Dear music lovers,
I wish you a sunny Saturday morning!
Today I write about one of the biggest legends of the model industry over the last decades.
Campbell’s modeling career needs zero introduction, but did you think we’d get to the end of this list without remembering that time the British super released her first and only album, BABYWOMAN, in 1994? The collection of pop, R&B, and trip hop songs was viewed as both a critical and commercial failure, but became a surprise hit in Japan.
Naomi Campbell | |
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Campbell in Cannes 2018
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Born | Naomi Elaine Campbell 22 May 1970 Streatham, London, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Model, actress |
Years active | 1978–present |
Modeling information | |
Height | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in (177 cm)[1] |
Agency |
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Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970)[3] is an English model, actress, and singer. Recruited at the age of 15, she established herself amongst the most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and the 1990s,[4] and was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry.[5]
In addition to her modelling career, Campbell has embarked on other ventures, which include an R&B–pop studio album and several acting appearances in film and television, such as the modelling competition reality show The Face and its international offshoots. Campbell is also involved in charity work for various causes.
Early life
Campbell was born in Streatham, South London, the daughter of Jamaican-born dancer Valerie Morris In accordance with her mother’s wishes, Campbell has never met her father, who abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant[ and was unnamed on her birth certificate. She took on the surname Campbell from her mother’s second marriage. Her half-brother, Pierre, was born in 1985. Campbell is of Jamaican descent, as well as of Chinese Jamaican ancestry through her paternal grandmother, who carried the family name “Ming”.
During her early years, Campbell lived in Rome, where her mother worked as a modern dancer. Following their return to London, she was left in the care of relatives while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica.[ From the age of three, Campbell attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and at 10 years old, she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet.]
1978–86: Career beginnings
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“. At the age of 12 she tap-danced in the music video for Culture Club‘s “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya“. n 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. Her career quickly took off—in April, just before her 16th birthday she appeared on the cover of British Elle..
1987–97: International success
Over the next few years, Campbell’s career progressed steadily: she walked the catwalk for such designers as Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa and Isaac Mizrahi, and posed for such photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber. By the late 1980s, Campbell, with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, formed a trio known as the “Trinity”, who became the most recognisable and in-demand models of their generation.
When faced with racial discrimination, Campbell received support from her white friends; she later quoted Turlington and Evangelista as telling Dolce & Gabbana, “If you don’t use Naomi, you don’t get us In December 1987, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue, as that publication’s first black cover girl since 1966. In August 1988, she became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue, 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. 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 magazine, traditionally the year’s biggest and most important issue.
In January 1990, Campbell, who was declared “the reigning megamodel of them all” by Interview, appeared with Turlington, Evangelista,, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz on a cover of British Vogue, shot by Peter Lindbergh. The group was subsequently cast to star in the music video for George Michael‘s “Freedom! ’90“. By then, Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, Crawford and Claudia Schiffer formed an elite group of models declared “supermodels” by the fashion industry. With the addition of newcomer Kate Moss, they were collectively known as the “Big Six”.
In March 1991, in a defining moment of the so-called supermodel era, Campbell walked the catwalk for Versace with Turlington, Evangelista and Crawford, arm-in-arm and lip-synching the words to “Freedom! ’90”. Later that year, she starred as Michael Jackson‘s love interest in the music video for “In the Closet“. In April 1992, she posed with several other top models for the hundredth-anniversary cover of American Vogue, shot by Patrick Demarchelier. That same year, she appeared in Madonna‘s controversial book Sex, in a set of nude photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane.
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 catwalk in Vivienne Westwood‘s foot-high platform shoes, which were later displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.. 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. Elite founder John Casablancas described her as “manipulative, scheming, rude and impossible.”
In the mid-1990s, Campbell branched out into other areas of the entertainment industry.Her novel Swan, about a supermodel dealing with blackmail, was released in 1994 to poor reviews. It was ghostwritten by Caroline Upcher, with Campbell explaining that she “just did not have the time to sit down and write a book.” That same year, she released her album Baby Woman, which was named after designer Rifat Ozbek‘s nickname for Campbell. Produced by Youth and Tim Simenon, the album was only commercially successful in Japan; it failed to reach the top 75 on the UK charts, while its only single, “Love and Tears”, reached No. 40. Baby Woman was mocked by critics, inspiring the Naomi Awards for terrible pop music. n 1995, along with fellow models Schiffer, Turlington and Elle Macpherson, Campbell invested in a chain of restaurants called the Fashion Cafe, whose directors were arrested for fraud, bankruptcy and money laundering in 1998. 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.
