Gemma Ward wouldn't "dissuade" her daughter from modelling.

Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward

The 28-year-old Australian model, who has two-year-old daughter Naia with her partner David Letts, has admitted she is "quite protective" over Naia and would have to mentor her child if she decided to follow in her footsteps and grace catwalk shows for designer brands when she grows up.

Speaking to The Australian Daily Telegraph newspaper, the blonde beauty - who returned to modelling last year and appeared on Prada's Spring/Summer 16 runway at Milan Fashion Week after a seven year hiatus - said: "I am in a unique position where I can mentor her and tell her what to expect and also what to look out for because there are a lot of pitfalls.

"I think I would be quite protective but I wouldn't dissuade her."

The mother of one - who made her catwalk debut in 2003 and was the youngest model to feature on American Vogue magazine at 16 years old - believes she has learnt a large amount about the industry, which she parallels with completing a university degree.

She said: "I almost feel like I've done a degree in fashion and I can build on that as the years go by. If it is not through modelling, it can also be through other avenues because it is an education and you learn a lot about the industry, about creativity, how images are made and advertising."

Meanwhile Gemma has revealed she has become more selective about her projects since her break.

She explained: "I take it as it comes and if it is going too fast or if I don't feel like doing a particular job, I won't."

And she refuses to get sucked into the world of social media, which she believes makes women more concerned about their image.

She explained: "In today's world, with selfies and Instagram, you can get sucked into thinking that your image is everything. So I think to cultivate an inner world is really important because that can shine through too.

"If you are just looking at the surface you are kind of missing the point, because beauty can also radiate from the inside out."