Gillian Vanderburgh – Model Citizen

When I met Gillian at the Village Coffee House in Orangeville one fall morning, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were old friends.

She has that kind of personality that makes you feel at ease, like you can sit down and talk for hours…and we did. For nearly two hours.

But perhaps the primary reason for that old friend feeling is that I see Gillian more than I do some of my friends. You see, I didn’t realize this until after our tête-à-tête and then in the days and weeks that followed, but Gillian is everywhere.

She’s a professional model and actress and has been since she was a young adult. She graces many women’s pages in catalogues, and on television she’s acting on commercials for everything from yogurt to, um, erectile dysfunction. So, our coffee date could certainly have gone longer…Vanderburgh has done everything, and been everywhere!

As a young adult she made the decision to try modeling which led to the beginning of a very successful career. She dropped out of University to the shock of her very supportive family, and pursued modeling as a business opportunity. Vanderburgh admits to having her own reservations about her choice at the beginning.

“Who would ever want to make a living doing something that depended on the way you look?” she used to say.

But it was a decision that allowed her many opportunities and she says she lived all over the world. Later she would marry ­ – marry ‘young’ she says – and buy a house at Yonge and Lawrence in Toronto. And then get divorced at 27. It was one of many turning points she refers to in her life.

She said she was tired and ready for a change.

It came. She married husband Marc Castel, an astronomy enthusiast and entrepreneur who now has multiple observatories on their property in Hockley Valley.

She moved to the hills area 17 years ago, not long after beginning her new life with Marc, and they started a family.

“I was living in the country barefoot and pregnant and it was awesome,” she laughs.

And although she said she was ready to embrace her new life it took a while to let go of the feeling that Toronto held all the outlets for a decent cultural experience.

“At first, Marc and I would drive to Toronto for a dinner out,” she recalls.  “But that didn’t last long.” (Though she admits the transition was never really a problem for Marc. He grew up in Schomberg, and Vanderburgh says his dream was to raise a family in the country.)

Eventually this world-travelling fashion model embraced country living and all it had to offer.

“I was ready for gardening and pickling,” she says. She took a hiatus from her career and dedicated time to raising a young family. Kids Nicholas and Sophie are now 16 and 14, and were a big part of her growing love of the country.

Many city friends had different perceptions of life in the country like “endless commutes”, or that it was “dangerous”, “remote”.

But Gillian says they couldn’t be more wrong. She feels completely at home in the country.

“Raising children in the country is an amazing thing,” she says. “Growing up all they had were each other, which lead them to having a close relationship and many common interests.“

Gillian spends a lot of time commuting kids to events and activities. She says that “Sometimes it feels like being a taxi, but that’s okay; it gives me one-on-one time with my kids.”

In the early years, one of her favourite daily rituals was the daily walk up the long driveway to the school bus.

“Almost every day until the kids were in grade eight my husband and I would walk up together with the kids and the dogs, rain or shine.”

As the kids started to get older they became involved in the typical rounds of activities like swimming, skiing, music lessons, etc. So did she and Marc.  Together, they joined other couples for book clubs and wine tasting groups.  Gillian also met with other women for ethnic pot luck dinners and other social gatherings.

About eight years ago, Gillian decided she wanted to get more involved and give back to the community. Family Transition Place, a women’s shelter, seemed like a good start since her mother-in-law, Ann Castel, was long involved in working with the organization.   Since that time she has helped the group fundraise for their much needed violence prevention programs.

Another turning point came for Vanderburgh at age 32 when she was surprised by a sudden high demand for her as a model. There was a huge boom of opportunities so she took them, albeit unexpectedly. Now, she is in a position to pick and choose her work and pursue other passions.  She is a member of the Mono Nordic Ski Club and spends countless hours on the snow as part of her masters training program.

One of her newest passions is bee keeping.  She began after getting an introduction to bee keeping from a fellow skier about three years ago.  Gillian was immediately hooked. She took a course at the University of Guelph and five hives later she’s and experienced Apiarist. Together with her mentor Jim White, they are now set to launch their “GillieBee/JimmyBee” brands of local honey products.

“Assisting and observing the bee colony is absolute therapy for me.  It connects me with nature,” Gillian says. She finds it meditative to suit-up, ungloved to work the hives.  “This makes it a more gentle experience for the bees.  You simply have to trust that they trust you!”

When she’s not tending to her family or her bees, she’s got other irons in the fire. Over the past ten months she has been working hard to launch her Real Estate career and is excited to be the newest member of the Royal Lepage team in Orangeville. She sees her role as a further investment in her community.

After coffee she returns to her 35 acres, what she calls her family’s “Tuscan-inspired retreat”. Half an acre is dedicated to a vineyard, another acre to sunflowers and a beautiful swath of lavender, creating their own personal Eden.  Although her ten-year plan will undoubtedly hold many new adventures it doesn’t seem to include leaving her spot in the hills.

“Life in the country, it restores you.  I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gillian says with a satisfied smile.

BY LARA KING