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Hearst new face and body of lingerie brand

PA

The daughter of a kidnapped newspaper heiress has been unveiled as the new face - and body - of lingerie brand Myla.

Lydia Hearst is the daughter of Patty Hearst, who was snatched by US guerilla group the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974.

Myla said Lydia will front the company's autumn/winter collection.

The model, great-granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, will bring an "intelligent sexuality" to the new season's range, creative director Franceska Luther said.

"We were delighted when the opportunity arose to work with Lydia," she said. "She has an amazing dynamic energy. She perfectly represents the Myla women."

The 23-year-old model was crowned supermodel of the year at the 2007 'fashion Oscars', the Michael awards, and has been photographed by Mario Testino and Terry Richardson.

She can be seen posing in a range of 1940s-inspired underwear for Myla's new collection, which is due in the shops on Monday.

Her poses are in stark contrast to her mother who, 34 years earlier, shocked her family by posing with a gun for her SLA captors.

Patty Hearst was 19 when she was taken from her home in Berkeley, California by the group in a bid to exchange her for their imprisoned members.

Two months later she hit the headlines when she said she intended to join her captors.

She even posed with a rifle in an SLA poster, and started calling herself Tania for her new role as an "urban guerilla."

In 1976 she was given a seven-year jail term for her part in a SLA bank robbery, despite claiming she had been brainwashed by the group.

Her sentence was commuted two years later by US President Jimmy Carter and she was given a full pardon by US President Bill Clinton in 2001.

She married her bodyguard Bernard Shaw in 1979 and gave birth to Lydia in 1984.

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