Lauren Hutton

Lauren Hutton is an American model and actress who has been working since 1963. Hutton was born on November 17, 1943 in Charleston, South Carolina but she moved to Florida when she was very young after her mother and father got divorced. She grew up in Florida and attended the University of South Florida before moving to New York with a boy friend. She would move once again to New Orleans where she went to New Comb College and graduated with a Bachelor in Arts degree in 1964. She moved back to New York in the late 60’s to try to make it as a model. She started finding work in the industry but she was criticized for the gap in-between her front teeth. She used mortician’s wax to hide the gap or a cap to cover it but she would often accidentally swallow it or laugh it out of place. Eventually, she embraced her gapped teeth and made it her signature look. It made her very popular because she was very pretty but she had an imperfection too, making her feel “more real” to the public. In 1973, she signed the biggest modeling contract of the time with Revlon Cosmetics for $250,000 dollars a year for 20 days work. That’s equivalent to about $1.5 million today. She worked for them for 10 years. Hutton also had a modest film and tv career as well. She made her film debut in 1968, in the movie Paper Lion. Then in 1974, she starred opposite James Caan, who was a huge star back then, in The Gambler. In 1980, she played the female lead next to Richard Gere, another huge star, in American Gigolo. Hutton still models today, despite being 75 years old. In 2016, she was featured in H&M’s fall season and walked the runway in Milan Fashion Week.

Gia Carangi

Gia Carangi was an iconic American model during the late 70’s- early 80’s. She rose to prominence very fast and was featured on many covers of several top fashion magazines. She is considered by many historians to be the first super model in the industry. Gia was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1960. She began modeling when she was in Highschool and appeared in newspaper ads in Philadelphia before moving to New York to pursue a modeling career there. Very quickly she became a modeling star at just 17 years old. Her first ever photo shoot was with famous fashion photographer, Chris von Wangenheim. She became the favorite model to shoot by many prominent photographers in the business so she got put on the cover of multiple editions for magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan. She also appeared in advertising campaigns for the fashion houses; Versace, Yves saint Laurent, Christin Dior and Armani.

Unfortunately, Gia became a drug addict when she was introduced to the New York party scene. She began with using cocaine and alcohol then progressed to shooting up heroin, after a close friend passed away from cancer. Her drug use interfered with her work and she became unreliable. She moved back home to get clean but she couldn’t. She did get modeling gigs in the early 80’s for department store ads because she was once a huge star. Gia died in 1986 from complications from having AIDS at only 26 years old. Her legacy and influence inspired many young women who would later become super models as well, like Dorian Leigh, Janice Dickinson and Jean Shrimpton.

Karen Bjornson

Karen Bjornson is an American model who is best known for being a muse to the international acclaimed fashion designer, Halston in the 1970’s. Karen was born in 1952 in Galesburg, Illinois. Later her family relocated to Cincinnati where she grew up. Karen always aspired to be a model so she moved to New York City. One month later she met the very famous fashion designer, Halston, who was a big innovator of women’s fashion of the 1970’s. Halston hired her on the spot to be one of his models for his ready-to-wear line. So, Karen joined the troupe of models dubbed the “Halstonettes”, whom Halston favored the most. These included other prominent models like Anjelica Huston, Beverly Johnson, Pat Cleveland and Pat Ast. Now, with her newfound notoriety, Karen was a cover girl for magazines like Cosmopolitan. Karen retired from modeling in the early 1980’s to start a family. She married interior designer, Timothy MacDonald and they have two daughters. Twenty years later in the early 2000’s she returned to modeling at the age of 50.

Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley is a 65 year old American model, actress and entrepreneur. She was born in 1954, in Monroe Michigan, but she grew up in the Los Angeles area. After high school she moved to Paris to study Art. While she was at a postoffice there she was discovered by the photographer, Errol Sawyer. He took her fist modeling shots and sent them to Elite Modeling Agency of Paris. Christie then flew back to California to take a lunch meeting with the LA chapter. By the end of the meeting she had signed a contract and was booked for 3 national ad campaigns. She had multiple pictures on the cover of Glamour magazine, then signed a 25 year contract with cosmetics brand CoverGirl. It was one of the longest contracts in modeling history, and they signed her again in 2005 when it expired. Christie rose to international prominence when she was the featured girl of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for 3 consecutive years starting in 1979-81. She went on to have pretty much the biggest modeling career you can have, and she still works today in the fashion business and the entertainment industry.

