Naomi Campbell

Sitter in 5 portraits
London-born Naomi Campbell was talent scouted at the age of fifteen, and became one of the most recognised and demanded models of the 1980s and 1990s, dubbed one of only six “supermodels” of her generation. She has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers, was the first British black model to appear on the cover of British Vogue (December 1987), and the first black model on the covers of French Vogue (August 1988), Russian Vogue (September 2000) and TIME magazine (September 1991). She has fronted campaigns and catwalks for most of the major fashion houses, including Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Valentino. Campbell has also starred in music videos for Bob Marley, George Michael and Michael Jackson, as well as releasing her own studio album of R&B-pop, babywoman (1994). In July 2008, she appeared on the cover of a landmark all-black issue of Italian Vogue, edited by Edward Enninful. Under Enninful’s editorial tenure, she is a contributing editor to British Vogue. She also starred in the Fox drama series Empire from 2015-6. In 2018, Campbell won the Fashion Icon Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards, America’s most prestigious fashion awards. Campbell is a passionate campaigner against racism in the fashion industry, founding Balance Diversity with fellow model Iman and activist Bethann Hardison. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she organised her first Fashion For Relief show, an annual event which fundraises for a variety of environmental and humanitarian causes.

Watch a film clip on the sitter from the BBC Archive in the Media section below

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