Nicole Trunfio

Nicole Trunfio (born 16 March 1986) is an Australian model.

Trunfio was born on 16 March 1986 in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia to father, Giuseppe and mother, Kim.

She is the youngest of three siblings.

Her father was of Italian descent and she says her Italian upbringing made her feel "more Italian than Australian growing up".

She would ride dirt bikes and make Italian sausage, pasta sauce and wine with her grandparents.

Trunfio grew up poor but never felt poor as “there was always food on the table and love in the household". When she was a child, her father played music around the house and "had every instrument around". She played piano growing up.

Trunfio attended St. Mary's Primary School, in Merredin, Western Australia.

Later, she attended Parkfield Primary and finally, attended Australind Senior High School in Australind, Western Australia.

Sixteen-year-old Trunfio worked at Australian supermarket, Coles, packing shelves before she dropped out of school in Year 11 to move to New York City, after winning a modelling competition, with only 5000 dollars in her bank account.

She was going to come back to Australia and study law at university after she was told that a model had a five-year shelf life.

However, she studied acting in New York City for three years and also attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), in Sydney.

Trunfio was the winner of the third installment of the Australian television series Supermodel of Australia in 2002 and came second in the international version, Supermodel of the World.

Trunfio began dating Texan blues musician, Gary Clark Jr.., in 2012 after they met at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

In November 2014, when she was seven months pregnant, Trunfio announced their engagement.

In 2015, Trunfio announced on Instagram the birth of her first child, a son.

In 2015, Trunfio faced backlash in regards to her Australian edition Elle magazine story, which featured her breastfeeding her four-month-old son.

This image was released only to the subscribers’ cover of the issue as a thank-you for subscribing, while an image of Trunfio holding her son was instead published to newsstands.

Trunfio's image was criticized as the media has continued to shy away from images of breastfeeding mothers.

Trunfio stated “I think it should be something that isn't a [subscribers' cover]…it’s a huge part of being a woman and motherhood." However, Trunfio was also praised as some readers said “the image deserved wider release” in the interests of normalizing breastfeeding. Trunfio has since used the cover as an opportunity to advocate for a change in the stigma surrounding women who breastfeed in public using the hashtag “#NormalizeBreastfeeding” on her Instagram.

The pair married on 19 April 2016, at the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs, California, with a Coachella style wedding, inspired by the location they met.

Her wedding dress was designed by Australian designer, Steven Khalil.

In December 2016, Trunfio launched her own jewellery brand, Erth Jewellery, that focuses on sustainability.

In 2016, Trunfio joined forces with clothing label, Auguste, in raising awareness of “1% For The Planet”, an organisation that asks businesses to contribute at least 1% of net revenue to sustainability-oriented causes.

She applauded the global sustainability movement saying “it’s really important for brands to give back, and I hope this campaign inspires other Australian labels to join 1% For The Planet.”

In 2016, Trunfio opened up about her experiences raising a mixed-race son, following the racial tensions that emerged following Donald Trump’s election as President, stating "my son is a product of love and my husband and I are very conscious that we are in an interracial relationship.” Trunfio said "it will be amazing when people stop seeing colour and race and culture and just all become one because, at the end of the day, we are all the same.

Nobody is different and it's just a beautiful way to live life."

Trunfio has been living on a 50-acre horse ranch near Austin, Texas with her husband and their three children since 2017.

Trunfio is the founder and CEO of maternity clothing brand, Bumpsuit, sustainable and ethical jewellery brand, Erth Jewellery and swimwear line, Erth Swim.

In January 2017, Trunfio participated in the women's march in Austin, where she carried two signs that read "Your silence will not protect you" and "Women's rights, black rights, trans rights, immigrant rights are human rights".

In an interview with Vogue, she said “my first [child birth] was a breeze—I was working until about six months in, shooting lingerie campaigns, flying to promote a movie I’d just shot [for] the Toronto International Film Festival and then onto Dubai for a TV commercial.” The pair's second child, a daughter, was born in 2018.

For her second pregnancy, Trunfio chose to give birth at home.

“It did not go smoothly and I almost died,” she told Vogue.

In 2018, Trunfio collaborated with Australian luxury candle and fragrance brand, Lumira, creating a candle titled, "The Vow", to promote self-love and positivity.

She was inspired by the scents of dark, mysterious hotels and late-night meals and cocktails after living in Paris for a year, as well as being on a yacht in the Mediterranean, between the Amalfi Coast, Italy and the South of France.

In 2020, Trunfio and Clark's third child, another daughter was born.

In February 2020, Trunfio launched her own maternity brand, Bumpsuit.

She created Bumpsuit when she was pregnant with her third baby and felt frustrated with the lack of chic maternity options.

In July 2020, Trunfio launched her sustainable swimwear line, Erth Swim, designed to "minimise its impact on the planet".

She decided to create this brand after visiting Bali and seeing the state of the beaches after people had taken advantage of their environment, to raise awareness of this issue.

All styles and designs for Erth Swim are made by women in Bali and greater Indonesia.