Author: Suren Prasad
Originally of Jamaican and Chinese origin, Naomi Campbell is reported to be worth £31 million.
was born on May 22, 1970 in Streatham, London. As a 10-year-old, Campbell trained in ballet at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she was discovered in 1986 by Synchro model agency head, Beth Boldt. That April, she adorned the cover of Elle UK, although her first public introduction came as a seven-year-old in a Bob Marley video.
She later modelled for the likes of Gianni Versace and Isaac Mizrahi. The late 1980s saw top models Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington becoming the modelling “Trinity”.
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She then appeared on Vogue UK’s December 1987 cover, becoming the second black cover girl since 1966.
Campbell then became the first black model to feature on the covers of Vogue France (August 1988), Vogue US (September 1989) and Time (September 1991).
By the time she appeared on Vogue UK’s January 1990 cover, Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer formed a clique of ‘supermodels’, who were nicknamed the “Big Six”.
Campbell was also one of the models posing for the 100th anniversary cover of Vogue US (April 1992), appearing twice more in 1993 (April and June).
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In 1995, Campbell invested in Fashion Café with Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson and Christy Turlington, which went bankrupt in 1998. She also featured in the films Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Girl 6 (1996). She then played a recurring role in New York Undercover (1994-1998).
Retiring from the catwalk in 1998, Campbell continued to model for magazines and inked her first deal with Wella’s Cosmopolitan Cosmetics in 1999, launching 16 signature fragrances. She was among the models for the “Modern Muses” cover of Vogue US‘ Millennium Issue in November 1999, and later graced the covers of Playboy (December 1999).
In 2007 she walked at Dior’s 60th anniversary fashion show.
She was also judge and coach on Oxygen’s reality modelling competition The Face (2013-2014) and was ranked fourth in the “World’s greatest supermodel” list by Channel 5.
Campbell has two homes gifted by her ex-boyfriend and Moscow billionaire Vladislav Doronin: a spaceship-like mansion outside Moscow and the Horus-Eye Eco House on Isla Playa de Cleopatra, a private island in Turkey, whose construction imitates the ancient eponymous Egyptian symbol.
