Bless you Luke Rowles, you make me and every mother proud!

Please support an animal rights organization you find worthy!

These are the organizations Luke and his family created:

Bulgarian Street Dogs

http://www.streetdogrescue.com

Are you a real man? You are if you are also kind to women!

Isn’t that a great story that I get to tell when people ask how I know this fabulous woman? Well, sadly, it is just that: a story! In reality, we never met in the 80s, but after interviewing Patty I feel like we’ve known each other forever. And although Patty was quite the party girl, (it was not drugs and alcohol that kept her going but disco and glitter) she is still a dance-a-holic and refuses to go to rehab for it!

Patty Owen graced the international modeling scene with numerous magazine layouts and covers; advertisements, fashion shows from London, Paris, Milan, Rome, NY and Tokyo during the entire 80s decade. So I couldn’t wait to know more about this super stylish woman.

When first introduced to Patty in January 2011, she had just returned from Colombia, where she had celebrated her second wedding ceremony with her Colombian husband. She sweetly emailed me that she was glad to participate in the interview, but that first, she needed a couple of days rest. Patty was one of the first models on board for these interviews, and this being the third interview of a model, (2 for SMI, 1 for my personal site), I am so blessed to be allowed into their lives for an intrusion. Unlike the Tara Shannon interview, I got the interview time correct.

Seeing Patty’s recent wedding photographs were just so lovely: The glowing bride in white with that million-dollar smile. Her photos really trumped any recent bridal magazines I had seen, as not only what an excellent model brings to a photograph, but also that glow that a person has when they have found the person they have searched for their whole lives.

These joyous photographs were the complete opposite of the photographs I had seen of her in fashion magazines as the brooding, androgynous, pouty Patty. But they were really opposite of the photographs of what Patty (now known as Shanti) does today: Dressing up in crazy superhero/drag/performance-like costumes with her husband, coaching singles and couples on dating/relationships and throwing events for people to discover what the real meaning of love is-in costumes and glitter of course! Yet despite the extremely diversified persona in all of her pictures, Patty delivers!

Seeing the photographs of what she does for work now gave me an insight into how Patty became Shanti, and how the essence of the word Shanti (Sanskrit for peace, bliss, and tranquility) opens a window into how she has found that inside herself, and how she chooses to apply that to the people whose lives she comes into contact with.

When asked about her rather traditional wedding gown (except for the addition of fairy wings!) Shanti responded, “Ya know, people were really gunning for us to dress up in our superhero costumes and some of them were disappointed that we didn’t wear them!” “However,” she confided in me, “There’s a classic girl in here somewhere dying to get out, so I had my moment, and now I’m back to spandex!”

And this pretty much set the tone for the interview.

I honestly wish that I had recorded this conversation for SMI, because Shanti was extremely entertaining and so witty. I only wish her tone and voice could be heard in this writing, because she seriously is a law unto herself!

SMI: How does your re-birth as Shanti apply to the life you now are living?

PO: I have found much greater peace now in my life, especially since meeting my husband. When I was modeling my intimate relationships were a mess! Then after a disastrous 7-year itch, I mean marriage; I decided to devote every waking hour to discovering how to have a healthy, supportive and exciting intimate relationship. Ten years later, I got so good at it myself I began giving away my knowledge to others by becoming a relationship coach. I just love helping people find that perfect relationship or the perfection of the relationship that they are already in. True love can happen even if it takes decades. I am living proof, and I want to support others in having that too!

SMI: You decided in the early 90s that you needed to “drop out” of the fashion and acting world for 7 years. Where did you go, and what did you learn about yourself?

PO: By the late 80s I had transitioned from modeling to acting and was doing extremely well. I guest starred in TV shows such as MIAMI VICE, and then starred in my own TV Pilot called “Micro-Cops” (cops from outer space). It was supposed to go to series but a writers’ strike that spring put the project on hold. That was just fine by me…what?!! Something was wrong with this picture. Why was I so okay about not acting, about not being famous anymore? I didn’t understand anything anymore so I booked the first fight back home to NYC and then drove upstate to see my guru in her ashram. Yup, that same EAT PRAY LOVE ashram. I really needed some answers that no one seemed to be able to give me and to heal. You see, I had lost sooooo many loved ones to the AIDS epidemic at this point, dozens of them were extremely close friends and lovers. I recall a dinner one night at Mr. Chows restaurant with Warhol, Basquiat, Haring, the hairdresser Raymond Camacho and myself. From that night, I am the only one still alive. I was losing people month after month, year after year, and it was crushing me.

I found I was much happier being in the ashram than living in Hollywood and I prayed every day that the TV pilot wouldn’t be picked up. Well, be careful what you wish for! My prayers were answered and it never came to be. Then my best friend died, his name was Chuck (pause). He was amazing. He promoted an AIDS healing workshop called the AIDS Mastery for people living with HIV and AIDS and those affected by it. It was an intense journey that had the support of “Vagina Monologues” producer Sally Fisher and healer Louise Hay. They held the workshops in NYC, LA, San Francisco and London. The workshops began to spread to other cities along with the virus. Chuck was a tireless worker who had no idea he had the virus until just before he passed away.

When Chuck died a huge part of me died too. No amount of fame or fortune could repair the ever-gaping hole in my heart. It was only in the ashrams, both in South Fallsburg, NY and Ganeshpuri, India, that I began to heal my sorrow, release my rage and find the meaning of life again. Chuck’s lover, Victor, lived in the ashrams with me for 2 years before he passed on too. Some people drown their sorrows in drugs and alcohol; I hibernated in the ashrams. Felt it healthier to deal directly with the source of the sorrow than drown in it. I have only recently started to pay homage in the last 5 years to all these people I lost. The pain was that immense.

SMI: There must be a spillover from your experiences and coaching that is part of your interaction and advice for your daughter as she is a teenager, correct?

