The Begining Of SUPERMODELS: JEAN SHRIMPTON

The Begining of 

JEAN SHRIMPTON

Jean Rosemary Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels. She appeared on covers such asVogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Elle, Ladies' Home Journal, Newsweek, and Time magazines. She starred alongside Paul Jones in the 1967 film Privilege.

Biography

Shrimpton graduated from Lucie Clayton's modelling school at 17 and began modelling in 1960. She has appeared on the covers of popular magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. During her career, Shrimpton was widely reported to be the "world's highest paid model",the "most famous model", and the "most photographed in the world". She was also described as having the "world's most beautiful face". She was dubbed "The It Girl", "The Face", "The Face of the Moment", and "The Face of the '60s". Glamour named her "Model of The Year" in June 1963. She contrasted the aristocratic-looking models of the 1950s by representing the coltish,gamine look of the youthquake movement in 1960s Swinging London, and she was reported as "the symbol of Swinging London." By breaking the popular mould of voluptuous figures with her long legs and slim figure, she was nicknamed "The Shrimp".  Shrimpton was also known for her long hair with bangs, wide doe-eyes , long wispy eyelashes, arched brows, and pouty lips.

Shrimpton also helped launch the miniskirt. In 1965, Shrimpton caused a sensation in Melbourne, Australia, when she arrived for the Victoria Derby wearing a white shift dress designed by Colin Rolfe which ended 10 cm (3.9 in) above her knees. She wore no hat, stockings or gloves and wore a man's watch, which was unusual at the time. Shrimpton was unaware she would cause such reaction in the Melbourne community and media.

In her article "The Man in the Bill Blass Suit", Nora Ephron tells of the time when Jean Shrimpton posed for a Revlon ad in an antique white Chantilly lace dress by Blass. Minutes after the lipstick placard hit the drugstores, the Revlon switchboard lit up with calls from women demanding to know where they could buy the dress.

Shrimpton was once engaged to photographer David Bailey. They met in 1960 at a photo shoot that Shrimpton, who was then an unknown model, was working on with photographer Brian Duffy for a Kellogg's corn flakes advertisement. 

Duffy told Bailey she was too posh for him, but Bailey was undeterred, and he and Shrimpton subsequently had a relationship for four years, ending in 1964. During the affair, Bailey was still married to his first wife Rosemary Bramble but left her after nine months and later divorced to be with Shrimpton. Shrimpton's first photo session with Bailey was in 1960 (either for Condé Nast's Brides on 7 December 1960 or for British Vogue). She started to become known in the modelling world around the time she was dating Bailey. Shrimpton has stated she owed Bailey her career, and he is often credited for discovering her and being influential in her career. In turn, she was Bailey's muse, and his photographs of her helped him rise to prominence in his early career.

 Shrimpton's other celebrated romance was with actor Terence Stamp. She married photographer Michael Cox in 1979 at Penzance register office when she was four months pregnant  with their son Thaddeus (born in 1979). They own the Abbey Hotel in Penzance, Cornwall, now managed by Thaddeus and his family. Her younger sister Chrissie was also an actress, linked to both Mick Jagger and Steve Marriott of the Small Faces.

In March 2011, the BBC announced that the story of her relationship with David Bailey will be explored in a film, We'll Take Manhattan, with Karen Gillan playing the part of Shrimpton.

Trivia 

Owns and runs a 1620 hotel called the Abbey Hotel, with husband Michael Cox and son Thaddeus in Penzance, Cornwall, England. They purchased the hotel in 1980.

Prior to Twiggy, she was one of the very top international fashion models of the 1960s.

Has a son, Thaddeus, by husband Michael Cox.

"Jean Shrimpton, An Autobiography" was published in 1990.

Her sister Chrissie was also a leading model and dated Mick Jagger.

Measurements: 33-22-34 (as novice model), 34B-23-35 (during prime of her career in 1960s), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Mentioned in Smithereen's song "Behind the Wall of Sleep". "She had hair like Jean Shrimpton back in 1965.

Older sister of Chrissie Shrimpton.

Was ranked #18 in Channel 5's "World's greatest supermodel".

Was told to take up modeling by a stranger at the polo in Windsor Great Park and by film director Cy Endfield when she was taking lunch in Hyde Park. Afterwards, she went on a Lucie Clayton course which lasted about a month.

Attended a secretarial course near Marble Arch in Central London for a year. Had two weeks of work experience in a typing pool in Oxford Street.

At age five, she went to St Bernard's Convent in High Wycombe, UK.

Prototypical Supermodel who was one of the faces of swinging sixties London.

She and her photographer David Bailey transformed the fashion pages of women's magazines as Bailey snapped Shrimpton in informal poses.

Personal Quotes

[in 1999, on her career] It was great fun becoming famous, but I got tired of it.

[on her looks] If you take off the make-up, I'm ugly.

FILMS:

Double Pisces, Scorpio Rising - 1970

Privilege - 1967 CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL FILM

Mykie's Note:  I have to admit I have known the name Jean Shripmton i think ever since I could remember hearing the name. I knew she was a model, but i never really gave her much attention. As of late, i had come across one of the only two films she ever made. PRIVILEGE, 1967, a groovy odd little film that i think was way ahead of it's time, rarely seen also staring MANFRED MANN'S Paul Jones, I loved it and I loved Jean in it, hence since then he has been an obsession , my beauty obsession. She was perfect and in that era before the term supermodel, she was the first...

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"she had hair like Jeanie Shrimpton back in 1962"...The Smithereens


Check out this great article that Jean just did, gives you a little insight to what she's up to and her philosophy on being a model.
Interview~Jean Shrimpton

2006

JUN ROPE' CM / Richard Avedon・Jean Shrimpton (1973) 60 second from junofficialtv on Vimeo.