1998–2012: Other ventures
In 1998, Time declared the end of the supermodel era. Campbell continued modelling, both on the runway and, more frequently, on printIn 1999, she signed her first cosmetics contract with Cosmopolitan Cosmetics, a division of Wella, through which she launched several signature fragrances. In November of that year, she posed with 12 other top models for the “Modern Muses” cover of the Millennium Issue of American Vogue, shot by Annie Leibovitz. The following month, she appeared in a white string bikini and furs on the cover of Playboy. 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”
In 2007, she walked the catwalk for Dior‘s 60th-anniversary fashion show at Versailles. 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.
In 2011, Campbell appeared with Liya Kebede and Iman on the cover of the 40th-anniversary issue of Essence. 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”. 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.
2013–present: Continued succes]
In March 2013, Campbell graced the inaugural cover of Numéro Russia. Campbell also became involved in reality television through the modelling competition The Face and its international offshoots. In the U.S., she served as a coach and judge, along with Karolina Kurkova and Coco Rocha, on Oxygen‘s The Face, hosted by photographer Nigel Barker. She also hosted the British version of the show, which aired on Sky Living later that same year, and The Face Australia, which ran on Fox8 in 2014.
In 2014, Campbell covered the May issue of Vogue Australia, the September issue of Vogue Japan, and the November issue of Vogue Turkey; the latter two were special editions celebrating Campbell and fellow supermodels. Campbell also covered the Vietnamese, Singaporean and the 35th anniversary Latin American edition of Harper’s Bazaar. In 2014, Naomi Campbell was named TV Personality of the year by Glamour Magazine. The award was presented at the annual Glamour Women of The Year Awards in London.
The following year, she closed the Fall/Winter Zac Posen show at New York Fashion Week, and featured in Spring/Summer 2015 campaigns for Burberry and lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur.
Campbell has walked the runways for Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Diane Von Furstenberg, Prada, Chanel, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Zac Posen, Blumarine, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferré, Versace, Helmut Lang, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Marchesa, Roberto Cavalli and Valentino.
She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Fendi, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Chloé, Versace, Givenchy, Blumarine, Yves Saint Laurent, Isaac Mizrahi, Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, La Perla, Dennis Basso, Philipp Plein, Mango, Thierry Mugler, Balmain, Nars, Roberto Cavalli, David Yurman, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, DSquared2, Express, H&M, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Avon, Revlon and Victoria’s Secret.
In 2015, Campbell signed on as a recurring character in the Fox drama Empire as Camilla Marks, a fashion designer and love interest to Hakeem Lyon, portrayed by Bryshere Y. Gray. In October 2015, Campbell was featured in a two-episode arc in American Horror Story: Hotel, as a Vogue fashion editor named Claudia Bankson.
In 2016 Campbell appeared in the music video for Anohni‘s single “Drone Bomb Me“. In September 2017, Campbell appeared in Versace’s Spring/Summer 2018 show celebrating the late Gianni Versace, alongside Schiffer, Crawford, Christensen and Carla Bruni and also featured in the campaign for the collection. In February 2018, Campbell and Moss returned to the runway and closed Kim Jones‘ final menswear show for Louis Vuitton. In April, she graced the cover of British GQ alongside rapper Skepta.
In 2018, as every year, the international fashion community honors the best and brightest in American design at the CFDA Fashion Awards. Naomi Campbell will receive the prestigious Fashion Icon Award at the CFDA’s ceremony on June 4. The list of previous recipients includes Iman, Lady Gaga, Johnny Depp, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé and Franca Sozzani.
Here´s a “Model Talk” video clip with Naomi Campbell from FashionTV, the most important glbal Fashion & Lifestyle media and TV / OTT network.
And here´s Naomi Campbell with her song “Love And Tears” from her album “Baby Woman”.
Here´s the song “I awnt To Live” frm the album “Baby Woman”.
Naomi Campbell in Michael Jackson´s music video “In The Closet”
I want to finalize my story of today with another clip from FashionTV ft. Naomi Campbell.
I wish you a beautiful and relaxed Saturday and come back tomorrow with a new story.