Still calling Canberra home: Anneliese Seubert

Posted on 5 April, 2018

Born in Bavaria, raised in Cooma, educated in Canberra then whisked up in a whirlwind career as a bona fide supermodel, Anneliese Seubert has come full circle.

The woman who can claim one of the most successful careers of any Australian model— working during the 1990s for the likes of Dior, Gucci, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy and Hermès and appearing in Vogue magazines from one end of the globe to the other—has been happily settled in Canberra for the past few years.

You’d think that having lived in Paris for six years, New York for another six and travelling to 45 different countries to shoot in all manner of exotic locations, Canberra may not have been on the final destination manifesto for the statuesque brunette. But love lured her back.

A Polaroid from the Dolly Covergirl competition.

Anneliese agreed to a blind date almost 10 years ago, orchestrated by her cousin. Robbie was a public servant with no interest in high fashion. He’d never heard of her. She loved that about him. Together they share a home in the Inner South and are contentedly raising two beautiful daughters, Camille, 5, and Avery, 3.

“Canberra really suits us. It is close to the beach, close to the snow, close to my mum, and at this stage of our lives we are really happy here.”

Anneliese still travels regularly for bookings interstate. But otherwise, you will find her with the girls, in the park, or catching a quick minute to herself to sip a peppermint tea.

The latter is an ironic choice of beverage given Australia’s superior coffee culture was one of the things which brought her home after more than a decade in front of the camera for the likes of Mario Testino and Patrick Demarchelier.

“After six years in New York, I was really homesick. Everything about America was starting to annoy me. I found myself complaining a lot. About everything—including the coffee—and I decided to move back to Australia.”

For their first year living together Anneliese and Robbie were based in Gundaroo—providing an almost comical counterpoint to life with the jet-set.

“Yeah, it was pretty quiet. The dog got walked a lot,” she laughs. Yet Anneliese seems genuinely content. She now focuses on the minutiae of organising two little people through each day. Part of Canberra’s appeal is its winter—and proximity to the snowfields. Raised in Cooma, Anneliese has always been a keen skier, and the girls are following in her tracks.

“Canberra is a really easy city to live in. Especially once you have children. I am really settled and happy here. I think it allows me to raise the girls with more freedom and responsibility as it is a safe place for them and I don’t need to hover over them every minute of the day.”

She may have been in the public eye since she was picked as a finalist in the Dolly Covergirl competition while a 15-year-old boarder at Canberra Girls Grammar School, but Anneliese is just as happy leading a fairly anonymous Canberra existence. There is comfort in the steady rhythms of being a mum and partner.

“It is fun to work, but it is always pretty busy at home too. I love spending time with the girls, reading, yoga, cooking, you know, just average stuff.

“I feel really blessed to be here.”

This article originally appeared as part of our STILL CALLING CANBERRA HOME article in Magazine: Home for Autumn 2018, available for free while stocks last. Find out more about Magazine here.