Naomi Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British model. Discovered at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and 1990s,[2] and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world.[3] Her personal life is widely reported, particularly her relationships with prominent men—including boxer Mike Tyson and actor Robert De Niro...
1978–86: Career beginnings[edit]
Campbell's first public appearance came at the age of seven, in 1978, when she was featured in the music video for Bob Marley's "Is This Love".[11] At the age of twelve, she tap-danced in the music video for Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya".[4] In 1986, while still a student of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Campbell was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro model agency, while window-shopping in Covent Garden.[12] Her career quickly took off—in April, just before her sixteenth birthday, she appeared on the cover of British Elle.[4]
1987–97: International success....
Over the next few years, Campbell's success grew steadily: she walked the runway for such designers as Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa, and Isaac Mizrahi, and posed for such photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber.[4] By the late 1980s, Campbell, with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, formed a trio known as the "Trinity",[4] who became the most recognisable and in-demand models of their generation.[2]
When faced with discrimination, Campbell received support from her friends; she later quoted Turlington and Evangelista as telling Dolce & Gabbana, "If you don't use Naomi, you don't get us."[12] In December 1987, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue, as that publication's first black cover girl since 1966.[13] In August 1988, she became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue,[4] after her friend and mentor, designer Yves St. Laurent, threatened to withdraw his advertising from the magazine if it continued to refuse to place black models on its cover.[14] The following year, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue, which marked the first time a black model graced the front of the September issue, traditionally the year's biggest and most important issue.[4]
In January 1990, Campbell, who was declared "the reigning megamodel of them all" by Interview,[15] appeared with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz on an iconic cover of British Vogue, shot by Peter Lindbergh.[16] The group was subsequently cast to star in the music video for George Michael's "Freedom! '90".[2] By then, Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, Crawford, and Claudia Schiffer formed an elite group of models declared "supermodels" by the fashion industry.[3] With the addition of newcomer Kate Moss, they were collectively known as the "Big Six".[3]
In March 1991, in a defining moment of the so-called supermodel era, Campbell walked the runway for Versace with Turlington, Evangelista, and Crawford, arm-in-arm and lip-synching the words to "Freedom! '90".[2] Later that year, she starred as Michael Jackson's love interest in the music video for "In the Closet".[11] In April 1992, she posed with several other top models for the hundredth-anniversary cover of American Vogue, shot by Patrick Demarchelier.[17] That same year, she appeared in Madonna's controversial book Sex, in a set of nude photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane.[18]
In 1993, Campbell twice appeared on the cover of American Vogue; in April, alongside Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, and Helena Christensen, and again, solo, in June. She famously fell on the runway in Vivienne Westwood's foot-high platform shoes, which were later displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[12] Despite her success, however, Elite Model Management, which had represented Campbell since 1987, fired her in September, on the grounds that "no amount of money or prestige could further justify the abuse" to staff and clients.[19] Elite founder John Casablancas described her as "manipulative, scheming, rude, and impossible."[19]
In the mid-1990s, Campbell branched out into other areas of the entertainment industry.[19] Her novel Swan, about a supermodel dealing with blackmail, was released in 1994. Writing for The New York Times, Alex Kuczynski noted its poor critical reception, calling the book "truly awful".[20] It was ghostwritten by Caroline Upcher, with Campbell explaining that she "just did not have the time to sit down and write a book."[21] That same year, she released her album babywoman, which was named after designer Rifat Ozbek's nickname for Campbell.[4] Produced by Youth and Tim Simenon,[22] the album was commercially successful in Japan, although it did not receive much attention elsewhere.[21] It failed to reach the top 75 on the UK charts,[22] and its only single, "Love and Tears", reached No. 40.[23] In 1995, along with fellow models Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, and Elle Macpherson, Campbell invested in a chain of restaurants called the Fashion Cafe; the venture was on the edge of bankruptcy by 1998.[3] During this time, Campbell also had small roles in Miami Rhapsody and Spike Lee's Girl 6, as well as a recurring role on the second season of New York Undercover.
1998–present
In 1998, Time declared the end of the supermodel era.[3] By then, Campbell had mostly retired from the runway,[3] but she continued print modelling. In 1999, she signed her first cosmetics contract with Cosmopolitan Cosmetics, a division of Wella, through which she launched several signature fragrances.[4] In November of that year, she posed with twelve other top models for the "Modern Muses" cover of the Millennium Issue of American Vogue, shot by Annie Leibovitz.[4] The following month, she appeared in a white string bikini and furs on the cover of Playboy.[4] In October 2001, she appeared with rapper Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs on the cover of British Vogue, with the headline "Naomi and Puff: The Ultimate Power Duo".[4]
After more than two decades as a model, Campbell was still in demand.[24] In 2007, she walked the runway for Dior's sixtieth-anniversary fashion show at Versailles.[4] In July 2008, she appeared with fellow black models Liya Kebede, Sessilee Lopez, and Jourdan Dunn on the gatefold cover of a landmark all-black issue of Italian Vogue, shot by Steven Meisel. In September of that year, Campbell reunited with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Stephanie Seymour for "A League of Their Own", a Vanity Fair feature on the supermodel legacy.[4]
In 2011, Campbell appeared with Liya Kebede and Iman on the cover of the fortieth-anniversary issue of Essence.[4] She also starred as Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon in the band's music video for "Girl Panic!", with Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Eva Herzigova, and Yasmin Le Bon portraying the other band members; they appeared in the November edition of British Harper's Bazaar in an editorial titled "The Supers vs. Duran Duran".[25]
Campbell performed with Kate Moss and other supermodels in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, where they modelled haute couture to represent British fashion. Campbell wore a design by Alexander McQueen—a staggered hem gown with a train speckled with flecks of gold.[26] In 2013, she served as a coach and judge—along with Karolina Kurkova and Coco Rocha—on Oxygen's modelling competition reality show The Face, hosted by photographer Nigel Barker. Campbell is set to star in a British version of The Face, which will air on Sky Living in late 2013.[27]
Activism and charity work[edit]
Despite her status as the most famous black model of her time, Campbell never earned the same volume of advertising assignments as her white colleagues,[28] and she was not signed by a cosmetics company until as late as 1999.[6] In 1991, she revealed, "I may be considered one of the top models in the world, but in no way do I make the same money as any of them."[28] Throughout her career, Campbell has been outspoken against the racial bias that exists in the fashion industry.[6] In 1997, she stated, "There is prejudice. It is a problem and I can't go along any more with brushing it under the carpet. This business is about selling, and blonde and blue-eyed girls are what sells."[13] A decade later, she again spoke out against discrimination, stating, "The American president may be black, but as a black woman, I am still an exception in this business. I always have to work harder to be treated equally."[29]
