For years, Jess Fox 'hated' her most iconic feature. Now she embraces every version of herself

Olympian Jessica Fox has walked red carpets, presented at the Logies, appeared on TV more times that she can count, and graced the cover of multiple magazines.

But when asked about the times she's felt most beautiful in her life, the 30-year-old's mind goes straight back to Paris.

She can still feel the water in her curly hair, the tears on her cheeks.

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"Seeing photos from the Olympics and seeing myself looking like a bit of a blubbering mess … I probably would have, in the past, thought, 'Oh my god, that's embarrassing,'" she tells 9honey candidly.

"But actually, that's really beautiful. I had no makeup on, but I could see the joy that was shining through in my smile.

"I've felt most beautiful, I guess, when I'm myself."

The champion canoeist won hearts around Australia with her incredible performance at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scoring two gold medals of her own and throwing herself headfirst into the water to celebrate with younger sister Noemie Fox when she nabbed her first Olympic gold.

Now, a little over two months after the closing ceremony, Jess can't even walk down the street or through a busy airport without strangers stopping her.

"I sort of feel like I've had my face everywhere at the moment, which has been crazy," she admits.

It's only going to get crazier when she walks at the inaugural L'Oréal Paris Walk Your Worth Runway on Thursday, cementing herself as not just a sporting icon, but a fashion star too. It's a title she's not quite certain she's ready for.

"I'm a little bit nervous about it, especially walking in heels. I'm not yet sure what heels I'm wearing, but I'm hoping they're not like 12 inch stilettos," she says, laughing. 

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Jess has been an elite athlete for as long as she can remember and it's nerve-wracking to step into a new field she's got so little experience in, but that's what makes it so thrilling too.

She'll be the first to say that her public image is "not just about sport anymore", and she's loving it.

Since Paris 2024, Jess had taken on so many new projects and aspires to be the kind of public figure girls and women look up to not just for her athleticism, but for what she has to say and the confidence with which she says it.

That confidence has been hard-won, especially when it comes to one of her most iconic features: her brown, curly hair.

"I grew up hating my curls," Jess confesses.

"It was all about straight, flowy hair so I had to work a lot on embracing my curls. I know a lot of people do."

So when some fans erupted over a recent photoshoot of her with her hair straightened, Jess understood where they were coming from - even if she didn't agree with their comments.

"It was funny that people were- not 'blowing up' about it, but sort of saying, 'Why did they straighten your curls?'" she says.

"It was my choice. Straight hair makes me feel confident, and I enjoy looking a little bit different … I can have both."

Like all women, Jess is a multifaceted person with so many different sides to her and restricting herself to one hairstyle just isn't something she's interested in.

Though she adores her curls now and they're certainly the more practical option for someone who spends 90 per cent of their time in and around the water, Jess doesn't want to limit herself in any facet of her life.

"I have so many factors to myself. Yes, I'm the athlete, I'm fierce and I'm focused on the water, but I can also be feeling feminine and glamorous and step into this different side of me that not many people have seen," she says.

It's a side she's excited to show the rest of Australia on Thursday night, when she takes to the L'Oreal Paris runway with the likes of Jessica Rowe, Samantha Harris, and Riley Hemson.

Sister and fellow Olympic gold medallist Noemie will be in the crowd, as will their parents Richard Fox and Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi.

Set against the iconic backdrop of Sydney Harbour, the Walk Your Worth Runway is about embracing beauty and confidence in all forms and Jess couldn't think of a better moment to make her runway debut.

"I just hope I don't stack it."

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