When was the first supermodel

Janice Dickinson says she coined the term in during a conversation with her manager. And there you have it! Evidence that Janice Dickinson may or may not have invented the term that defined her career. In the s and 50s, this humble Swedish model was the highest-paid and highest-praised fashion model in the business.

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Unfortunately, women of color in mid-century America didn't get nearly the same modeling opportunities as white women.

Here we have Anne Marie Wooldridge in an advertising campaign for Dow Chemical's Saran Wrap, showing how non-white women could occasionally get a commercial advertisement, but weren't really being hired for high-fashion, editorial work just yet.

Adjust that for inflation and it's like 1 trillion dollars in money. Dovima, another first-name-only model, in Dovima was known for personifying "the haughty, regal look of the s " which, yep, she clearly nails here. Bettina shows off a shantung dress with tweed jacket for a press show, with outfits by Hubert de Givenchy. Already, you can see how many people in the audience were fixated on the model's face, not the clothes!

Pattie Boyd was the first wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, but before that, she was an in-demand model. Later on, Twiggy said she was so influenced by Pattie Boyd's fame that she based her early look of Boyd and tried to copy her appearance. Photographer David Bailey is credited with making Jean Shrimpton famous, but at the same time, his photographs of her helped make him more famous, too.

Glamour named Shrimpton "model of the year" in , though really, she was the model of the year for quite a few years in the early and mid '60s. The striking Moffitt was such a good example of how a model could really represent the larger aesthetic that was fashionable at the time.

Moffitt in the '60s, Lauren Hutton in the '70s, Cindy Crawford in the '80s. Donyale Luna was the world's first black supermodel. In the beginning, dozens of New York modeling agencies rejected Veruschka, saying she had "big feet" and a "baby face. Designer Halston told the Times in , "She was the great ambassador for all black people.

She broke down all the social barriers. Invalid Email. All fields are required. Photo Courtesy of messynessychic. Cindy Menassa. Instead she was met with criticism for her dark features and "exotic look" she was told by Eileen Ford that she was "much too ethnic" and "would never work. She promptly left the U. The magazine covers and ad campaigns followed. Beverly Johnson made history as the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue the August issue.

She exploded onto the fashion scene immediately, and her career was thriving throughout the late-'70s and '80s. Oh, and she went on to appear on over !! Linda Evangelista—one of the most famous models of all time and supermodel queen of the 90s, JSYK—got her start in the '80s after being discovered in pageants. She was known as the "chameleon of fashion," because she could sport any look and changed her haircut and color often before there was "the Rachel" there was "the Linda," her iconic pixie cut by hairstylist Julien d'Ys.

She was a muse to photographers and designers across the industry, the likes of Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld.

Over the course of her decades-long career, she appeared on over magazine covers. Iman was a student at the University of Nairobi when she was discovered by photographer Peter Beard in She booked her first assignment for Vogue a year later, and her modeling career took off. She is credited with broadening the definition of beauty due to her international recognition and work with innumerable designers, often as their muse.

In she traded the title supermodel for CEO with the launch of IMAN Cosmetics, a line for women of color at a time when they were virtually ignored by the beauty industry. Elle Macpherson pursued modeling to save cash for law books at Sydney University, but changed course when she found instant success as Australia's girl next door.

She is best-known for her record! That earned her the nickname "The Body," coined by Time in Christie Brinkley is a self-described "surfer girl from California" who "never looked like a model. After being discovered by American photographer Errol Sawyer in Paris at the post office! A few years later she signed a record year contract as the face of CoverGirl, one of the longest modeling contracts in history.

She famously covered the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for three consecutive years , and Christie went on to pursue many ventures including acting and entrepreneurship—here, she's pictured introducing her very own clothing line at Macy's in Like many other early models, Naomi Campbell was discovered by a scout on the street in London.

Her career quickly skyrocketed , and just before her 16th birthday, she appeared on the cover of British Elle. In , she became the first Black model featured on the cover of French Vogue. The following year, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue , which marked the first time a Black model graced the cover of the September issue. The rest aka, their world-domination in the '90s is history.

She was the primary lingerie and hosiery model for the brand, and went on to appear in multiple editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Vogue , and Playboy.