When people search for keely shaye smith model photos, they’re usually looking for a glimpse of the woman who famously captured the heart of James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan. But there is a huge misconception that Keely was just some peripheral "plus-size icon" who appeared out of nowhere. Honestly, that’s just not the reality. Long before she was a red-carpet staple or an environmental powerhouse, Keely Shaye Smith was a working model and actress with a very specific, sun-drenched California aesthetic that basically defined a certain era of the late '80s.
She wasn't just "Pierce's wife." She was a girl in a silver dress on an island with Huey Lewis. She was a soap opera star. She was a woman who moved to New York in 1984 with nothing but a dream and ended up filming 25 commercials in less than four years. That’s a grind.
The Huey Lewis Era and the "Girl in the Video"
If you want to see the most iconic early keely shaye smith model photos in motion, you have to go back to 1986. Keely was 23. She flew down to the Bahamas for a casting call, competing against hundreds of other women for a spot in the music video for "Stuck with You" by Huey Lewis and the News.
She got it.
The video features her as Huey's island castaway date. She's wearing this metallic silver halter dress that became her signature look for that year. It sounds glamorous, right? In interviews, Keely has been pretty blunt about how it actually went down. She spent a week in the brutal Caribbean sun, often stuck on tiny boats waiting for the crew to set up. Because they were filming in remote spots, she couldn't even change out of that silver dress. She actually went swimming in the ocean in it just to cool off.
"Suddenly I was the 'girl in the video.' People wanted to meet me. Men wanted to meet me... I had a plethora of casting calls." — Keely Shaye Smith on the aftermath of 'Stuck with You.'
The photos from this era show a woman with incredible, thick dark hair and a classic "California girl" glow. It’s a very different look than the polished, high-fashion editorial style of the time. It was more approachable. More real.
Why the 1980s Modeling Work Matters
After the music video, Keely moved into the world of TV and commercial modeling. Between 1984 and 1988, she was everywhere. We’re talking 25 commercials in roughly 42 months. That is an insane pace. This period of her life produced a lot of the vintage keely shaye smith model photos that fans dig up today.
Most of these weren't high-fashion runway shots. They were commercial lifestyle photos. She represented the "girl next door" who also happened to be incredibly striking. This work eventually led her to a stint on General Hospital in 1989, where she played Valerie Freeman.
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The Shift from Model to Journalist
Something interesting happened around 1990. Keely started to feel like the modeling world was, in her words, "propagating a beauty myth." She didn't just want to be a face in a frame. She transitioned into journalism, becoming an environmental correspondent for ABC’s The Home Show.
This is where the "model photos" start to change. You see less of the posed, studio-lit shots and more of Keely in the field—boots on the ground, hair tied back, reporting on toxic waste or animal rights. She won two Genesis Awards for this work. It’s a side of her career people often overlook because they’re too focused on her physical transformation over the years.
The Red Carpet and the Bond Connection
We can't talk about keely shaye smith model photos without mentioning 1994. That’s the year she met Pierce Brosnan at a party in Cabo San Lucas. At the time, she was a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
Their early red carpet photos together are legendary.
- London, 1995: The premiere of GoldenEye. Keely is wearing a strapless red corseted dress. She looked, quite literally, like a Bond girl.
- The Minimalist 90s: There’s a famous photo of her in a plunging black spaghetti-strap gown that screamed '90s chic.
- The Sparkle: A silver halter neck top (throwing it back to her music video days) while posing with a young Pierce in a simple black jacket.
These images capture a specific kind of Hollywood romance that felt authentic. They weren't trying to be "the" couple; they just were.
Addressing the Body Image Conversation
Kinda frustratingly, a lot of the modern interest in keely shaye smith model photos comes from people comparing her younger self to her current self. Keely has been very open about her body changing after having her two sons, Dylan and Paris, and dealing with thyroid issues.
The media has been pretty brutal to her over the years, but Keely’s response has always been one of quiet confidence. She hasn't tried to hide or "fix" herself to fit a 1986 mold. She’s leaned into her role as a filmmaker and activist. Her 2017 documentary, Poisoning Paradise, which she directed, shows her as a woman who is far more interested in the health of the planet than her dress size.
Honestly, the most "human" photos of her aren't the ones from her modeling days. They’re the candid shots of her and Pierce on their porch in Hawaii or walking together in London 30 years after they met.
What You Can Learn from Keely’s Career Path
If you're looking at these photos for inspiration, don't just look at the aesthetics. Look at the pivot. Keely Shaye Smith is a prime example of someone who used a "look" to get into the door but used her brain and her passion to stay in the room.
- Diversify your skills. She went from modeling to acting to journalism to directing. She never let one title define her.
- Use your platform. She took the fame she got from being "the girl in the video" and turned it into a career advocating for the environment.
- Ignore the noise. In an era of filters and "perfection," her refusal to succumb to public pressure about her weight is arguably more "model" behavior than anything she did in the '80s.
If you want to find more of these archival images, your best bet is looking through Getty Images' editorial archives under her birth name or checking out 1980s commercial compilations. You'll see a woman who was always more than just a photo.
To see Keely’s work behind the camera, you should check out the trailer for Poisoning Paradise. It gives a lot of context to why she moved away from the camera's lens and toward the director's chair. You can also look for her early interviews on The Home Show to see her transition into environmental journalism in real-time.