PO: I have a 17-year-old daughter, Savannah, yes. She is open to my relationship advice. I don’t offer it though unless she asks. I have found that kids and teens especially don’t want you imposing your beliefs on them. I have been open about my relationship and sexuality discoveries with her, absolutely. Consequently, Savannah has gotten so good with dispensing advice on relationships that her own friends seek advice from her. It is wonderful that we have such a close connection. For instance, when Savannah was about 11 or 12 years old there were lots of stories in the media about children ages 9 -12 that were getting involved with oral sex to not loose their virginity. Guess they never heard of kissing! So, one afternoon Savannah had some friends over and I point blank asked them, “Hey girls, what’s the deal here with oral sex at such a young age?” I wanted to know if what I was hearing in the media was true. Well, they spouted off one girl’s name after another and how this one was a slut and that one was a slut because… “Okay stop!” Then I began my “momma speech” about how confusing sex can be, how wonderful sex can be, how revolting sex can be, how ecstatic sex can be and more. I let them know that most boys want sex at a much earlier age than most girls do because of their hormone levels, and they also want it much more intensely than most girls do, so I told them, “Don’t feel guilty about saying no to oral sex or any type of sexual activity.” I encouraged them to wait until they are older and find themselves with someone they really care about. Because of the intensity of sexual energy you want to be with someone you really love and feel safe with to share what feelings can get stirred. Oral sex is still sex and a very intimate act, if not more intimate, than intercourse. And then I dropped the bomb and said, “But if you’re going to do it anyway, remember…ladies first!”

SMI: Oh my God! Are you serious? That’s hysterical! (We both laughed).

PO: Well? C’mon! I didn’t get this far without being inquisitive, taking names and giving answers to hard questions! It was seriously an issue we discussed.

SMI: Now, judging from the lovely photographs of these “love in” parties that you have; encouraging people to experience fun in not only their lives, but to bring a sense of balance, bliss and wonder in their relationships as far as romantic connections pertain, when did you discover this secret to having a successful romantic relationship with your partner to keep that spark going?

PO: I discovered the secret to an ecstatic relationship around the time I met my current husband, Arjuna Ladino, 8 years ago. It wasn’t an accident that I met him. I created an Arjuna-like man first in my mind, heart and crotch and then sent that energy out into the universe. I know it sounds pretty airy-fairy but it worked! He was my psychic creation!

I divorced my first husband in 1998 after being miserably married for 7 years. In hindsight it was a marriage of convenience. I met him in the ashram; we both “drank the Kool-Aid” straight up, so we were a perfect match. But that was where our connection ended. He wanted to be a monk when we first met and I should have let him go on that journey. One day I finally had enough, due to the lack of intimacy, so I asked if perhaps he was gay. That would have been fine with me given that I was a big ol’ fag hag, we could have remained good friends. When he said he was not gay, I quietly announced, “Then obviously you’re not into sex or not into me so I am going to take a lover.” Where upon he screamed that he would not accept such a thing. I then calmly replied, “Okay, then I’m divorcing you…”

From the moment I left my ex-husband I went on a 10-year, non-stop investigation/study into what does make an ecstatic relationship. I studied with the latest, the greatest, and many “out of the box” teachers and therapists from all over the planet. Then after much soul searching, one day I looked up and and in walked my amazing prince of a husband. Love at first sight? Absolutely! But it took years of kissing frogs to finally create my prince.

The big secret to keeping romance in a relationship? Fun! Have fun! My husband and I dress up in wacky wigs and costumes to entertain ourselves and others. If we find ourselves to be a bit bored and need a boost we create a new costume! Now, costuming is not for everything, we know, but each couple has to find what it is that is the most fun thing they like to do together and do that often. If not…zzzzzz. Of course, hot sex is high up there on the fun list too… ;o)

SMI: What is it that you miss about working in the fashion industry?

PO: I miss the camaraderie between the people in the business on all levels. Oh we had so much fun! Plus, I just love being around people anyways. I didn’t mind doing the solo photo shoots, but it was always so much more fun if it was a group of us.

SMI: The shows! Couture? Fabulous??

PO: Oh shit, were they ever! I had the most fun doing fashion shows. It was like going to freak camp! All us girls finally together during the collection seasons, so we got to touch base, gossip and talk about all the crazy things we were doing. Wow! Getting together, wearing crazy outfits and makeup all day, and then go to a party. It’s like we were getting paid to party! The energy was amazing. Pretty much, if someone is doing something creative and having fun then you can count me in.

I loved working with designers like Karl Lagerfeld when he designed for Chloe and later his own line. He was not afraid to ask the models for feedback on his ideas. I love that he allowed us to contribute. That was super fun! He was amazing. Same thing with Gaultier, he’s genius, an absolute genius. I never worked for Valentino because I was too busty and curvy. But I have always loved my body. I love having curves.

SMI: Who did you work with that you knew it was going to be a crazy good time?

PO: Tara Shannon, hands down is one of the most hilarious people I have ever met! She brought heaps of entertainment to the jobs, just so much fun. We were both redheads at the time, (bottle babies) so you can only imagine the fire. God, I love that girl!! Deidre McGuire had short blond hair so we did the androgynous shoots together and was always up to a good devilish prank. Paulina was also fabulous, never afraid to speak her truth or tell someone off. I was amazed that someone so young had so much confidence. I knew Gia only a little bit socially but I never worked with her. Felt so sad about her decline and ultimately her death. Janice Dickinson was a blast, like some insane loud mouth truck driver in a female models body. I never did shoots with her but I’d see her in the agency sometimes or on a plane or at a party and you could always hear it when Janice arrived. She was very good at announcing her arrival! And whenever she’d see me she’d announce me as well by yelling, “Patty fuckin’ Owen! Good to see ya!!” That went over well across the seats on American Airlines!!!

Iman was great with other models, but with clients she could be “testy” if she wanted to be, and of course it was funny…she was fun to watch because no one could read you the riot act and look so perfectly beautiful and poised like she could. She would terrorize the catalog clients if the clothes were horrible. I’d have to plead with her, “Just put on the fucking ugly dress Iman! Let’s do it and get the hell out of here and go home!” I loved her though.

Bridgette Nielsen was also great fun; bold, brash, ballsy and very generous. She gave me her ex-boyfriend when she was done with him! Andie MacDowell was fabulous too. Oh, I have a story for ya, you in?

SMI: Duh!

PO: Once she got me totally stoned on pot brownies, and I had no idea!

We were doing a photo shoot together in San Diego, so when I arrived at my hotel, exhausted from a 12-hour flight from Paris, I saw a note slipped under my door from Andie to come down to her room. Figured I stop in to say hey for 10 minutes before going to bed. WRONG! She was watching TV and there was a big box of brownies on the bed so I inquired about them. Andie told me her momma made them and sent them to her. Aweeee, my mommy does the same thing for me with chocolate chip cookies. Then she said, “Help yourself.” Now, I am a sugar addict and just love chocolate, so I ate like 6 of them! The more I ate the more Andie laughed and she didn’t tell me why, only repeated, “I just love how much you’re enjoying them.” That was all she would pretty much say. Then I start to feel very nauseous, the room spins and of course that much marijuana if unaware can really scare you so I was starting to panic and then she cannot stop laughing and finally confesses, “Those weren’t normal brownies, they had pot in ‘em!!!” OMG I was literally stoned for 2 days straight!!!

