Topics: NBN journalist Jane Goldsmith was once a cover girl and teenage model

At age 14, she appeared on the front cover of Girlfriend magazine.

We only discovered this because her hubby Neil Keene - who we used to sit next to at Newcastle Herald's old Bolton Street office - happened to mention it.

We were intrigued. We asked Neil more about it. Turns out that Jane was signed with Chadwick Model Management, the same agency as Kate Moss, Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter and Megan Gale.

We put it to Neil that Jane could have married Rod Stewart.

"She could have married a wrinkled billionaire - she shared a flat with Kristy Hinze in Japan," Neil jested.

We twisted Jane's arm to tell us a bit more about her former life.

She was aged 12 and 170 centimetres tall when she signed with Chadwick.

Jane, who is a journalist and news presenter with NBN, grew up in the beachside town of Bonny Hills, near Port Macquarie. She'd fly to Sydney for castings and jobs on weekends and during school holidays.

When she made the cover of Girlfriend, a classic movie-style moment happened.

"I remember mum and dad stopping at a service station on my way to school and we were surprised to see the cover among all the other magazines," she said.

"We didn't know exactly when it was coming out. It felt odd - almost unreal. Friends brought them to school and were proudly showing everyone. It was a little embarrassing for a teenage girl."

She appeared in several editions of Girlfriend magazine. She also worked in Japan, appearing in fashion, health and wedding magazines and TV commercials.

She also jagged a Maybelline mascara campaign, which was a big job.

"I spent a few long days opening and closing my eyes, so they could get shots of my eyelashes and my face for a TV commercial and print advertising. I had to stay very still for hours," she said.

She also did a Tokyo Disneyland TV commercial. Dressed as a cowgirl, she promoted their new wild-west section with "Goofy-san".

"I had to speak with an American accent. Goofy spoke Japanese," she said.

She shared an apartment for a month in Tokyo with Kristy Hinze and Chloe Maxwell.

"Kristy was in high demand and worked hard. She was a lot of fun and a rising star on the cover of several Australian magazines.

"Chloe was the Jeans West girl. She was a bit older than me and took me under her wing. We had a lot of laughs. Both were very smart, switched-on girls.

"They were long days for all of us, so when we were home we just rested or would do some sightseeing at shrines and temples, or shopping on our days off. Sorry, no crazy partying stories."

She was lucky to have "some really positive experiences" in the modelling world.

"I travelled through Japan, saw amazing places, negotiated my way through Tokyo subways and city streets, learnt a new language and immersed myself in the culture.

"Plus the bento boxes we were given for lunch on jobs were amazing. The NBN staff canteen is a close second."

She did more than a hundred castings, which "probably helped my confidence when talking to new people".

The skills she learned come in handy now when she's out on the road as a journalist, interviewing people from all walks of life and telling their stories.

"I also learnt as a model that you win some and you lose some. You grow a pretty thick skin from an early age. You're not going to be everyone's cup of tea and that is OK."

By age 17, Jane wanted to be a journalist. She studied Communications at the University of Newcastle and worked in radio, before getting a job at NBN News in 2001.

She knew modelling wasn't something she wanted to do forever.

"I saw it as a part-time job that I did as a teenager. It was never going to be a long-term career. It might sound strange but it feels like a different life, a past life. It will be a good story to tell my kids.

"I'm now 38, so we're talking well over 20 years ago. Now my life involves trying to entice three small children to eat their dinner and nagging my son to look for the school jumper he's lost for the 1000th time."

It also involves scolding husband Neil for revealing her secret past. But who can blame him? He's mightily proud of her.