Jean Shrimpton

Jean Shrimpton  is an English model and actress and was an outstanding supermodel of the sixties and vogue cover girl. She was born in Buckinghamshire, England in 1942 and was raised and educated at a convent school in Slough before attending Lucie Clayton charm Academy. She appeared  in countless advertisements and on the cover of numerous magazines, inlcuding Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Ladies' Home Journal, Elle, Newsweek, and Time. She was one of the first models to be associated with the term Supermodel, with TIME magazine labelling her as one in 1971.

She started modelling at the age of 17 and was notable for breaking the mould of voluptuous, aristocratic models that had previously been in favour.  She was famous for her thick fringe, arched brows and doe eyes.

 

       

Jean Shrimpton has been credited for popularizing the mini skirt. Her appearance at Derby day in Australia in white shift dress which ended at 10 cm above the knee. The dress caused a media craze, which lead the style to prominence.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4 in 2011, Shrimpton spoke about being perceived as a great beauty. “You never like your looks," she said. “I thought I was too ‘pretty, pretty’ and a bit vacant-looking. I think if you are prone to neurosis, which I might have been, you never think you are that pretty. You hear models say that all the time. I was more interested in animals, so I wasn’t bothered at all about my looks."