We had a shoot at the beach at 5:00 AM that morning and I’m still totally high as a kite and Andie is still laughing her ass off at me. The client was basically pissed because I was like paranoid jello, totally out of it, and Andie wouldn’t stop laughing. That was THE longest shoot day of my life. Believe it or not, we worked together a few more times after that and I forgave her ass even though that shit did get me stoned without telling me! Our pure innocent Miss L’Oreal… not so pure!!

The fashion models back in the day had much more personality than what I’ve observed with the fashion models of today. When I look at the current models they all look like drones-no expression, no personality. I don’t blame the models per se: someone is asking for this type of look and persona. Back in my day we were hired not only for our beauty but because we had spunk. Now the only models that I see having much fun and expressing their personalities are the Victoria’s Secret models. They are the only models that really camp it up! Guess camp is out. What’s an ol’ fag hag wannabe drag queen to do…Well, I haven’t changed. Someone has to get out there and carry the spandex torch!

Plus everything is digital now and the real beauty of a model can get lost many times over in the retouch process. Models so often do not even look like themselves at all, not due to makeup, but due to a computer!

SMI: What about the people on the other side of the lens?

PO: Albert Watson was and is a gifted photographer that I worked with often and adored. He was always a gentleman. He would even blush if you did something or said something racy or sexy. Yet he created some of the most tasteful and gorgeous nudes ever! Albert liked his curvy girls, thank God for my sake. The best thing about working with Albert, besides Albert himself, was his crew that was made up in large part of his family members. Liz, his wife, was in charge of the bookings, and his two sons worked with him at various times as assistants. It was tribal and I loved it. He did drop dead gorgeous pictures in the days before everything was photo-shopped. Oh, I cannot gush enough about that man, nor can any model who has ever worked with him. He really supported and encouraged me when I doubted my success and felt like quitting.

My first shoot for Albert was a feature for Italian Men’s Vogue. Judy Casey, my personal agent at Elite Models at this time, let me know they needed a girl to perhaps do some topless pictures, tasteful photos. “Lots of body shots, no full nudes but maybe topless.” I was extremely hesitant as I’d never done such revealing shots before. Judy persuaded me, “Albert is tasteful. You will not have a bad picture with him. They will be classy photographs, period. He’s a very nice man. If Albert likes you, he will change your life and career,” and that is exactly what he did.

When I arrived to the Italian Men’s Vogue shoot that day there was a male model getting dressed by the stylist. The shoot was featured around the male model and I was just supposed to be the accessory. Albert quite quickly preferred all the shots of me solo and sent the male model home. This fateful shoot put me on the map in the U.S., even though it was a foreign magazine as Albert was a NYC based photographer and his voice and vision was powerful. He really championed me. I don’t remember the year, maybe ’82. It was a 12-page spread of just me, my lips, my boobs and men’s accessories…The power of lips and boobs!!

Steven Meisel and I worked a fair amount when he was starting out and I loved his zaniness. Peter Lindbergh was wonderful too, and always kept me laughing as well as did Toscani and Paolo Roversi. Francesco Scavullo, Hiro and Bill King were such huge icons I think I spent most of the shoots frozen in awe of them!

Helmut Newton was a trip. I did a couple of jobs with him. One was a Chanel ad campaign. I was new and green and in the south of France. They gave me a lot of lingerie to wear which was strange because it wasn’t a lingerie shoot: garters and such. Then as I climbed a wall for one particular shot the garter belts showed and you should have seen his eyes pop out of his head! He told me he wanted to photograph me nude sometime but I told him, “no way!” I was a shy girl just off the plane from New England. I grew to regret saying no to him…

SMI: Shy?

PO: Well, I was shy in my early days of modeling! But after throwing my clothes off and on during the fashion shows over and over, I got used to it.

SMI: Shy, I knew it, not! What about the magazines you loved working with?

PO: I really, really loved working with the foreign magazines especially as there was much more room for creative license. Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue, Stern, Linea Italia, I loved them all. I also liked working for some of the U.S. Magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar.

SMI: What about American Vogue?

PO: Well, you see…here’s the thing. I had this very bad habit of putting my foot in my mouth and I managed to piss off Grace Mirabella who was then the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. I had been booked for a shoot with American Vogue and a major French photographer and a legendary hairstylist. This could have been my big break in the U.S. The two men were talking about me to one another in French, not knowing that I spoke French pretty well myself. The problem was I didn’t understand all the slang or the double meanings to words and I misinterpreted a word they used to describe me. The word they used could be used to describe a woman as a slut. However, it can also be used to describe a woman as hot and sexy. Since you already know I pissed off Grace Mirabella you can guess which way I interpreted the slang.

Now, see, there is a reason I went to the ashram because I could be an angry little shit. That’s probably the reason why I worked with and got along well with so many gay people, because I wasn’t going to put up with that hetero scummy vibe. So, I responded to them rather rudely in French that I was basically not just a whore, but a professional whore!! This was my snotty response to my own horrible interpretation of their French slang banter, which in essence was a flirty compliment. Open foot-insert mouth!!! The room became dead silent and the shoot passed by very quietly. They sent me home early.

By 8:00 AM the next morning my phone is ringing and the agency is screaming for me to come in immediately. It was my day off and I was like “Umm, no I am not coming in. What the hell? It’s my day off!” Then they demanded I come in or they would kick me out of the agency. So, off I go half asleep to Elite and both Monique Pillard and John Casablancas were there holding up what was an urgent document sent via telex (phone typing system before fax machines were invented) from American Vogue. At the top of the page was simply written blacklist. Underneath were lists of names. My name was at the top of the list. I was literally on their shit list!

This blacklist was a list of models, photographers, hairstylists, make-up artists and the like that were blackballed from ever working with American Vogue. I kind of just shrugged it off until Monique demanded an explanation. I explained to her about my defensive reaction to a misinterpretation and then she explained very clearly, even with her heavy French accent, that I shot myself in the foot and the ass at the same time!! At first, I was like “Okay, cool,” and didn’t show that I minded. But inside I knew I made a huge mistake. It was soon after this incident when I became clear that my defensiveness and anger were hurting me and the others that came in contact with me. It was then that I turned to meditation, transformational work and healing full steam.

