Meet Maxim Australia Model Natalie Roser
“I really love shooting nude. I don’t see shame in it if it’s created for the purpose of self-empowerment.”
“Praise the curves. The shadows. The strength. The skin. The body. Praise for proud women,” reads the card on model Natalie Roser’s website, SERIES. It’s for members only, but one look at her inviting smile and sun-kissed curves and you’ll know that whatever a subscription costs, it’s worth it.
“I really love shooting nude. I don’t see shame in it if it’s created for the purpose of self-empowerment. I love seeing my body looking its best. I think there’s something timeless about nude art,” Natalie defends pictures the Daily Mail has called “raunchy.” “It’s not smutty, it’s really classy. It’s photos that I’m super proud of, it’s artwork I would frame in my house. It’s just that my nipples are exposed.”
Not only does she find gratification in sharing her art with fans, she’s pretty sure they’re gratified, too. “They understand it’s not smutty, it’s art, and they appreciate it in a really nice way,” she says with a nod, then smiles devilishly. “And if they’re enjoying it for other reasons, that’s fine too, that’s their prerogative.”
If you’re not a paying subscriber, take a look at Natalie’s Instagram page, @natalie_roser (1.4 million followers and counting), and you’ll see enough to know she’s perfect, you wouldn’t change a thing. But she would, and she did, last July when she had spinal surgery to correct curvature due to scoliosis.
Her recovery has challenged her in ways she didn’t expect. A natural athlete, she was up to the physical demands, but that wasn’t the problem. “It’s a lot more of a mental challenge,” she grimaces. “Not being able to pick things up or work out the way I’m used to, that’s quite frustrating. I’m learning a lot of patience.”
The Australian-born beauty has been making her living in front of the camera for as long as she can remember, beginning her modeling career at the ripe old age of 13 in her native Newcastle in New South Wales, a half-hour drive from the beach. At the time, her mother secretly sent a photo of her to a magazine model search. Unbeknownst to Natalie, she was chosen to meet with agents at a mall in Sydney a few hours away.
“At 13 I was already five foot eight. I was leggy, had bleach-blonde surf hair, super tan,” she describes the look that caught the attention of her reps at Chic Models, who still handle her today. “I was a really shy kid, so it was a real eye-opening experience for me because I had no idea that modeling was even an option. I never saw myself that way.”
It wasn’t long before the comely coed was taking time off from school for photoshoots. Nevertheless, she completed a degree in design and was an accomplished photographer before becoming a finalist in the Miss Australia beauty pageant.
Runner-up was good enough to build a career on, and so she abandoned photography and design to dedicate herself full-time to modeling, even earning a spot on the cover of Maxim Australia in 2016.
With a face and body like Natalie’s, of course she’s considered acting, but living with Australian TV actor Harley Bonner has impressed on her how much time and dedication is required.
“It would be really cool to explore a part of myself to see if I would be able to bring a character to life, but it scares the shit out of me,” she laughs. “And I don’t know if I’ve got the balls to go through it. I’m so aware of my body and my face, it’s hard for me to relax and not model.”
Model or act, either way the camera loves her, and it has since her first big shoot in the U.S., a Guess lingerie campaign photographed in a Malibu mansion. “Coming from outside America and being in America and doing this shoot for an iconic American brand in an iconic American location was mind blowing!” she recalls.
“I felt very lucky to be doing that. It was a sunny day, one of those days when everything goes well, the coffee is good, the food is good, the outfits are cute, my hair was cute. It was just a good day