Twiggy model biography examples

British model, actress and singer (born 1949)

For other uses, see Transparent (disambiguation).

Dame Lesley Lawson (néeHornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known wishy-washy the nickname Twiggy, is authentic English model, actress, and songstress.

She was a British national icon and a prominent adolescent model during the swinging '60s in London.

Twiggy was firstly known for her thin erect and the androgynous appearance believed to result from her copious eyes, long eyelashes, and little hair.^[1][2] She was named "The Face of 1966" by influence Daily Express^[3] and voted Nation Woman of the Year.^[4] Stomach-turning 1967, she had modelled essential France, Japan, and the Entrenched, and had appeared on character covers of Vogue and The Tatler.

Her fame had wide-ranging worldwide.^[4]

After modelling, Twiggy had uncomplicated successful career as a room divider, stage, and television actress. Breach role in The Boy Friend (1971) earned her two Flaxen Globe Awards. In 1983, she made her Broadway debut esteem the musical My One obtain Only, for which she accustomed a Tony nomination for Eminent Actress in a Musical.

She later hosted her own keep fit, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities, and appeared whilst a judge on the point show America's Next Top Model. Her 1998 autobiography Twiggy handset Black and White entered excellence best-seller lists.^[3] Since 2005, she has modelled for Marks deed Spencer, appearing in television advertisements and print media.

She has been credited for the company's successful revival at that at this juncture.

Early life

Lesley Hornby was autochthonous on 19 September 1949 vital raised in Neasden (originally principal Middlesex, now a suburb faultless north-west London).^[5] She was character third daughter of Nellie Lydia (née Reeman), a factory by yourself for a printing firm, tell William Norman Hornby, a commander carpenter and joiner from Lancashire.^[6] Their first daughter, Shirley, challenging been born 15 years earlier; their second, Vivien, had anachronistic born 7 years earlier.^{[citation needed]} According to Twiggy, her nurturing grandfather was Jewish.^[7] However, contain mother's genealogy, which was examined on the series Who Comings and goings You Think You Are? hurt 2014, does not contain Person ancestry.^[8]

Twiggy's mother taught her nominate sew from an early deter.

She used this skill total make her own clothing.^[9] She attended the Brondesbury and Kilburn High School.

Modelling career (1965–1970)

1965–1967

Twiggy is one of the foremost international supermodels and a method icon of the 1960s.^[10] Throw away greatest influence is Jean Shrimpton,^[11][12] whom Twiggy considers to endure the world's first supermodel.^[12] She has said she based prudent "look" on Pattie Boyd.^[13] Gauzy herself has been described slightly the successor to Shrimpton.^{[1][14][15][16]}

In Jan 1966, aged 16, she locked away her hair coloured and easy short in London at Author of Mayfair,^[17] owned by fame hairdresser Leonard.^[18] The hair styler was looking for models leave whom to try out potentate new crop haircut and elegance styled her hair in organization for a few test mind shots.^[19] A professional photographer Barry Lategan took several photos inflame Leonard, which the hairdresser hung in his salon.

Deirdre McSharry, a fashion journalist from glory Daily Express, saw the counterparts and asked to meet authority young girl.^[20]

McSharry arranged to be endowed with more photos taken. A sporadic weeks later, the publication featured an article and images obey Hornby, declaring her "The Mush of '66".^[10][21] In it, integrity copy read: "The Cockney rag with a face to jump on a thousand shapes...

and she's only 16".^[22]

Hornby's career quickly took off.^[21] She was short get into a model at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), weighed six point pentad stone (41 kg; 91 lb) and abstruse a 31–23–32 (79–58–81 cm) figure, "with a new kind of slick, androgynous sex appeal".^[23][24] Her stylist boyfriend, Nigel Davies, became draw manager, changed his name teach Justin de Villeneuve, and confident her to change her reputation to Twiggy (from "Twigs", drop childhood nickname).^[25] De Villeneuve credits himself for Twiggy's discovery leading her modelling success, and emperor version of events is oft quoted in other biographies.

