Naomi Campbell Biography
The story of Naomi Campbell is one that proves that anyone can rise to be the best just like other person irrespective of the colour of your skin. The roots of this celebrity model can be traced to Streatham, London, England, UK where she was born on May 22 1970. She was raised by a single mother, Valerie Campbell, who at the time of young Campbell’s birth was still a teenager.
Campbell was educated at the Dunraven School in London, England and later she was schooled at the prestigious Italia Conti Academy stage school in New York City, New York. Campbell lived a mobile childhood as her mother was a ballet dancer and she held international shows from Europe to the US. While she was living in New York, Campbell was spotted by a modelling executive at a shopping mall and after one thing led to another the young girl was signed to the prestigious Elite Model Management at only 15 years old.
The exotic looks of the new black model broke barriers and she was selected to walk runways for noted names in fashion like Frangois Nars, Ralph Lauren, Olympus Corporation, Yves St. Laurent , British Vogue , Vogue Italia, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Vogue Nippon, Vogue China , and Lee Jeans among others. Campbell graced runways in major fashion capitals of the world from Milan to New York, London to Paris. She was featured in numerous international fashion tabloids and her record features include being the first dark skinned model to appear on the cover of French Vogue, TIME Magazine Europe, and she was the second of her kind to grace the front page of British Vogue in 1987.
Outside the catwalk, Campbell has worked with several music legends like Michael Jackson, George Michael, Madonna, The Notorious B.I.G., P.Diddy, Macy Gray, Nelly, Usher, and Jay-Z among other names. Her roles with the musicians were mainly as lead characters in their respective music videos. She has also had a brief stint in music with a 1995 album titled Baby Woman, this career move was however not as successful as her modelling one and she resorted to sticking to fashion.
Campbell is the owner of the fashion house Design House of Naomi Campbell set up in 1999 she has a line of fragrances including Cat Deluxe, Cat Deluxe at Night, Naomi Campbell, Paradise Passion, Naomagic, and Sunset.
Controversies surrounding Campbell have been endless and they have seen her in one legal battle after the other over incidences of hitting her house helps, airport attendants, and hotel workers in countries that she frequents. Campbell was also involved in a highly publicized fierce and long running rivalry with fellow black model Tyra Banks although the two patched up at the latter model’s reality talk show.
Despite this side of the story, Campbell has been greatly applauded for her charity and humanitarian efforts these include campaigning for animal rights via the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA as well as encouraging young talented girls to take on modelling as their careers. She is especially vocal about the need for coloured models to receive fair treatment in the fashion industry just like their Caucasian counterparts.
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