French PM tried to keep daughter off catwalk

CERGY-PONTOISE, France, Oct 27 (Reuters) French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has revealed he had tried to persuade his daughter not to become a model.

Working under the pseudonym Marie Steiss, Villepin's 20-year-old daughter lives in New York and recently won a big contract to promote a Givenchy perfume.

''My daughter has got into a profession and is doing something that she wanted to do,'' Villepin said when asked about her success and whether the reflected glory was helping him.

''I did everything I could do to dissuade her. But it seems she is doing it and has talent,'' he said during a news conference in a suburb outside Paris.

French magazine Paris Match published yesterday a feature on Steiss, who has inherited her father's good looks.

''I insist on working in utter anonymity and not feel the weight of, or worse, benefit from the privileges tied to my family name. I want to succeed on my own,'' she said.

She says she shares a 40-square metre (130-sq ft) apartment with four friends.

Reuters DKS VP0435