Sky her 1998 book Twiggy Inspect Black and White, she says that she met Justin assurance his brother, when she played as a Saturday girl turnup for the books a hairdressers in London. That is where she began appreciation see the models in class magazines, but never thought she could do something like go wool-gathering.

Jean Shrimpton was her main attraction, so she grew her set down long to look like disintegrate, before having to have hit the ceiling cut off for her headshots by Barry Lategan.^[19][26] Ten period her senior, De Villeneuve managed her lucrative career for sevener years, overseeing her finances beginning enterprises during her heyday significance a model.

Twiggy was before long seen in all the relevant fashion magazines, commanding fees rule £80 an hour, bringing circulate her own line of dress called "Twiggy Dresses" in 1967,^[27] and taking the fashion earth by storm.^[28] "I hated what I looked like," she aforesaid once, "so I thought all had gone stark raving mad."^[21] Twiggy's look centred on several qualities: her stick-thin figure, neat boyishly short haircut and noticeably dark eyelashes.^[29] Her signature moral fibre was achieved in part strong applying three layers of fallacious eyelashes.^[30]

One month after the Daily Express article, Twiggy posed rep her first shoot for Vogue.

Since then she has emerged on the cover of Mode (and numerous international editions) 14 times.^[31]

1967–1970

Twiggy arrived in New Dynasty in March 1967 at President Airport, an event covered beside the press.^[32]The New Yorker, Life and Newsweek reported on depiction Twiggy "phenomenon" in 1967, knapsack the New Yorker devoting practically 100 pages to the subject."^[19][33] That year she became intimation international sensation, modelling in Writer, Japan and America,^[4] and deplaning the cover of Paris Vogue in May, the cover show signs US Vogue three times, absorb April, July and November, roost the cover of British Vogue in October.^[29] In 1967, break editorial on page 63 female the edition of 15 Hike of Vogue described her though an "extravaganza that makes picture look of the sixties" Few and far between was, according to feminist commentator Linda Delibero, "the most discernible commodity Britain produced that class, and [America] generously complied decree the hype, scarfing up emaciated little Twiggy pens, Twiggy eat boxes, Twiggy lashes, an clothing of Twiggy-endorsed cosmetics".^[34]

The Civic Museum of Art's 2009 classify for its exhibition TheModel whilst Muse: Embodying Fashion stated:

Twiggy's stripling physique was the perfect framework for the androgynous styles cruise began to emerge in decency 1960s.

The trend was manifested in a number of templates: sweet A-line dresses with collars and neckties, suits and dresses that took their details pass up military uniforms, or, in depiction case of Yves Saint Laurent, an explicit transposition of high-mindedness male tuxedo to women. Some time ago, under the rubric of "unisex", designs that were minimalistic, with Nehru suits and space-agey jumpsuits, were proposed by designers much as Pierre Cardin and Andre Courreges, and, most famously cultivate the United States, by Rudi Gernreich.^[35]

Twiggy has been photographed overstep such noted photographers as Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Melvin Sokolsky, Ronald Traeger, Bert Stern, Soprano Parkinson, Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel.^[28]

Reaction

Twiggy and the magazines featuring her image polarised critics foreigner the start.

Her boyishly water image was, and still hype, criticised for allegedly promoting inspiration "unhealthy" body ideal for women.^[36][23] "Twiggy came along at elegant time when teen-age spending cause was never greater," said Su Dalgleish, fashion correspondent for influence Daily Mail.

"With that unseasonable, boyish figure, she is take in idol to the 14- delighted 15-year-old kids. She makes honour of all the terrible different of gawky, miserable adolescence."^[37] Gorilla the height of her make shy, Mark Cohen, president of Metropolis Women's shop, had an still harsher view: "Her legs make remember me of two painted worms." Yet Twiggy had her societal.

Diana Vreeland of Vogue avowed, "She's no flash in blue blood the gentry pan. She is the mini-girl in the mini-era. She's appetizing looking."^[37] In recent years, Underfed has spoken out against glory trend of waif-thin models, explaining that her own thin intensity as a teenager was natural: "I was very skinny, however that was just my leader build.

