Verushka (model). German model and actress Vera Gottliebe Anna Gräfin von Lehndorff

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

There are so many popular models now that it is not possible to remember them all. But just a few decades ago, each fashion model was unique and famous throughout the world. And the very first supermodel was Verushka. Who is she and what was her path to success?

Childhood

Vera Gottlieb Anna von Lendorf, that's actually the name of the best model of the 1960s, was born on May 14, 1939 in East Prussia. She spent her childhood on the family estate in the village of Steinort. Aristocratic parents could not guarantee safety and happiness - part of the estate located next to the Fuhrer's headquarters called "Wolf's Lair" was confiscated by Ribbentrop, and the tragic years of Hitler's rule were ahead. Count Heinrich von Lendorf-Steinort, Vera's father, was a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht reserve. However, he did not share Nazi ideals and participated in Operation Valkyrie, a political conspiracy aimed at assassinating Hitler. The accomplices were revealed, Heinrich was executed. The von Lehndorffs' property was confiscated, and the family was sent to a labor camp. Vera's life has changed forever.

Education of Verushka

After the end of the war, the future German model Verushka went to school, and then went to the Hamburg school - she planned to study as a textile artist for textile mills. The educational institution turned out to be too strict environment, for which the freedom-loving disposition of the young aristocrat was not suitable. Therefore, soon Verushka von Lendorf went to Florence, where she decided to take up drawing. Refined appearance and blond hair were rare in Italy, therefore, having seen the girl once, many remembered her forever. This happened to the famous portrait painter and street photographer Hugo Mulas - slender Vera with a shock of wheaten hair fascinated him from the first meeting. He immediately offered her a job as a fashion model. Vera decided to try herself in this area. Her first pictures are dated 1960 - then her path to the top of fame began.

First Achievements

Photo shoots from Italy were the first portfolio that Verushka made. The model went with him to Paris. But at first, her appearance did not cause delight among the French agents. German actresses and models were not very popular after recent political events, and the very figure of Vera seemed too lanky and awkward. For the feminine images then common in Paris under the influence of Christian Dior, she did not fit.

American models of the 60s also did not look like Verushka, however, Eileen Ford from the New York agency Ford Models invited the girl to continue her career overseas. Despite the fact that Vera's mother had to sell a family teapot from Saxony to buy a ticket for a transatlantic flight, the aspiring model resolutely set off to conquer another country.

Failure and a new look

In 1961, Verushka von Lendorf came to America. But the friendly Eileen from Paris turned out to be completely different in her homeland - in New York she pretended to see the young German woman for the first time. All castings ended in failure, and Vera went back to Europe. She decided not to give up her dream and thought a lot about her image. And so the alter ego von Lendorf, a special girl Verushka, was born. The model decided to forget about her past and turn into a mysterious Russian beauty with an unusual name - after two world wars, not talking about Germany was a good decision. Everything has changed: gait, gestures, manner of dressing. Now Verushka dressed in black and wore discreet shoes without a heel. The graceful femininity that distinguished blonde German actresses, Aryan aristocracy and the tragic future with concentration camps are left behind - instead of a young German woman, an eccentric Russian appeared before the Americans.

Smashing popularity

The choice of the Russian myth turned out to be very successful - the winners of World War II caused Americans to tremble. The original image that Verushka came up with increased the impression - the model came without a portfolio, telling the photographer that she wanted to see what he was capable of doing, and not show him the workothers. A stunning silhouette with infinitely long legs and an unforgettable face justified such audacity. Popularity came to Verushka. Unusual growth set her apart from other models, not only literally, but also figuratively. In the 1960s, there was no girl more popular. Soon Verushka was noticed by Diana Vreeland, who was then the editor-in-chief of the American Vogue magazine.

She saw her as a person of a new era and decided to put her photo on the cover. A permanent stylist was hired for the young model, and the crowd of photographers was so impressive that even Irving Penn, the best master of the twentieth century, had to wait for Vera for three weeks. As a result, Diana and Verushka managed to achieve unheard of success. Each cover became a fashionable event, and in total Vera graced her Vogue face eleven times. In this industry, this can be compared to receiving 11 Oscar statuettes. In addition to Vogue, Verushka has about eight hundred other covers, which seems to be a real model record.

New Horizons

The famous Verushka, a model that the whole world recognized, could not be limited to one thing. She decided to try herself in cinema. The first work was the tape "Photo enlargement". In it, Verushka got a rather simple role for her as a fashion model. Despite the fact that the episode with her was five minutes long and there were few phrases, the film became her next success. Scenes with Vera became the best erotic shots of the year. She managed to outshine even Twiggy, another popular model of the sixties. In addition to cinema, Verushka took up art. Salvador Dali himself decided to help her in this. In 1966, they organized surreal actions together, for example, the artist poured shaving foam on Verushka. The model discovered her love for transformations and body art. In the future, she did a lot of this herself, taking amazing photos, in which it is almost impossible to believe that this is the same Verushka. With the help of body art, the model transformed not only into a man or an animal, but also into a plant or a stone.

End of career

During the years of popularity, Verushka received up to ten thousand dollars a day. Her success continued until 1975 when a new Vogue editor demanded an image change and the model decided to quit the industry. The aristocratic Verushka refused to do the hairstyle that was relevant at that time and adapt to new trends. So she disappeared from the covers. However, the rich life of Vera has not gone away. She was and still is engaged in art, and also acts in films - one of the last works was the role in the spy film "Casino Royale".