NAOMI CAMPBELL
Name: Naomi Campbell
Born: 22 May 1970 Streatham, London, England
Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is a British supermodel of (3/4) Afro-Jamaican
and (1/4) Chinese heritage.
Campbell was born in Streatham, London, England. Her mother, Valerie Campbell (née
Morris), is a former dancer of Afro-Jamaican descent. In accordance with her
mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her unnamed father, who left then-18-year-old
Valerie two months after the birth of their daughter. Campbell is biracial
of Afro-Jamaican (3/4) and Chinese Jamaican (1/4) descent; her paternal
grandmother was Han Chinese (family name Ming).
As a young child, Campbell was left in the care of a nanny while her mother
traveled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. Aged 10, Campbell was
accepted into the Italia Conti Academy stage school, where she studied ballet.
Campbell attended Dunraven School, a comprehensive school run by Inner London
Education Authority in Streatham.
Campbell's first public appearance came aged 7 in February 1978 when she was
cast as a pupil to appear in a music video for Bob Marley's song Is This Love?.
In 1982, she appeared in another music video, this time as a tap dancer for
Culture Club's I'll Tumble 4 Ya.
Aged 15 and while still a student at the Italia Conti Academy, Campbell was
spotted by Beth Boldt, a former Ford model and head of the Synchro model agency,
while window-shopping in Covent Garden. Campbell soon opted to become a fulltime
model, signing with Elite Model Management. Of her looks, she has said: "My
features are completely ethnic, and I'm proud of them."
Although Campbell started her career as a catwalk model, she was quickly hired
for various high-profile advertising campaigns, including Lee Jeans and Olympus
Corporation, which introduced her to the American market. Campbell also
completed campaigns for Ralph Lauren and Francois Nars. Aged 15 in April 1986,
Campbell appeared on the cover of Elle, replacing a model who had canceled out
of the appearance.
In August 1988, she appeared on the cover of Vogue Paris as that publication's
first Black cover girl. In addition to Vogue Paris, Campbell also became the
first Black model to appear on the cover of Vogue UK, Vogue Nippon and Time
magazine. She has also posed nude for Playboy and appeared in Madonna's 1992
book Sex, in a set of photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane. In total,
Campbell has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers.
She famously starred in George Michael's music video Freedom! '90, where she lip-synched
to his song along with fellow supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington,
Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz. In 1992, Campbell appeared in Madonna's music
video for Erotica, which featured filmed footage from photoshoots for the book
Sex. In addition to the previously mentioned music videos, Campbell has appeared
in videos for artists such as Michael Jackson, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Jay-Z, P.Diddy,
The Notorious B.I.G, Macy Gray, Prince and Usher.
The highpoint of Campbell's career was in the early 1990s, when she was part of
the two major supermodel powerhouses: the Big Six, alongside Cindy Crawford,
Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss, and The
Trinity, alongside Turlington and Evangelista.
Name: Naomi Campbell
Born: 22 May 1970 Streatham, London, England
Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is a British supermodel of (3/4) Afro-Jamaican
and (1/4) Chinese heritage.
Campbell was born in Streatham, London, England. Her mother, Valerie Campbell (née
Morris), is a former dancer of Afro-Jamaican descent. In accordance with her
mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her unnamed father, who left then-18-year-old
Valerie two months after the birth of their daughter. Campbell is biracial
of Afro-Jamaican (3/4) and Chinese Jamaican (1/4) descent; her paternal
grandmother was Han Chinese (family name Ming).
As a young child, Campbell was left in the care of a nanny while her mother
traveled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. Aged 10, Campbell was
accepted into the Italia Conti Academy stage school, where she studied ballet.
Campbell attended Dunraven School, a comprehensive school run by Inner London
Education Authority in Streatham.
Campbell's first public appearance came aged 7 in February 1978 when she was
cast as a pupil to appear in a music video for Bob Marley's song Is This Love?.
In 1982, she appeared in another music video, this time as a tap dancer for
Culture Club's I'll Tumble 4 Ya.
Aged 15 and while still a student at the Italia Conti Academy, Campbell was
spotted by Beth Boldt, a former Ford model and head of the Synchro model agency,
while window-shopping in Covent Garden. Campbell soon opted to become a fulltime
model, signing with Elite Model Management. Of her looks, she has said: "My
features are completely ethnic, and I'm proud of them."
Although Campbell started her career as a catwalk model, she was quickly hired
for various high-profile advertising campaigns, including Lee Jeans and Olympus
Corporation, which introduced her to the American market. Campbell also
completed campaigns for Ralph Lauren and Francois Nars. Aged 15 in April 1986,
Campbell appeared on the cover of Elle, replacing a model who had canceled out
of the appearance.
In August 1988, she appeared on the cover of Vogue Paris as that publication's
first Black cover girl. In addition to Vogue Paris, Campbell also became the
first Black model to appear on the cover of Vogue UK, Vogue Nippon and Time
magazine. She has also posed nude for Playboy and appeared in Madonna's 1992
book Sex, in a set of photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane. In total,
Campbell has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers.
She famously starred in George Michael's music video Freedom! '90, where she lip-synched
to his song along with fellow supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington,
Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz. In 1992, Campbell appeared in Madonna's music
video for Erotica, which featured filmed footage from photoshoots for the book
Sex. In addition to the previously mentioned music videos, Campbell has appeared
in videos for artists such as Michael Jackson, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Jay-Z, P.Diddy,
The Notorious B.I.G, Macy Gray, Prince and Usher.
The highpoint of Campbell's career was in the early 1990s, when she was part of
the two major supermodel powerhouses: the Big Six, alongside Cindy Crawford,
Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss, and The
Trinity, alongside Turlington and Evangelista.