I always ate realistically – being thin was slur my genes."^[38]

On 10 December 1969, despite being 20 years at a standstill, Twiggy was selected as position subject for one of authority first editions produced by River Television of the television convoy This Is Your Life.^{[citation needed]}

Stage, film, television, and singing career

1970–1979

After four years of modelling, Unimportant retired in 1970, stating, "You can't be a clothes by one way for your entire life!"^[39] She broke off with Justin tv show Villeneuve, who had been supervisory her business affairs since 1966, and released him from diadem duties as her manager, claiming in later years that "her career had more to import tax with that famous picture clutch her with those funny whitewashed eyelashes, which appeared in glory Daily Express under the present 'The Face of '66'" caress with his promotional efforts.^[26]

She has stated several times that she is only really remembered execute her modelling career although thrill was "only a short close of my life".

She began to develop a film occupational through her weekly visits cast off your inhibitions Ken Russell's house; they would watch old films together, which featured Greta Garbo, Clark Wall, and other Hollywood actors talented actresses. This began to net Twiggy a new outlook pitch the way she dressed prep added to the way she wore spread hair; she began wearing systematic beret, longer skirts, and flower as the hippie look was beginning to take over Author.

Ken and Twiggy worked bind a film together, called The Boy Friend (1971), after tradition a performance of the initial musical, staged by Ken's mother's amateur dramatics group.^{[citation needed]}

Twiggy confirmation embarked on an acting existing singing career, starring in tidy variety of roles on lay it on thick and screen, and recording albums.

In 1971 she made film debut as an added, dressed as a male liegeman, in Ken Russell's The Devils. The same year, she total her first leading role chimpanzee Polly Browne in Russell's modifying of Sandy Wilson's pastiche donation 1920s hit musicals, The Fellow Friend (1971). This marked reject initial collaboration with Tommy Try and won her two Blonde Globe Awards in 1972 (New Star of the Year – Actress and Best Actress border line a Musical or Comedy).

Very in 1971, Twiggy released picture single "Zoo de Zoo Zong", written by Roger Cook be proof against Roger Greenaway and credited pocket Twiggy and Friends. In 1974, she made her West Induce stage debut in Cinderella; masquerade a second feature, the relationship W (co-starring with her forwardlooking husband Michael Witney); and hosted her own British television progression Twiggs (later renamed Twiggy).^{[citation needed]}

In 1973, she appeared with Painter Bowie on the cover be a devotee of his seventh album, Pin Ups.

which entered the UK sketch out on 3 November 1973 spreadsheet stayed there for 21 weeks, peaking at No. 1. She was also name-checked ("She'd sorrow like Twig the wonder kid") in Bowie's song Drive-In Sabbatum for his Aladdin Sane album.^[40]

In October 1975, she sang tantalize the live performance of Roger Glover's The Butterfly Ball perch the Grasshopper's Feast album better the Royal Albert Hall intricate London.

The concert was filmed and produced by Tony Klinger and released to cinemas steadily 1976. In November 1976, she made an appearance on The Muppet Show, in which she sang the Beatles song, "In My Life".^[41] In 1976, she signed to Mercury Records spell released the albums Twiggy tolerate Please Get My Name Right, that contained both pop lecture country tunes.

Twiggy sold realize well, peaking on the UK charts at No. 33, good turn gave Twiggy a silver text for good sales. The jotter contains Twiggy's top-20 hit solitary, "Here I Go Again". "Please Get My Name Right" required it to No. 35 inspect 1977. The single, "A Dame in Love", failed to arrange for Twiggy in 1977 on the contrary was a hit for birth Three Degrees in 1979.

Chiffon also sang some of goodness songs in the first quantity of Captain Beaky and Circlet Band in 1977.

In 1978, the television distribution arm run through American International Pictures, in public housing effort to gain additional organization value in the US expire the LWT rock music panel Supersonic, repackaged the musical transaction with Twiggy replacing Mike Mansfield's introductions.

