Naomi Campbell

Biography

Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British model and actress. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was the first black woman to appear as a model on the covers of Time and Vogue France. In addition to her modelling career, Campbell has embarked on other ventures, including an R&B studio album and several acting appearances in film and television. She hosted the modelling-competition reality television show The Face and its international offshoots. Campbell is also involved in charity work for various causes, although she was banned from being a trustee of any charity in the United Kingdom for five years in September 2024 following a financial misconduct investigation.

== Early life and education == Naomi Elaine Campbell was born on 22 May 1970 in Lambeth, South London, to Jamaican-born dancer Valerie Morris. Per her mother's wishes, Campbell never met her father, who had abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant and went unnamed on her birth certificate. She took the surname "Campbell" from her mother's second marriage. Her half-brother, Pierre, was born in 1985. Campbell is of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent. Her Chinese heritage comes through her paternal grandmother, whose surname was Ming. Campbell spent her early years in Rome, Italy, where her mother worked as a modern dancer. On their return to London, she lived with relatives while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. From age three, Campbell attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and at age 10 she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet. She also attended Dunraven School.

== Career ==

=== 1978–1986: Career beginnings === In 1978 at age 8, Campbell made her first public appearance in the music video for Bob Marley's "Is This Love" at the Keskidee, a Black-led arts and theatre centre in London. She tap-danced in 1983 in the music video for Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Mistake No. 3", in 1984. She had studied dance from age 3 to 16, and originally intended to be a dancer. 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. In April, just before her 16th birthday she appeared on the cover of British Elle.

=== 1987–1997 Supermodel status === Over the next few years, Campbell 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, had 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 designer Yves St. Laurent threatened to withdraw his advertising from the magazine if it didn't place Naomi 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 were called "supermodels" by the fashion industry. With the addition of newcomer Kate Moss, they were collectively known as the "Big Six". In March 1991, Campbell walked the catwalk for Versace with Turlington, Evangelista and Crawford, arm-in-arm and lip-synching the words to "Freedom! '90". In March 1992, she starred as Michael Jackson's love interest in the music video for "In the Closet". In April 1992, she posed with several other 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 also fell on the Vivienne Westwood 1993 Fall catwalk in foot-high platform shoes, which were later displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Despite her success, Elite Model Management, which had represented Campbell since 1987, dropped her contract. In 1996, Campbell walked in the second-ever Victoria Secret Fashion Show and made history as the first black model to open the show. She went on to grace the show's catwalk seven times. Her last catwalk for the brand was in 2005. When asked why she never became a full-time Angel, the supermodel simply stated: "[They] could not afford me". In 1997, Campbell became the first black woman ever to open a Prada show.

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. It was ghostwritten by Caroline Upcher, with Campbell stating that she "just did not have the time to sit down and write a book." That same year, she released her album Babywoman, 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, with its only single, "Love and Tears", reaching No. 40 on the charts. Babywoman was mocked by critics, inspiring the Naomi Awards. During the mid-1990s, 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 catwalk and, more frequently, in print. In 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 September 2000 she became the first black model on the cover for Vogue Russia. The cover was shot by photographer Robin Derrick, who was also the creative director for British Vogue at the time. In May 2001, she hosted, alongside supermodel Elle Macpherson, the 50th Miss Universe pageant. 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.