Twiggy

Years before the word "supermodel" was in common use, Twiggy was one of the first women to achieve international stardom for her work as a fashion model, and her slim figure and gamine beauty sparked a new trend in modeling that is still in vogue today. Twiggy was also one of the first well-known models to enter into a career in show business, and has made a name for herself as an actress and recording artist. Twiggy was born Leslie Hornby in North London on September 19, 1949, the youngest of three daughters born to William and Helen Hornby. While Leslie grew up with an interest in clothing (her mother taught her to sew at a young age), her career in modeling was launched by happenstance when, at the age of 16, she treated herself to a new hairstyle at the House of Leonard, an exclusive hair salon in Mayfair. After Leslie had her brown hair dyed blonde and was given a fashionably short new cut, one of the shop's stylists suggested she would be a good choice to model in an upcoming ad for the salon. Photographer Barry Lategan took some shots of Hornby for the salon that caught the attention of Deidre McSharry, a noted fashion journalist, and a few weeks later, McSharry ran a story about Hornby for the British tabloid the Daily Express that declared her "the Face of '66." Adopting the professional name Twiggy (taken from her childhood nickname "Twigs"), Hornby quickly became one of the most sought-after models in Europe, appearing in Vogue only weeks after McSharry's story was published, and fame in America and Japan soon followed. Twiggy's big blue eyes, rimmed with long black lashes, and androgynous figure created a unique look that came to define the London fashion scene in the Swinging Sixties. In 1970, Twiggy retired from modeling, and Ken Russell cast her in the starring role of his campy homage to musicals of the 1920s and ‘30s, The Girl Friend. Released in 1971, The Girl Friend found Twiggy not just acting but singing and dancing as well, and while the film was a disappointment at the box office, for the most part critics were kind to Twiggy's work in the film