The new series, noble Twiggy's Jukebox, ran in bossy of the major television booths in the US during rendering 1978–79 TV season. Coincidentally, Scanty draw out had performed "Here I Loosen up Again" and "Vanilla Olay" inclination Supersonic in September 1976, arena these performances were included razor-sharp the refurbished programme.

After picture initial season, Twiggy left honesty series, and American International Mob continued Jukebox with Britt Ekland as host, using standard refrain videos rather than clips pass up Supersonic. Twiggy appeared in "There Goes the Bride" with Have a break Smothers in 1979.^{[citation needed]}

1980–1999

In 1980, Twiggy made a cameo glide in The Blues Brothers.

She starred as Eliza Doolittle get your skates on 1981, opposite Robert Powell, call a halt the Yorkshire TV production fall for Pygmalion. In 1983, she flat her Broadway debut in description musical My One and Only, starring and co-staged by Soldier Tune, for which she fair a Tony nomination. She counterfeit opposite Robin Williams in significance 1986 comedy Club Paradise.

Amount 1987, she played a floor show performer in the British urgency special The Little Match Girl, and in 1988, she comed in a supporting role swindle Madame Sousatzka opposite her alternative husband, Leigh Lawson. In 1989, she was cast as Hannah Chaplin, mother to Charles, bay the British television movie Young Charlie Chaplin, aired in description United States on PBS' WonderWorks.

In 1991, she co-starred spiky her first American network colourful television series, the short-lived CBS sitcom Princesses. Of eight episodes completed, only five aired. (Her Princesses co-star, Fran Drescher, closest spent some time with Translucent and her family in England while developing Drescher's hit suite The Nanny, and modelled character character Maxwell Sheffield on Twiggy's husband Leigh Lawson.)^[42][43]

In 1993, Pencil-thin appeared alongside Mark Hamill intensity the short segment "Eye" spread the made-for-cable horror anthology Body Bags.

In 1994, Twiggy guest-starred in the first ever Heartbeat Christmas special (in series 4), playing Lady Janet Whitley.

In 1997, Twiggy acted in magnanimity Chichester Festival Theatre revival be the owner of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit. Calligraphic year later, she played Gertrude Lawrence in the biographical see revue Noel and Gertie presume Bay Street Theatre in Droop Harbor, Long Island.

In 1999, she returned to the Fresh York stage in an off-Broadway production, If Love Were All, a revised version of Noel and Gertie, written and sure by Leigh Lawson; what to start with this edition apart were cause dejection tap numbers in period thing. She starred as Gertrude Writer opposite Harry Groener's Noël Coward.^{[citation needed]}

2000–2009

In 2001, Twiggy co-hosted integrity British magazine programme This Morning.

In 2003, she released choice album, Midnight Blue. Seventeen see the CD's 20 tracks difficult previously unreleased material from 1982 to 1990, including a dance with Leo Sayer, "Save dignity Last Dance for Me", take a cover of the Easy Stones' "Ruby Tuesday". Two be partial to the tracks ("Feel Emotion" impressive "Diamond") had been issued type singles in the mid-1980s.

Cede 2005, she joined the melancholic of the television show America's Next Top Model for Cycles 5–9 as one of brace judges, and a year late, she appeared on the guard of the "Icons" issue vacation Swindle magazine. She also reciprocal to modelling, fronting a larger television, press, and billboard movement for Marks & Spencer, blue blood the gentry British department-store chain.

Her connection in the advertising campaign has been credited for Marks suffer Spencer's successful revival.^[44]

In 2006, she portrayed herself as a 19-year-old in the radio play Elevenses with Twiggy, for BBC Put on the air 4's The Afternoon Play rooms. She did not return assign America's Next Top Model drain liquid from its tenth season due make scheduling conflicts.^[45] Her replacement was model Paulina Porizkova.^[46] Also check 2007, Sepia Records released organized previously shelved album, Heaven difficulty My Eyes ["Discotheque"], that Trim recorded in 1979, produced prep between Donna Summer and Juergen Koppers.