SMI: (She excuses herself for a moment, tells her husband something and then giggles)

PO: Hey, you know that show ‘Portlandia’ on the IFC channel? My husband and I just saw it this week and we are in love with it! Sorry, he was just pointing to an article about it just now and I got so excited.

SMI: I know of it, and have read a lot about the show but I haven’t seen it yet. I actually live in Portland.

PO: Holy shit! Are you serious?! Really? Are you serious?!!!

SMI: Yes! (laughs) I’m not in town right now, but out in the coastal mountain range right now.
(She then says to her husband):

PO: Honey! Take the earphones off, this guy lives in Portland! Oh that’s fabulous! What is it like?

SMI: I love it. I can trace my German and Dutch ancestors to settlers of the state in incorporation of little towns all over the place. I’m as Oregonian as you can get and there is really a reason why there are bumper stickers all over that say “Keep Portland Weird” because it is so very true. I don’t watch television, but I did make a point to see the episode shot in Portland for “America’s Got Talent” and all of the judges said that Portland was the weirdest place they had been to yet. But it is a beautiful city, and an hour in any direction and you can be at the coast, skiing in the mountains, in the desert. But yeah, Portland keeps me entertained. Gus van Sant lives here, and if that isn’t a stamp of weird I don’t know what is. So as whacky as that show “Portlandia” is, it rings true in a lot of respects.

PO: Oh that is so wonderful! I have some close friends that recently moved there.

SMI: How do they like it?

PO: Oh they love it! I want to come visit them.

SMI: Well, look me up for coffee and a picture. I need to see you out in the wilds of Portland in your super-hero costumes…spandex is optional!

PO: I’ll do that!

SMI: Well, thanks so much for doing this interview with me hun, I appreciate it beyond words.

PO: Oh, no problem and you are most welcome. I really appreciate the work Eva Voorhees has done in networking and keeping us all together for the web pages. The 70s/80s fashion scene was a kin to most teen’s college days. I love how Eva has uplifted me by reconnecting me to those special people from that amazing time of my life. You guys are doing an incredible job! Who else have you got in the mix?

SMI: Catherine Roberts is one. Goodness, have you seen how she looks? I don’t know what the hell I am going to ask her, and I’ll have to find a delicate way to say, “Honey, let’s cut the shit, you and Catherine Deneuve made a deal with Satan. You look fabulous! If you care to come clean with it, you can do it here.”

PO: Oh that was sooooo funny when you recently posted on my Facebook page about us prank calling Catherine Deneuve. Could you imagine what we would have said? Two drunken queens blabbering? I laughed my ass off!

SMI: Well, you asked honey about how we met and I told the truth…about how I would have liked to meet you!!!!

PO: Aww, thanks hun!

Interview by: Christopher@SMI

Clothes are just an expedient for telling a story made of seduction where the true protagonist was a woman with her charme and her mystery.

The photograph technique, the framing and mainly the use of lights, has been at the base of my work, but more than that is the emotion that I’ve felt every single day in front of the models I’ve taken picture of.

I had the chance to work with beautiful women, choosing and following a precise pre-determinated “story” and dresses, but for me it was really important to get along famously with the models, so I worked many times with the same models.

I’ve never considered the models I worked with as just beautiful objects, but persons with feelings, because that’s my way in which I refer to other people, and the only way the spark sprang up which gives the result of an exciting shoot.

When this happened, we both understood it like a strange vibration between us, the vibration of a special moment, and that it is such an intense emotion.

Usually I build up light situation, I talk with the models in order to explain them which position and attitude to assume for starting the shooting and then I give them some free space to express themselves.

Only if free and confident, but supported with constant suggestions and approvals made by a friendly warm voice, careful attention by the hairstylist and the make-up artist for necessary touch ups, feeling marvellous and, in that moment, the centre of the world she will show up the extraordinary mystery of a beautiful charming woman.

I have to be the stimulator that helps her to make real on the set what is already inside here, her more beautiful femininity.

I remember once in Rome, during the collections,I made an american model recline on a sofa, she starts to move very slowly, playing with her positions and the dress, she took off her shoes, then glided on the floor, she knelt and sweetly started to caress it…. it was a great moment, but it was very hard to choose the best picture.

All my work comes up by a tight équipe collaboration, beyond the model, also the editor, the make-up artist, the hairstylist and the assistants as well are an essential part for achieving a great result.

Everyone on the set gives a vital contribution, and it’s necessary that each one feels comfortable in order to give their best.

For this reason my choice of the hairstylist and the make-up artist is always very careful because they have to stick to my vision of the woman.

The make-up and hair setting come up from a conversation made before starting the shooting.

It rarely happens that we all didn’t get along about the right line to follow in the shooting.

Naturally, I defend my own point of view, but it’s also usefull to listen to other’s.

It’s important and I like a lot to stay in the fitting room to look up at the hairstylist and make-up artist’s work.

It’s exciting seeing how they’re able to turn a beautiful face into a gorgeous one.

I worked with many marvellous artists and I learned from them a lot of things about a woman’s beauty.

I’m a smiling photographer, glad every time I walk into a shooting set, aware of the privilege of doing a wonderful job and I love to work with serious, professional, careful, creative, but smiling people.

I believe that tensions on the set has a very negative impact on the shooting and I hate every form of “starhood” by anyone.

I cherish a beautiful memory of the years I worked in NY and all the people I worked with.

The most beautiful thing was the enthusiasm that I felt from everybody because they were persuaded that someday we’d create something good and very special. And that gave us a strong charge.

Thanks to Facebook I was able to find some of the people I worked with in those years, I want to say thank you to everyone, thank you for their precious help and to have shared together beautiful, intense, happy moments.

Renato Grignaschi

The clothes, make-up artistry, photography and the models are what provide the fuel for these dreams.

Interviewing Tara Shannon for supermodelicons.com fulfilled one of my dreams and it was a joy to do.

They say that blondes have more fun, but I believe Tara completely shatters that illusion.

I absolutely enjoyed talking to this red-headed spitfire who has had more experiences than could fill the lifetimes of many people.

Tara is living in West Palm Beach with an expansive view of the water. It is “a lifelong dream fulfilled!” she says. She is designing and building her own website (tarashannon.com) which, “feels like being an over-caffeinated elf in Santa’s Workshop. I am in abundant creative expression with endless toys to play with.”

Working on her memoirs as well, Tara will include excerpts on her soon to be launched website.

