Gene Rosemary Shrimpton (November 7, 1942) is a famous English model and actress. She was an icon of the swinging London era and is also considered one of the world's first supermodels. She has appeared on numerous fashion magazine covers, including Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, Glamour, and more. In 2009, Shrimpton was named one of the Top 26 Models of All Time by Harper's Bazaar and one of the 100 Most Influential Fashion Personalities of All Time in 2012.
From this article you will learn the biography of Jean Shrimpton, the facts of her personal life and career.
Parameters
Many are interested in the parameters of one of the first supermodels in the world. She is:
- Height: 175 cm
- Parameters: 86.5 - 62 - 86.5 cm.
- Eye color: blue.
- Hair color: dark blonde.
- Clothing size: 36.
Early life
The future super-model was born in the English town of High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) and grew up on a farm. She was educated at a Catholic school located at the monastery of St. Bernard. When Jean was 17 years old, she entered Langham Secretarial College in London forSecretary training.
At this time, she accidentally met American director Cy Endfield and even tried her luck on auditions for a role in his film "Mysterious Island", but she was not approved. After that, Endfield invited her to attend the Lucy Clayton Academy's modeling course. In 1960, at the age of 17, she began modeling. Among Jean's first jobs were the covers of popular magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
Career
Gene Shrimpton became famous thanks to her work with famous fashion photographer David Bailey. They met in 1960 at a photo shoot when the girl was still a little-known model and worked with photographer Brian Duffy on an advertisement for Kellogg corn flakes. Duffy told Bailey she was too gorgeous for him, but Bailey didn't care. The first photo session of Jean with Bailey took place in 1960, it was at this time that she began to be recognized in the modeling world. Later, Shrimpton admitted that she owed Bailey her dizzying career. In turn, Jean was Bailey's muse and their creative collaboration helped the photographer become famous and carve out a niche.
Jean Shrimpton was very different from the models of the 1950s, who had aristocratic features and feminine figures. She represented the playful tomboy image of the youth movement of the 1960s and became its symbol. Because of the contrast with the mouth-watering figures of the long-legged models of the previous decade, she was nicknamed"shrimp". Shrimpton stood out with her long hair, big eyes, long eyelashes, arched eyebrows and full lips.
During her career, Jean has been named the highest paid, famous, and also the most photographed model in the world. She became the owner of the titles "The most beautiful face in the world" and "The most beautiful girl in the world." Jean also received the titles of The It Girl, The Face, The Face of the Moment, and The Face of the '60s. In June 1963, the fashion magazine Glamor named her model of the year.
Shrimpton also tried her hand at acting. Jean starred in the 1967 film The Privilege, but quickly abandoned the idea of becoming an actress.
Promotion of miniskirts
Jin also participated in the launch and popularization of miniskirts. In 1965, she made a two-week promotional visit to Australia sponsored by the Victoria Racing Club and a local synthetic fiber company. She advertised, including a number of new models of acrylic dresses. She was paid a fee of £2,000, a huge amount at the time. The real sensation was her appearance in Melbourne in a white dress created by Colin Rolph, which was only 13 cm above the knees. She wore no hat, stockings, or gloves, and wore a man's watch on her arm, which was unusual at the time. Shrimpton didn't expect this kind of reaction from the Melbourne fashion community and the media.
BIn her article "The Man in the Bill Blass Suit", American journalist Nora Ephron talks about the time when Jean Shrimpton was filming for the Revlon cosmetics brand in a vintage white Chantilly dress from the Blass brand. Minutes after the lipstick ad appeared in stores, Revlon received many calls from women asking where they could buy the same dress.
Private life
As for the personal life of the model, the first serious relationship was with the photographer Bailey. They started dating shortly after they started working together. Their relationship lasted for four years and ended in parting in 1964. Bailey was still married to his first wife, Rosemary Bramble, when the affair began with the young model, but left her after nine months and then separated from Shrimpton as well.
The model's other most famous romance was with English actor Terence Stamp, but it also ended in a breakup.
Disillusioned with the world of fashion, in 1975 Shrimpton gave up her modeling career and left London. She moved to Cornwall, where she subsequently opened an antiques shop. In 1979, she married fashion photographer Michael Cox when she was four months pregnant with her only son, Thaddeus. They own the Abbey Hotel in Penzance, now run by Thaddeus and his family.
In 1990, Jean released an autobiographical book about her life.
26January 2012, the story of the relationship between Shrimpton and David Bailey was filmed by BBC Four, the film was called "We will conquer Manhattan".