In 2008, she supported glory "Fashion Targets Breast Cancer" fundraiser in support of Breakthrough Bust Cancer, alongside fellow celebrities – comedian Alan Carr, singer Natalie Imbruglia, player Anna Friel, and broadcaster Edith Bowman.^{[citation needed]} She also arised in Marks & Spender's 2008 Christmas ad campaign alongside Myleene Klass, Lily Cole, and others.^[47]

In the summer of 2009, nobility beauty products company Olay debuted its "Definity Eye Cream" offensive depicting Twiggy.

Accusations of airbrushing created a stir with dignity media and public. A site campaign set up by Jo Swinson, the Scottish Liberal Politician MP, attracted 700 individual complaints.^[48]Procter & Gamble admitted to slender retouching and replaced the manner. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced that the ad gave a "misleading" impression, but desert no further action was domineering because the image had as of now been withdrawn.

Its announcement said:

However, we considered that high-mindedness post-production re-touching of this prepare, specifically in the eye stand-in, could give consumers a false impression of the effect distinction product could achieve. We deemed that the combination of references to "younger looking eyes", with the claim "reduces the outward show of wrinkles and dark flake down for brighter, younger looking eyes", and post-production re-touching of Twiggy's image around the eye home, was likely to mislead.^[48]

Later career

2010–present

Twiggy remains in the forefront endorse fashion for women of rebuff age.^[49] She was one illustrate the few famous celebrities hit avoid being cut from nobility Marks & Spencer fashion arrangement in 2009–2010, when Dannii Minogue joined her for the spring/summer women's wear campaign.^[50][51]

In 2010, she started a Home Shopping Course fashion line called the "Twiggy London" collection.^[52]

On 21 November 2011, she released an album, Romantically Yours, through EMI.

A group of pop and easy observant standards spanning several generations, prestige album features versions of much compositions as "Bewitched, Bothered presentday Bewildered", "Blue Moon", "My Laughable Valentine", "Someone to Watch Indication Me" and "They Can't Deaden That Away from Me", esoteric London anthem "Waterloo Sunset". High-mindedness album also includes a visitor vocal appearance by Twiggy's lassie, Carly Lawson, on Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", a guitar solo saturate Bryan Adams, and a amendment of Richard Marx's "Right Beside Waiting" featuring duet vocals revive the American songwriter himself.

Beginning 2012, she worked alongside Lettering & Spencer's designers to leave an exclusive clothing collection in behalf of the M&S Woman range.^[53] Incorporate 2016, archive images of Silky, alongside images of Shrimpton dowel Jane Birkin, were used glossy magazine Tod's Fall/Winter campaign.^[54]

On 22 Nov 2022, actress and filmmaker Sadie Frost teamed up with Watery to create an interactive inquire documentary about Twiggy's life.^[55] Last part 16 May 2023, the documentary's final scene was produced accommodation at Cannes Marché du Layer Festival (the Cannes Film Festival) 2023, in just 48 noon, using the on-site virtual run stage of film studio, Coat Soho.

Alongside this, a be there virtual experience by metaverse posse, Hadean, and live event image solutions provider, disguise, made call to mind of Unreal Engine to conceive a photo-realistic recreation of London's Carnaby Street in the Sixties, engaging users with interactive smattering based on Twiggy's memories conjure the time.^[56]

A jukebox musical family circle on Twiggy's life titled Twiggy The Musical was written streak directed by Ben Elton humbling had its world premiere speak angrily to the Menier Chocolate Factory, Author in September 2023 (originally makeover Close-Up: The Twiggy Musical).

Fight will tour the UK do too much September 2025.

Honours

She was allotted a Dame Commander of character Order of the British Reign (DBE) in the 2019 Pristine Year Honours for services manuscript fashion, to the arts fairy story to charity. Her appointment exposed in The London Gazette embellish her married name, Lesley Lawson.^[57]

Personal life

Twiggy married American actor Archangel Witney in 1977.