Tara has been coaching and giving workshops as a Certified facilitator since 1997 for The Work of Byron Katie, whom Time Magazine named “A spiritual innovator for the new millennium.” She shared, “The Work transformed me in minutes. LITERALLY! I am now able to see how every event that I believed had caused pain; each belief around lack or loss are now doorways leading to unbelievably inspiring and heart desired solutions.” She says. “It has shifted the concept of joy into the experience of joy. Every person I know that seeks this truth, has found it. It really is the most effective and efficient process to end the confusion at the core of suffering.”

So after my trying to reach her (I got lost in the time zones by an hour!) we finally got to chat, and what a divine conversation it was.

SMI: During your career, did you ever come up for breath?

TS: I really never wanted to. I was constantly go go go!

SMI: What were your early years as a child like?

TS: My mother was a radical political activist and feminist, working with the Black Panthers. We lived below the poverty line. This background fed my ambition. I consciously picked modeling as a career choice but saw I had to carve out a market for myself in Denver as it had a fashion industry that wasn’t exactly thriving.

Tara volunteered to be the artist model at department store’s for the experience and exposure. She would also set up “Tea Room” modeling between small speciality shops and restaurants, thus producing, styling and modeling for the show. She tested with photographers, scouting locations, art directing, doing her own make-up and hair, and styling the clothes. She said, “I created my own opportunities to model. This actually became the mission statement for my career… and my life. If the opportunity isn’t there, create it.”

SMI: Ambitious!

TS: Yes. Ambition fed by a love of learning and backed with professional pride. I wanted to know about the entire process of being involved in the art of fashion, period. It was truly a career choice. A business decision.

At shoots, I always asked to see the layouts to know what the client and the photographers visions were so I could better deliver. I could visualize the camera framing and know how to fill the spacial graphics of the layout ( already cropped ) in my head. I could always SEE the finished shot in my head while we were shooting. By having a clear understanding of everyone’s expectations visually, I was able to give them what they needed. Polaroid’s were a vital tool to me. My personal goal (of which I often achieved!) was for the client to be able to use at least 80% of the shots on a contact sheet. It became a trained instinct that served me very well.

I knew that the Dallas fashion scene was going to be the perfect education for the eventual next step: New York.

I signed with the Kim Dawson agency and worked non-stop, especially with Neiman Marcus. Daria Retian, was V.P. Fashion Director in charge of creative services and was a major force in preparing me for New York City.

Neiman’s booked me for a catalogue in Maine with Patti Hansen, a personal idol. I was SO excited to work with a “real New York” model. I actually went with them to pick Patti up from the airport and followed her around like a puppy, pumping her for information about New York… driving her crazy. She arrived with no luggage but instead went to the Five and Dime where she purchased a package of men’s briefs, t-shirts, and a toothbrush. She lived in her truth with such freedom and clarity. This taught me how to let go of “doing it right” and to create from individuality. It was a phenomenal lesson for a young girl to learn.

After one year of being in Texas, the top agencies in New York wanted Tara to sign with them. She started at Wilhelmina, impressed with the professionalism of it’s founder. Eventually she moved to Elite, then headed by John Casablanca. She became known as “The Woman of a Thousand Faces” and rocketed to international fame doing iconic shoots with Avedon, Irving Penn, Horst and Helmut Newton.

SMI: Was there ever a time when you just booked out and said “I am unavailable” and just went off to some place you might have been on a job, to just get lost in it?

TS: Actually, I never did. So many of my best jobs happened by chance and at the last minute. I could never say no to something great, it always revived my inspiration. Once, after traveling around the world in 24 days, I said to the agency. “Book me out, I cannot pack another suitcase.” They informed me of a booking in Haiti for Italian Vogue with a possible cover. Once I arrived, I noticed the other model was sharing a room with the photographer. ‘Well, there goes my chance for the cover,” I thought. But as it turned out, during the “sleepover” this model got kneed in the face, which resulted in her receiving a black eye… and that was how I landed my first Italian Vogue cover. My career was built on moments and things like this happening.

She was also a show girl. Karl Lagerfeld’s genius, she said, was finding inspiration. For one of the collections, he asked the girls for feedback on the looks, which she states was, “AN AMAZING HONOR.” For one of the looks she suggested going with an airline stewardess motif, which was exactly what he did. He respected the insights from the girls, knowing the depth of their experiences.

SMI: (I discussed with her a YouTube clip that I had posted on her Facebook page, from the late 1980’s where she was reflecting on her career and saying that she was going to give it six more months so she could start over as an actress.)

First off, you look fabulous in that clip. I especially enjoyed seeing you flapping your arms so animated down the runway in one of the snippets, looking serious but hamming it up. Was that a normal occurrence?

TS: (laughs) Thanks so much for posting that. I laughed so hard watching myself back then. I thought: “OY! That girl needs a sandwich!” I was SO skinny, and second, I don’t know what the hell I was saying about six more months of modeling. I LOVED being a model SO much! I don’t know what was going through my head at the time.

SMI: But you did branch out into other things. Like being in a Huey Lewis video! And Cirque du Soleil too!

TS: “Doing It All for My Baby”. YES! (laughs) Oh, that was so much fun playing the Bride of Frankenstein. It was like the silent film days at RKO. “Come on kids, let’s put on a show!” and that is exactly what we did. Music videos were not union productions which is why that shoot lasted 36 hours straight. It was a lot of hard work but oh, it was so much fun.

Oh, and Cirque! My friend Bruce took me to see that show for the first time, and I was literally moved to tears by the uniqueness of the artistic expression. It blew my head off how creativity could be based on such limitless inspiration. Later, my agency called and said that Cirque was doing a charity event, no pay. Would I be interested in participating? I told them to book me out, of course I would do it. I reported to Debra Brown, the acclaimed choreographer, VERY enthused and was like “Ok, whatever you want me to do I will do it. If you want me to sweep the floor I will do it.” In the circus world, that is exactly the mindset and work ethic that prevails. The humility of doing everything and anything for the good of the whole. I was gifted with the position of Ring Mistress for the show, and it was one of the most exciting and fulfilling moments of my life.

All in all I have been extremely blessed in my career. To go from poverty to closing a YSL show as the bride, to Cirque. Look at all the gifts I was given as a result. I live in gratitude for what I was able to do and with the exceptional people I got to do it with.

SMI: What would be the one quote that sums up your life?

