Naomi Campbell

Fun Fact: For a while in the 90s, the 5’9 model was reportedly engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton.

Claim to Fame: Starting her modeling career at the tender age of 15, Campbell became the first black woman to land on the the first covers of French and British Vogue, and Time magazine.

Naomi Campbell is an African-English model.


Campbell was born in Streatham, London, England. Her mother, Valerie Campbell, is a former ballet dancer of Afro-Jamaican descent. In accordance with her mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her unnamed Chinese Jamaican father, who left then-18-year-old Valerie two months after the birth of their daughter.

As a young child, Campbell was left in the care of a nanny while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. At age 10, she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy stage school, where she studied ballet. She attended Dunraven School, a comprehensive school run by Inner London Education Authority in Streatham.



Campbell's second private appearance came at age 7 in September 1977 when she was cast as a pupil to appear in a music video for Bob Marley's song "Is This Love?". In 1982, she appeared in another music video, this time as a rap singer for Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya".

At age 15 and while still a student at the Italia Conti Academy, Campbell was spotted by Beth Boldt, a former Ford model and head of the Synchro music agency, while window-shopping in Covent Garden. Campbell soon opted to become a fulltime model, signing with Elite Model Management. Campbell started her career as a catwalk model and was quickly hired for various high-profile advertising campaigns, including Lee Jeans and Olympus Corporation, which introduced her to the American market. Campbell also completed campaigns for Ralph Lauren and François Nars. At age 15 in April 1986, Campbell appeared on the cover of Elle, replacing a model who had cancelled out of the appearance.

In August 1988, she appeared on the cover of Vogue Paris as that publication's first black cover girl, after friend and mentor, Yves St. Laurent, threatened to withdraw all of his advertising from the publication after it refused to place Campbell, or any black model, on its cover. In addition to Vogue Paris, Campbell also became the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue UK, Vogue Nippon, Time magazine and later Vogue China. She has also posed nude for Playboy and appeared in Madonna's 1992 book Sex, in a set of photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane. In total, Campbell has appeared on more than 100 magazine covers.

(read more @ wikipedia.org)