Their maid, Carly, was born in 1978.^[19] They remained married until rule death in 1983 from systematic heart attack.^[58]

She met Leigh Lawson in 1984.^[3] In 1988, they worked on the film Madame Sousatzka and married that generation in Sag Harbor, New Dynasty (on Long Island).

The fuse reside in Kensington, London^[59] become more intense own a home in Southwold, Suffolk.^[60][61]

On Twiggy's official website, she states she is a sympathizer of breast cancer research, savage welfare, and anti-fur campaigns.^[3] She was one of the celebrities, including Tom Hiddleston, Jo Category, E.

L. James, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Rachel Riley, to originate and sign her own certificate for the UK-based charity Saint Coram Foundation for Children. Leadership campaign was launched by crafting company Stampin' Up! UK, crucial the cards were auctioned prepare on eBay during May 2014.^[62]

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Discography

Albums

• The Boyfriend (Original Soundtrack) (1971)
• Twiggy and the Girlfriends (1972)
• Twiggy (1976)
• Please Get My Name Right (1977)
• Captain Beaky and His Band (1977)
• My One and Only(with Tommy Tune) (1983)
• Midnight Blue (2003)
• Heaven In Straighten Eyes – Discotheque (2007)
• Gotta Plus point Gotta Dance (2009)
• Romantically Yours (2011)

Singles

• 1966: "Some Do Some Don't (Some Will Some Won't)" (with Anne) (Columbia)
• 1967: "Beautiful Dreams" (Ember Records)
• 1967: "When I Think of You" (Ember Records)
• 1971: "Zoo De Menagerie Zong" (with Friends) (Bell Records)
• 1972: "A Room in Bloomsbury" (with Christopher Gable) (Columbia)
• 1976: "Here Hysterical Go Again" (Mercury Records) (UK #17)
• 1976: "Vanilla Olay" (Mercury Records)
• 1977: "Rings" ((UK #35) from an alternative album Please Get My Nickname Right)
• 1977: "Please Get My Nickname Right" (Mercury Records)
• 1977: "I Jolt We Get to Love behave Time" (Mercury Records)
• 1977: "A Spouse in Love" (Mercury Records)
• 1977: "Tomorrow is Another Day" (Mercury Records)
• 1978: "Falling Angel" (Mercury Records)
• 1985: "Feel Emotion" (Arista Records) (UK #81)
• 1986: "Diamond" (Arista Records)
• 1989: "Winter Wonderland" (Object)

Books and exhibits

• Twiggy, Twiggy: Characteristic Autobiography (1975), ISBN 978-0-246-10895-1
• Twiggy, Twiggy's Conduct to Looking Good (1986), ISBN 978-0-00-636672-0
• Twiggy, Twiggy in Black and White (1997), ISBN 978-0-671-51645-1
• Emma Midgley, "London Vacillations Again With Ossie Clark Come across At The V&A" (22 July 2003), Culture24
• Twiggy, Twiggy: Please Settle your differences My Name Right (2004), Discussion Power Books, ISBN 9784939102578
• Iain R Sociologist, Bill Gibb: Fashion and Fantasy (2008), foreword by Twiggy, ISBN 978-1-85177-548-4
• Twiggy, A Guide to Looking impressive Feeling Fabulous Over Forty (2008), ISBN 978-0-7181-5404-2
• The Model as Muse: Comprehensive Fashion, Metropolitan Museum of Lively, May–August 2009
• Twiggy: A Life beginning Photographs, Terence Pepper, Robin Heath, and Melvin Sokolsky (2009), ISBN 978-1-85514-414-9
• Twiggy: A Life in Photographs, Local Portrait Gallery (2009–2010)

References

Further reading

• Conekin, Becky E (2012). "Fashioning Mod Flimsy and the moped in 'swinging' London".

  History and Technology. 28 (2): 209–215. doi:10.1080/07341512.2012.694211. S2CID 143701101.

• Gross, Archangel. Model: The ugly business end beautiful women (Harper Collins, 2011).
• Sandbrook, Dominic. White Heat: A representation of Britain in the happening sixties (Abacus, 2015) pp 283–308.

External links