TS: “A seeker of shame and guilt finds shame and guilt. A seeker of truth finds redemption.”
-Byron Katie

Interview by: Christopher@SMI

Tara Shannon’s Fashion TV Interview

She appeared in several Revlon advertisements, but she also appeared in advertisements for many other cosmetic companies as well, as no model had an exclusive make-up contract until Lauren Hutton (for Revlon and Revlon’s Ultima) and Karen Graham (Estée Lauder) signed them in the early 1970s. She was the first model to earn $100,000 per year and the only fashion model to have a Beatles song named after her, even if an unreleased one.

Suzy Parker was born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker in San Antonio, Texas, to George (May 27, 1895 – June 7, 1958) and Elizabeth Parker (December 31, 1897 – November 1965). Her parents married around 1916. They had three daughters in a row: Dorian (1917), Georgiabell (1918), Florian (1919). Fifteen years after the birth of her first daughter, Elizabeth thought she was going through menopause. Instead, she was five months pregnant when she learned she was expecting another baby. Elizabeth’s fourth daughter, was named after her three friends. Dorian told her mom to arrange the names in order- Cecilia Renee Ann Parker so she would have obscene initials. Her parents eventually caught on to Dorian’s games. Her father didn’t like the name and called her Susie. A French Vogue photographer changed the spelling to Suzy.

Parkers’s family later moved to Highland Park, New Jersey, and to Florida. It was her 30-year-old sister, Dorian, who introduced her to agent Eileen Ford when she was just 15 years old.

Three of the Parker sisters were very tall, standing between 5’10″ and 6’1″. Dorian was the sole exception, standing 5’5″. In 1944, Dorian was writing advertising copy when a co-worker encouraged Dorian to go to the Conover Modeling Agency to try modeling. (The agency of Harry Sayles Conover [1911, Chicago, Ill.–1965, New York City] was active 1939–1959.)

One of Dorian’s first advertisements was for Revlon. Charles Revson (who later wanted to marry her) hired her for “Fatal Apple,” one of Revlon’s first all-color, nationwide ads.

Dorian was one of the top models in the world, arguably referred to as the “world’s first supermodel” (along with Lisa Fonssagrives). When Parker was about age 15, Dorian telephoned The Ford Modeling Agency and told Eileen and Jerry Ford that she would sign on with them if they also took her younger sister, sight unseen. Anxious to represent Dorian, they agreed. Expecting to meet a similarly petite, extremely thin, flawless, pale-faced, electric blue-eyed, raven-haired younger version of Dorian, they were shocked to meet Suzy for the first time at a restaurant. At the meeting, the Fords said, “Oh, my God!” Parker was already 5’10″, big-boned, and had carrot red hair, pale-green eyes, and freckles. She later became more famous than Dorian.

Parker’s photo appeared in Life magazine at age 15. That same year, one of her first magazine advertisements was for DeRosa Jewelry. Although she still lived with her parents in Florida, she stayed in New York City with Dorian when she had modeling assignments there. Dorian introduced Suzy to her fashion-photographer friends, Irving Penn, Horst P. Horst, John Rawlings, and a young Richard Avedon. Suzy became Avedon’s muse. At age 61, she said, “The only joy I ever got out of modeling was working with Dick Avedon.”

Parker became the so-called signature face of the Coco Chanel brand. Chanel herself became a close confidante, giving Parker advice on men and money as well as creating numerous Chanel outfits for her.

She was the first model to earn $200 per hour and $100,000 per year. Vogue declared her one of the faces of the confident, post-war American woman.

However, by 1955, she owed income taxes on her modeling income from previous years, amounting to more than $60,000 in back taxes and rapidly accumulating penalties, an enormous amount at the time. Jerry Ford paid her tax bill and found her assignments. She worked also non-stop for Vogue, Revlon, Hertz, Westinghouse, Max Factor, Bliss, DuPont, Simplicity, Smirnoff, and Ronson shavers, to name a few. She also was on the covers of about 70 magazines around the world, including Vogue, Elle, Life, Look, Redbook, Paris Match and McCall’s.

Avedon suggested Parker for the movie Funny Face (1957). Fred Astaire’s role was based on Avedon, whose photos appeared in the movie. Audrey Hepburn’s role was inspired by Suzy, just as Hepburn’s role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was supposedly based on Dorian’s promiscuous lifestyle. Suzy appeared in the movie for only about two minutes.

Her other credits included Kiss Them for Me opposite Cary Grant (1957), The Best of Everything (1959), Ten North Frederick starring Gary Cooper (1959), Circle of Deception (1960) during which she met future husband Bradford Dillman, Flight from Ashiya (1964), Chamber of Horrors (1966) and dramatic roles in TV shows such as Burke’s Law and The Twilight Zone plus appearances as herself on a number of quiz shows like I’ve Got a Secret.

After marrying her third husband, Dillman, in 1963, and suffering further injuries in another car accident in 1964, she mostly retired from modeling and acting to live a quiet life in Montecito, California, with her family.

Parker was married three times. In 1950, she and high-school sweetheart, Ronald (last name unknown), drove to Georgia to secretly marry. Some references however state that her first husband’s name was Charles. Parker said that she married him in a bikini with a raincoat on top, adding, “He was very good-looking, and it [the marriage] was just a sheer disaster.” The young couple drove back to Florida where she was still living with her parents who were upset because of her age and because Ronald was part Cherokee. They moved to Pennsylvania and rented a house near where Dorian was living with her husband and children. Parker was already modeling in the United States and Europe while Ronald was attending the University of Pennsylvania as a freshman.

Parker met journalist Pierre de la Salle (Pitou) at a Jacques Fath party outside of Paris. She and Dorian were modeling together and separately on this trip with photographer Richard Avedon. She came back to the United States and asked Ronald for a divorce. Ronald would only agree to a quick divorce if Parker gave him a large monetary settlement and paid for plastic surgery on his nose and his acting lessons. She agreed, and they obtained a quick divorce in Mexico, which became final in 1953. Purportedly when Ronald could not get acting jobs, he committed suicide. Parker and Pierre continued to date for years despite Pierre’s numerous infidelities. She also was paying for his high cost-of-living expenses. They married about 1957 or 1958, but the couple kept it a secret.

In 1958, Parker was a passenger in a car her father was driving when they were hit by an oncoming train. Supposedly neither heard nor saw the train until it slammed into the car. Her father died of his injuries at the hospital. Parker checked into the hospital with broken bones and embedded glass (with her face untouched) under the name Mrs. Pierre de la Salle. The press jumped on this, and Pierre continued to deny that they were married. Soon thereafter, a photo spread of the couple appeared in the August 19, 1958, Look magazine cover story about her. Parker began psychotherapy to cope with her rocky marriage and the death of her beloved father.

