Hanis Hussey, 42, and her son Chris, 18.

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She was famously discovered by entertainer Dick Lee at Lucky Plaza in 1982.

Hanis Hussey became Singapore's top model and landed jobs with clients such as French high-fashion label Yves Saint Laurent.

She has also appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

Now however, she is completely out of the modelling scene.

Instead, she sells handbag hangers imported from the United States to corporate clients and helps out in a non-profit organisation, recycling trash into goods such as bags and pencil cases.

But her son Chris is carrying on her legacy.

The eldest of her three children, he was one of the hunks on the Channel 5 game show Deal Or No Deal.

And he signed on to Ave modelling agency recently.

The high school senior at the Singapore American School was given a push by his mum when asked to audition for the game show, and says the experience was lots of fun.

'It's a stepping stone for me, I get to meet a lot of people in the media and get contacts, which will help me in what I want to be in the future - a film-maker,' he says.

Hussey, who is married to an American businessman, says: 'For him, it's easy money and he knows that school is his priority, so I'm not worried that it will affect his grades.'

Younger sister Nicole, 14, also wants to model, but mum says 'no'.

'She always asks me why Chris can do it and she can't. But she's too young. Maybe when she's older,' she says.

Lisa, 10, meanwhile, has appeared on Kids Central.

Hussey doesn't miss her glory days.

'I was travelling so much that it wasn't fair on my kids who barely got to see me.

'The day Chris told me I didn't look like the other mums at school but more like a teenager, I decided to put on some weight and dress more appropriately. I'm happy with what I'm doing now,' she says.

Inspired by aunt

Growing up, Sheila Sim watched video tapes of her model aunt Ivy Chng sashaying down the runway, but didn't think herself pretty enough to follow in her footsteps.

Her aunt, now living in Hong Kong and working as a model-booking agent, modelled for high-end brands such as Versace and Missoni in Milan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She retired in 1996 and is married to a Hong Kong image consultant.

Now, after being talent-scouted at Chng's wedding at the age of 16, Sim is Singapore's golden girl.

The 23-year-old was one of only three local models at this year's Singapore Fashion Festival, and was chosen recently as the face of London-based Singapore designer Ashley Isham's global ad campaign.

The Marketing Institute of Singapore student stayed with her aunt for a month when she was in Hong Kong for four years to expand her portfolio, and used it as a learning experience.

Her aunt gave her tips on how to act when going for casting sessions, and she accompanied Sim on her first few photo shoots.

'Seeing how my aunt was when she was a model - proper and well-behaved - pushed me to do better,' she says.

Of her niece, Chng, 44, says: 'I'm very proud. Modelling is a great opportunity to meet people and build up confidence, like it did for me.'

While Chng misses doing runway shows, she says staying in the modelling business keeps her young.

Though distance now separates the two, Sim says it does not affect their close relationship as they visit each other at least twice a year and communicate regularly through online messaging and phone calls.

In 10 years, she sees herself settled down with kids but hopes to still be in the modelling industry. When asked if she wants to go into model-booking after her catwalk career like her aunt, the answer is a straight 'no'.

'I know how models can be hard to handle sometimes, and it's not something I want to deal with,' she says with a chuckle.

School comes first for her kids

Stunning Francis Burnhardt, 48, gave up her career as a model after her third child, Alexandria, was born in 1991.

But that did not stop her from introducing her kids to the modelling scene when they were just toddlers.

She says: 'I kept in touch with people in the industry after I left, so I got offers for my kids to do shoots and thought, why not?'

And it wasn't small-time stuff either, but photo shoots for big clients such as the Ministry of Education, Canon, Burger King, River Island and Wisma Atria.

While all her five children model part-time, only Ashley, 19, a student at Republic Polytechnic, is under contract with an agency. He even modelled for a show at the recent Singapore Fashion Festival.

'There definitely is added pressure on me, I have to match up to my mum,' he says.

The eldest child, daughter Ashton, 21, says: 'It's something we've been doing since we were young so it's normal for us, not something we just jumped into.'

Life has had its obstacles for this good-looking family, though. Burnhardt had to raise her five children single-handedly after her husband died in an accident in Jakarta on a business trip 13 years ago.

The former model, who was on the covers of magazines such as Her World and Cherie in the early 1980s, now makes a living teaching make-up classes and operating the school canteen at CHIJ Toa Payoh.

Indeed, she tells her children that education comes first.

'If they decide they want to be full-time models later in life I have no objections, but not until after their O levels,' she says.

The kids have to stick to a curfew. Mention this and they give a collective groan.

'I stay in shape by keeping my kids in check,' she adds with a laugh. 'I still miss modelling sometimes, but looking at my children now, I don't regret my decision. I would give it up all over again for them.'