Weighing in at a mere 90 lbs., a young department store clerk named Lesley Hornby was transformed into a fashion model named Twiggy. Introduced as “The Face of 1966,” her underfed image would make her an overnight celebrity and one of the first supermodels.
With large puppy dog eyes, a boyish haircut and a somewhat emaciated figure, Twiggy was discovered by Nigel Davies (who would later change his name to the more exotic Justin de Velleneuve.) She was photographed wearing a high fashion mod look created by Mary Quant and, from that point on, life would never be the same.
Twiggy-mania was unlike the world had ever seen before. Young girls around the world were emulating her appearance in look-alike contests and her image soon adorned all sorts of merchandise, including lunchboxes, board games, paper dolls and purses. Mattel Toys jumped on the bandwagon and introduced a Twiggy doll, complete with mod outfits that could be purchased separately (of course.) By the time 1967 rolled around, Twiggy had even become a recording artist, with her first single, “When I Think of You” released by Capitol Records. In the year that followed, her image would help to sell everything from Toyotas and Choco Flakes cereal to Diet Pepsi.
Breaking off her association with the Svengali-like Davies in the early 70s, Twiggy grew her hair longer and “retired” from modeling, a mere four years after her debut. She continued to pursue singing and acting interests, appearing in a number of films and stage productions, and even making an appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977. Her self-titled album, Twiggy, on Mercury Records gave her a top-20 single, “Here I Go Again.” She has written three books: “Twiggy by Twiggy” in 1968, “Twiggy: An Autobiography” in 1971, and “Twiggy in Black and White” released in 1998.
In recent years, she has appeared as a judge on 2005’s America’s Next Top Model and still does some modeling of her own from time to time. In 2007, she put out a new album of previously unreleased music from 1979 and also works with a number of organizations to help find a cure for breast cancer. All in all, it has been a rather remarkable career for a young London girl who became a household name the world over, almost overnight.
With large puppy dog eyes, a boyish haircut and a somewhat emaciated figure, Twiggy was discovered by Nigel Davies (who would later change his name to the more exotic Justin de Velleneuve.) She was photographed wearing a high fashion mod look created by Mary Quant and, from that point on, life would never be the same.
Twiggy-mania was unlike the world had ever seen before. Young girls around the world were emulating her appearance in look-alike contests and her image soon adorned all sorts of merchandise, including lunchboxes, board games, paper dolls and purses. Mattel Toys jumped on the bandwagon and introduced a Twiggy doll, complete with mod outfits that could be purchased separately (of course.) By the time 1967 rolled around, Twiggy had even become a recording artist, with her first single, “When I Think of You” released by Capitol Records. In the year that followed, her image would help to sell everything from Toyotas and Choco Flakes cereal to Diet Pepsi.
Breaking off her association with the Svengali-like Davies in the early 70s, Twiggy grew her hair longer and “retired” from modeling, a mere four years after her debut. She continued to pursue singing and acting interests, appearing in a number of films and stage productions, and even making an appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977. Her self-titled album, Twiggy, on Mercury Records gave her a top-20 single, “Here I Go Again.” She has written three books: “Twiggy by Twiggy” in 1968, “Twiggy: An Autobiography” in 1971, and “Twiggy in Black and White” released in 1998.
In recent years, she has appeared as a judge on 2005’s America’s Next Top Model and still does some modeling of her own from time to time. In 2007, she put out a new album of previously unreleased music from 1979 and also works with a number of organizations to help find a cure for breast cancer. All in all, it has been a rather remarkable career for a young London girl who became a household name the world over, almost overnight.