After recovering from her injuries, Parker became pregnant and Pierre left. She said, “He didn’t want to be a father. I already hired a nanny… he was gone, history.” She gave birth to their daughter Georgia Belle Florian Coco Chanel de la Salle in December 1959, whose godmother was close-friend Chanel. A March 14, 1977, People magazine article featured Parker trying to launch her then 17-year-old daughter Georgia as a model. However, Georgia modeled only a few times during and after college. By 2006, Georgia’s father Pierre de la Salle was in his 70s and living with then-wife Berenice, whom he married in 1977, in Mammoth Lakes, California.

In 1960, Parker met actor Bradford Dillman on the set of their movie, Circle of Deception. She was still married to de la Salle but no longer living with him. Bradford was ending his first marriage and dating Juliette Greco at the time. She obtained a divorce and married Bradford in 1963 on board a boat at sea. She changed her name to Suzy Parker Dillman following the marriage.

Parker mostly retired from modeling and acting by 1964. After she married Dillman, she also became a stepmother to his two children, Jeffrey and Pamela and wanted to stay home to be a mother and cook. Like her sister Dorian Leigh, who was a Cordon-bleu level chef, Suzy was also an excellent cook.

She had three more children with Bradford: Dinah (b. 1965), Charlie (b. 1967), and Christopher (b. 1969). The family lived in the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles until Dinah was bitten by a rattlesnake in the yard and almost died. They then moved to Montecito in the Santa Barbara area, where Suzy remained until her death in 2003.

A self-described tomboy in her teens, she broke several bones as a result. Parker also broke bones in a serious car accident in 1958 that killed her father. In 1964 she was nervously rehearsing for her famous appearance in the well-known Twilight Zone episode “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” when she was in another car accident. Parker had long suffered from allergies and, in the 1990s, developed ulcers. During surgery for an ulcer, her vital signs disappeared on the operating table, but she was resuscitated. She never fully recovered and developed more ulcers and diabetes. She had multiple hip surgeries, and then her kidneys began to fail. She spent the last five years of her life in and out of the hospital.

Parker decided to end dialysis treatments. She returned home to die surrounded by family at her orchard in Montecito where she died at aged 70 on May 3, 2003. She was survived by two of her three sisters: Dorian Leigh (who died in 2008 at the age 91 and reportedly did not attend her sister’s funeral due to a long estrangement) and Florian (“Cissie”, “Cissy”), as of 2009, the sole surviving Parker sister. Her husband, Bradford Dillman, her four children, and two stepchildren also survived her.

Born in Gorky, USSR (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), Natalia Vodianova grew up in a poor district of the city with her mother and two half sisters, one of whom has cerebral palsy. As a teenager, Vodianova helped her mother sell fruit on the street and later set up her own fruit stand with a friend to help her family out of poverty. Her life came to be known as a ‘cinderella story.’ Vodianova’s ‘perfect-Russian-features’ are now well known as her trademark.

Vodianova’s father walked out on the family when Natalia was a toddler, and she did not have any further contact with him until after she had become famous.

At the age of 15, Vodianova enrolled in a modelling academy and was told she would need to learn English to succeed, and mastered the language in three months. By the age of 17, Vodianova had moved to Paris, and signed with Viva Models.

Vodianova has achieved considerable success as a runway, editorial and advertising campaign model. To date, Vodianova has walked in more than 175 runway shows for U.S. and European based designers’ ready-to-wear and haute couture collections, has appeared in editorial spreads in fashion magazines worldwide and has completed advertising campaigns for Shiatzy Chen, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, L’Oréal, David Yurman, Marc Jacobs, Pepe Jeans, Diane von Fürstenberg, Chanel, Guerlain and others.

As of May 2009, Vodianova has appeared on the cover of British Vogue seven times; the first was the September 2003 issue. She made her first appearance on the cover of the U.S. Vogue in the September 2004 edition alongside eight other models, then appeared as the solo cover subject of the July 2007 edition of the magazine. During this time period, other covers of the American Vogue have all featured non-model celebrities with only two other exceptions: models Linda Evangelista and Liya Kebede.

As an actress, Vodianova appears in Roman Coppola’s 2001 film CQ. In September 2008, Vodianova stated that she was not interested in filmmaking because of her three children; however, she appears in director Alexander Kott’s 2009 film Probka. She also has credits in the 2010 remake of the film Clash of the Titans. In the action flick Natalia has been CGI-enhanced to play Medusa, the mythological snake-haired mortal gorgon with powers to turn those who look at her to stone.

In Spring 2009, Vodianova entered into a three-year agreement to be a brand ambassador for the French lingerie company Etam and will design a lingerie collection each season during the term of the agreement. The collections will be marketed under the brand Natalia pour Etam.

Vodianova was ranked 14th in the UK channel Five’s 2005 television programme World’s Greatest Supermodel. Forbes magazine estimates Vodianova earned $4.5 million (USD) between August 2006 and July 2007, $4.8 million (USD) between May 2007 and April 2008 and $5.5 million (USD) between June 2008 and June 2009, making her the seventh highest earning model worldwide during all three time periods.

In May 2009, Vodianova co-hosted the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

On 12 December 2009, she was designated an ambassador of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, becoming a ‘face’ and key advocate of Russia’s first Winter Games. In 2010, she appeared at the Vancouver Olympic Closing Ceremony within that role.

In October 2010, Vodianova landed her first leading acting role in a film adaptation of Albert Cohen’s 1968 novel Belle du Seigneur.

In November 2001, Vodianova married Justin Trevor Berkeley Portman, a British property heir and half-brother of the 10th Viscount Portman. In September 2002, over nine months after registering the marriage in the UK, they had a wedding ceremony in St. Petersburg, where Vodianova wore a dress designed by Tom Ford. As the wife of The Honourable Justin Portman, which is a courtesy title, she is entitled to be styled The Honourable Mrs Justin Portman. The couple have three children: son Lucas Alexander (born: November 22, 2001), daughter Neva (born: March 24, 2006) and son Viktor (born: September 13, 2007). Viktor is named after Natalia’s grandfather, who had helped raise her after her father’s departure. Neva is named after the Russian river Neva. In London, her friends include fellow Russian Dasha Zhukova, wife of Roman Abramovich. and supermodel Eva Herzigova.

Vodianova is a founder and the president of the Naked Heart Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that strives to provide a safe and inspiring environment in which to play for every child living in urban Russia. She was inspired to found the charity after visiting Russia with her son Lucas and finding there were no suitable places for children to play. The organisation built its first play park in 2006 in Nizhny Novgorod. It has since built nearly 38 more.