Grace Jones

Grace Jones was a multifaceted mega star of the 70’s and 80’s, though she still works in the industry today. She was a super model, musical star and successful actress. Grace was born in 1948, in Spanish Town, Jamaica. When she was 13 years old her family emigrated to New York where she got enthralled in the counter culture of the 60’s growing up. When she was 18 she signed to a modeling agency in New York but really stood out in the industry when she moved to Paris. The Parisian modeling scene embraced her signature androgynous appearance, her bold features and her dark black skin. She started walking the runways for the fashion houses Yves St. Laurent and Kenzon. She appeared on the covers of Vogue and Elle and she posed for prominent photographers like Guy Bourdin, Hans Feurer, Helmut Newton and Jean-Paul Goude. Grace also went on to have a successful acting career and very successful music career. She still tours today. Her music became big in the disco era, after which she evolved her sound to new wave, post punk, art pop, industrial and reggae genres. Grace also appeared in many movies. she is best known for playing Zula in the fantasy film Conan the Destroyer, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. Grace Jones has been a huge part of American pop culture for decades.

Cheryl Tiegs

Cheryl Tiegs is an American super model and fashion designer. She is best known for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970’s pop culture. Cheryl was born in Minnesota but moved to California in 1952. When she was a Senior in Highschool she posed for a bathing suit ad that got her noticed by the editorial staff for Glamour magazine. Cheryl did more photoshoots and got on the covers of Elle, Glamour and Seventeen fashion magazines. She left college her Junior year because she was getting modeling gigs full time. She quickly rose to become an extremely popular model in the industry. She was the first to appear twice on the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue and was on the cover of People magazine 4 times. In 1979, she signed a $1.5 million contract with CoverGirl, which was the biggest contract in modeling history at the time. She was also the first super model to launch a signature line of clothes and accessories for a retail company, in this case Sears. By 1989 her Sears brand made $1 billion in sales. Cheryl is often credited with pioneering the super model career track many after her have emulated. She started working in the industry in 1964 and recently retired in 2019.

Lisa Taylor

Lisa Taylor is an American model who was a prominent figure in the fashion scene of the 1970’s. In 1971, after dropping out of junior college her parents cut her off financially so she walked into Ford Models and got signed immediately. She became one of Vogue’s magazine favorite girls to feature. She posed in many innovating photos that no one else would do. Like in one picture she let a Doberman Pinscher bite her wrist and another picture she posed with fellow model Jerry Hall, pulling her hair in an erotic scene. She was the face of multiple American luxury brands; Dior, Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein. She was the “it girl” everywhere she went. But the party style caught up to her and she became addicted to drugs and alcohol. She left the industry for ten years to clean up then returned in her 40’s She still models today.

Jerry Hall

Jerry Hall is an American model and actress born in 1956. Her and her twin sister were discovered by a fashion agent when they were sunbathing on a beach in the French Riviera on vacation. She then moved to Paris where she shared an apartment with the actress, Jessica Lange and fellow model and singer, Grace Jones. Her modeling career took off when she appeared on the album cover of Siren for the band, Roxy Music. She became an very successful model with her extremely good looks and tall 6 foot body. By 1977, she had appeared on over 40 magazine covers. She began acting in films and on stage. She appeared in Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. She began dating rock singer Mick Jagger in 1977 and married him in 1990. They had four children together but ended up getting a divorce. Now Jerry is married to business billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

Janice Dickinson

Janice Dickinson is an American model, talent agent, actress, tv personality and author. She became famous being one of the biggest super models of the 70’s and 80’s. She is accredited to help pioneer the super model career track as well. In the early 70’s she moved to New York City to pursue a career in modeling after winning a national competition called Miss High Fashion Model. She was turned down by every agency in town because she was too “ethnic looking.” The “blonde bombshell” was the look of the day up to that point. She was discovered by a prominent photographer after his girlfriend said she liked her look and Janice moved to Paris where she thrived in the scene specifically for her “ethnic look.” In 1978, she came back to New York with a name and worked for 2 grand a day on her gigs. She also worked through the 80’s being a top model. In the 2000’s she stared her own modeling agency, which was the subject of a popular reality tv show. Today she still works in the industry and is a highly respected name.

Marisa Berenson

Marisa Berenson is an American model and actress. She rose to prominence in the fashion scene as a model in the 1960’s but didn’t become internationally acclaimed until the 70’s. Fashion icon, Yves Saint Laurent called her “the girl of the seventies.” Her official nickname in New York was “the Queen of the Scene.” She appeared on several editions of multiple fashion magazine covers across the world. What’s impressive about Marisa’s career is that she was also an extremely good actress as well. She played in lead roles for the films; Death in Venice, Caberet and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. She received two Golden Globe Nominations and a BAFTA nomination. In 2001, she made her debut on Broadway in the revival of Design for Living. In 2016, she appeared as Lady Capulet in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick Theatre in London. She still works today at 72 years old.

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