana Hamilton, live. Emberg's passion for gardening created her current career as Kelly Emberg: The Model Gardener, in which she provides advice, expertise, and enthusiasm, encouraging people to "grow their own" organic veggies. An advocate of wellness through diet, she can be heard on I Heart Radio, and seen on her social media profiles, and www.kellyemberg.com
Personal life
Emberg was at the top of her career when she began dating singer Rod Stewart in 1983. The couple had one child, a daughter, Ruby, born June 17, 1987 in Los Angeles. In the summer of 1990, the couple split. Stewart insisted it was Emberg's decision to break off the relationship: "She had another geezer". Emberg filed a palimony suit in early 1991, which was settled in 1993 for an undisclosed amount. Emberg has two sons, one with each of her former husbands, Brad Jenkel and Gavin Brodin. She married attorney Mike Padilla in 2007, and resides in the San Diego area.