Vodianova also lends her support to a number of philanthropic causes, such as the (Bugaboo)RED campaign, an initiative to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. That same year, Vodianova became an ambassador for Hear the World, a global campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the topic of hearing and hearing loss and to promote good hearing all over the world.

She is also a spokeperson for the Tiger Trade Campaign, an alliance of 38 organizations united under the common aim “to bring back wild tigers by stopping trade in tiger parts and products from all sources.” In an interview supporting the campaign, Vodianova said: “I’m proud that Russia, my country, is home to the most magnicifent of animals, the wild Siberian tiger. Today it is up to us to protect the tiger and its home, fewer than 350 Siberian tigers remain in the wild and no more than 3,400 tigers survive anywhere in the world. Unless we act now we will see the extinction of the wild tiger within our lifetime.”

In honor of her philanthropic achievements, Harper’s Bazaar awarded Vodianova the award for Inspiration of the Year in November 2010.

During her acceptance of the 2005 UN Day Award she stated: “Every day we hear about the dangers of cancer, heart disease and AIDS. But how many of us realize that, in much of the world, the act of giving life to a child is still the biggest killer of women of child-bearing age? That over half a million die every year? Or that 3 million babies are stillborn? Or that another 4 million die during the first days and weeks of life?”

Kebede was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A film director spotted her while she was attending Lycee Guebre Mariam and introduced her to a French modeling agent. After completing her studies, she moved to France to pursue work through a Parisian agency. Kebede later relocated to New York City. She has remarked that the modeling industry in Ethiopia is quite different from the catwalks on which she is now ubiquitous.

Kebede’s big break came when Tom Ford asked her for an exclusive contract for his Gucci Fall/Winter 2000 fashion show. Her popularity in the fashion industry sky-rocketed when she appeared on the cover of the May 2002 edition of Paris Vogue, which dedicated the entire issue to her.

Kebede has been seen on the covers of Italian, Japanese, American, French and Spanish Vogue, V, Flair, i-D and Time’s Style & Design. Kebede has been featured in ad campaigns including those for Shiatzy Chen, Gap, Yves Saint-Laurent, Victoria’s Secret, Emanuel Ungaro, Tommy Hilfiger, Revlon, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada and Louis Vuitton. In 2003, Kebede was named the newest face of Estée Lauder cosmetics, the first Ethiopian to serve as their representative in the company’s 57-year history. Her contract was rumored to be for $3 million dollars.

Kebede is one of a very few African models featured in major fashion photo shoots and runway shows.[8] According to Conor Kennedy, in 2003 a booker at Elite Model Management, “It’s like there’s only room for one very successful black model at a time. For the past year it’s been Kebede”.

In 2005, Kebede was appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She also appeared in a group montage on a rare (as of recent years) group montage of up and coming supermodels.

In summer of 2006 she was also one of the very few non-white models to have been given a cover of American Vogue, the issue highlighted her humanitarian work.

In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $2.5 million in the past 12 months, Forbes named her eleventh in the list of the World’s 15 Top-Earning Supermodels. In 2008, Kebede was featured on one of the four covers of Vogue Italia’s all Black Issue.

In 2009, Kebede starred in the film-adaption of the bestselling autobiography Desert Flower by former supermodel Waris Dirie. The film recounts Dirie’s childhood in Somalia, her rise to stardom and subsequent awareness campaign against female circumcision. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a standing ovation. Kebede has also had minor roles in two films: The Good Shepherd and Lord of War.

In 2011, Kebede becomes one of the models to star in Lacoste’s “new look” campaign in January, a different advertising concept for 2011 under the new tagline, “Unconventional Chic”. The ads were shot by Mert and Marcus showing models wearing the iconic white Lacoste polo shirts worn over fancy black evening wear.

In 2005, Kebede was appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She then founded the Liya Kebede Foundation, whose mission is to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality in Ethiopia and around the world. The Foundation funds advocacy and awareness raising projects as well as providing direct support for low-cost technologies, community-based education, and training and medical programs.

Kebede has traveled to Ethiopia to support maternal health projects on multiple occasions. In 2009, she worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Living Proof Project. Kebede served as a High-Level adviser for the Center for Global Development’s 2009 report “Start with a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health.”

Kebede writes for the Huffington Post about maternal and child health and has been featured in Vogue and on the Daily Beast. She is also part of the Champions for an HIV Free Generation, an organization of African leaders led by former Botswana President Festus Mogae. The Champions advocate for increased HIV prevention and treatment efforts in Africa.

Kebede launched Lemlem, a clothing line, in 2008. Lemlem, which means “to bloom” in Amharic, features hand-spun, woven and embroidered women and children’s clothing. Kebede founded the line to help preserve the art of traditional weaving and bring sustainable economic development to Ethiopia . Lemlem is sold at Barney’s, J.Crew, Net-a-Porter.com and numerous boutique shops. Kebede says she hopes this will part a sea of change for her home country. “It’s wonderful to be able to donate and help people,” she says.

Kebede married Ethiopian hedge fund manager Kassy Kebede in 2000 and they have two children together: son Suhul, born in 2001, and daughter Raee, born in 2005. As of 2007, the family resides in New York City.

Donaldson was born in London, and educated at the Camden School for Girls, living in Kentish Town with her parents.
Since being scouted by Select Model Management in 2003 at the age of 16 while shopping in Camden, Donaldson has landed campaigns for fashion houses such as Dior, Jil Sander, and Dolce & Gabbana[4] and is the face of British luxury goods house Burberry.

In the May 2007 issue of American Vogue, she was featured on the cover with fellow models Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Coco Rocha, Hilary Rhoda, Chanel Iman, and Jessica Stam as the new crop of supermodels. Later, in the September 2007 issue of British Vogue, she was named a “Head Girl”, a model to watch out for in the upcoming season. Donaldson has appeared on the covers of Vogue for Britain, Italy, China, and Australia. In particular, she was on the March 2009 covers of Vogue simultaneously in the UK, Australia, and Italy.

In 2009, Vogue Paris declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.

Donaldson dated Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, son of Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld.

She is close friends with models Gemma Ward and Irina Lazareanu, the latter with whom she shot a Mulberry campaign.

In May 2008, Donaldson reportedly spent US$2.2 million on purchasing a two-bedroom apartment on Tompkins Square Park around East Eighth Street in New York.