Naomi Campbell

English model

Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a English supermodel, singer, actress and business woman who was born in Streatham, a district in Lambeth, London and started her modelling career in the 1980s. She has appeared on over 500 magazine covers.

Naomi Campbell
Born
Naomi Elaine Campbell

(1970-05-22) 22 May 1970 (age 54)
Occupations
  • Model
  • singer
  • actress
  • businesswoman
Years active1978 – present
Partners
Children1
Modelling information
Height177.8 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Hair colourBlack
Eye colourDark brown[1]
Agency
  • Women Management (Milan)
  • ZZO (Paris)
  • Models 1 (London)
  • Priscilla's Model Management (Sydney)
  • DNA Models (New York City) (mother agency)[2]
Musical career
GenresR&B[3]
InstrumentsVocals
LabelsEpic

Naomi was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world.[4] As the most famous black model of her time,[5] Campbell has been outspoken throughout her career against the racial bias that exists in the fashion industry.[6] Her personal life is widely reported, particularly her affairs with famous men—including boxer Mike Tyson and actor Robert De Niro[7]—and several high-profile assault convictions.[8]

Early life

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Campbell is the daughter of Jamaican-born dancer Valerie Morris.[9] In accordance with her mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her father,[10] who abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant[9] and who went unnamed on her birth certificate.[10] She took the surname Campbell from her mother's second marriage.[9][11]

During her early years, Campbell lived in Rome, where her mother worked as a modern dancer.[7] Following their return to London, she was left in the care of her maternal grandmother, Ruby, while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica.[11] At five years old, Campbell was enrolled at the Barbara Speake Stage School[11] and at the age of ten, she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet.[9]

Career

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In 1978 Campbell was in the video for "Is This Love" by Bob Marley. When she was 12 she tap-danced in Culture Club's video for "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". In April 1991 Campbell was in the video for "In the Closet" by Michael Jackson. In 1993 Campbell fell over while she walked down the runway for Vivienne Westwood in a pair of foot-high platform shoes. That year she was on the cover of Vogue twice.

In September 1994 Campbell released an album Baby Woman. It has sold over a million copies. A novel that she wrote called Swan was also published.[12]

Campbell was on the cover of Playboy in 2000. In 2011 she was in the music video for "Girl Panic!" by Duran Duran. In 2013 she was a judge on the reality show The Face.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "DNA Models Naomi Campbell". DNA Model Management LLC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  2. "Naomi Campbell – Model". models.com.
  3. "Naomi Campbell - Artist Profile - Singersroom - R&B Singers". Singersroom. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. Stein, Joel (11 September 1998). "The Fall of the Supermodel". Time. Time, Inc. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. Rudolph, Barbara (10 July 1991). "Marketing Beauty and the Bucks". Time. Time, Inc. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  6. Pool, Hannah (22 August 2007). "Naomi Campbell fights racism in fashion". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Voguepedia – Naomi Campbell". Vogue.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  8. Schmidt, Michael S. (3 February 2010). "For Supermodel with a temper, no charges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Frankel, Susannah (16 February 2002). "Naomi Campbell: A model of privacy?". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. ISSN 0951-9467. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Naomi will never know her dad". ContactMusic.com. 26 February 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Johnson, Angella (22 October 2007). "Naomi Campbell's mother on her battle against cancer and how her famous daughter helped her survive". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  12. "Naomi Campbell - Voguepedia". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2011.