Jean Shrimpton

Early life

Shrimpton was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and educated at St Bernard's Convent School, Slough. She enrolled at Langham Secretarial College in London at age 17. A chance meeting with director Cy Endfield led to an unsuccessful meeting with the producer of his film Mysterious Island (1961). Endfield then suggested she attend the Lucie Clayton Charm Academy's model course. In 1960, aged 17, she began modelling, appearing on the covers of magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and Vogue.

Career

Shrimpton rose to prominence through her work with photographer David Bailey. They met in 1960 at a photo shoot that Shrimpton, who was then an unknown model, Duffy told Bailey she was too posh for him, but Bailey was undeterred.

Shrimpton's first photo session with Bailey was in 1960 (either for Condé Nast's Brides on 7 December 1960 or for British Vogue). She started to become known in the modelling world around the time she was working with Bailey. and being influential in her career.

During her career, Shrimpton was widely reported to be the "world's highest paid model", the "most famous model" and the "most photographed in the world". She was dubbed "The It Girl", "The Face", Glamour named her "Model of The Year" in June 1963. She contrasted with the aristocratic-looking models of the 1950s by representing the coltish, gamine look of the youthquake movement in 1960s Swinging London, and she was reported as "the symbol of Swinging London". with her long legs and slim figure, she was nicknamed "The Shrimp". Shrimpton was also known for her long hair with a fringe, wide doe-eyes, long wispy eyelashes, and pouty lips.

Shrimpton helped launch the miniskirt. In 1965, she made a two-week promotional visit to Australia, sponsored by the Victoria Racing Club and a local synthetic fibre company who had her promote a range of new dresses made of Orlon. She was paid a fee of £2,000, an enormous sum at the time. She caused a sensation in Melbourne when she arrived for the Victoria Derby wearing a white shift dress made by Colin Rolfe which ended 5 in above her knees. She wore no hat, stockings or gloves, and sported a man's watch, unusual at the time. Her hairdresser was Lillian Frank. Shrimpton was unaware she would cause such reaction in the Melbourne community and media.

In her article "The Man in the Bill Blass Suit", Nora Ephron wrote that when Shrimpton posed for a Revlon advertisement in an antique white Chantilly lace dress by Blass, minutes after the lipstick placard was displayed at the drugstores, Revlon received calls from women demanding to know where they could buy the dress.

Shrimpton was photographed in 1971 by Clive Arrowsmith, again for British Vogue.

Personal life

Shrimpton and Bailey began dating soon after they began working together, and subsequently had a four-year relationship that ended in 1964. Bailey was still married to his first wife Rosemary Bramble when the affair began, but left her after nine months and later divorced her to be with Shrimpton.

Shrimpton's other romances included actor Terence Stamp In 1979, she married photographer Michael Cox at the register office in Penzance, Cornwall, when she was four months pregnant with their son Thaddeus, who was born that same year. From 1979 they owned the Abbey Hotel in Penzance, which in 2011 was being managed by Thaddeus and his family.

In the media

Shrimpton is namechecked (as "Jeannie Shrimpton") in The Smithereens song "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (1986).

The story of Shrimpton's relationship with David Bailey is dramatised in a 2012 BBC Four film We'll Take Manhattan, with Karen Gillan playing the part of Shrimpton.

Books

References

References

1. Magee, Antonia. (18 October 2009). "Model Jean Shrimpton recollects the stir she caused on Victoria Derby Day in 1965". Herald Sun.
2. (30 May 1977). "Jean Shrimpton, the Famed Face of the '60s, Sits Before Her Svengali's Camera One More Time". People.
3. Cohen, Susan & Cosgrove, Christine. (2009). "Normal at Any Cost: Tall Girls, Short Boys, and the Medical Industry's Quest to Manipulate Height". Penguin.
4. "Jean Shrimpton".
5. Mansour, David. (2005). "From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century". Andrews McMeel.
6. Busch, Charles. (24 January 1995). "He's Every Woman". The Advocate.
7. "Vogue Magazine June 1962". [[Vogue (British magazine).
8. "Vogue Magazine May 1963". [[Vogue (British magazine).
9. Berry, Allison. (2 April 2012). "All-Time 100 Fashion Icons: Jean Shrimpton".
10. Harper's Bazaar Staff. (23 March 2009). "Best Models of All Time".
11. Wade, Alex. (30 April 2011). "The Saturday interview: Jean Shrimpton". [[The Guardian]].
12. "Twiggy and The Shrimp – By Bill Harry".
13. Bumpus, Jessica. (3 March 2010). "The Shrimpton Story". Vogue.
14. Muir, Robin. (17 March 2007). "Two take Manhattan". The Guardian.
15. Muir, Robin. (29 June 2002). "'That Bob Richardson was commissioned for Brides is like finding Charles Manson...(subscription required)". The Independent.
16. Alexander, Hilary. (6 November 2006). "Bailey rolls back the years for Vogue at 90". Telegraph.
17. (17 September 2005). "In the raw". Guardian.
18. Collette, Adrian. (16 February 2003). "The shortest century and the greatest party". The Age.
19. In turn, she was Bailey's muse, and his photographs of her helped him rise to prominence in his early career.Louth, Sean.[https://archive.today/20120720051327/http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=448760 Initially Bailey...] ''British Journal of Photography''.
20. [http://www.steidlville.com/books/492-NY-JS-DB-62.html NY JS DB 62 by David Bailey] {{Webarchive. link. (8 July 2010 Steidlville.com)
21. David Bailey and Martin Harrison. ''Birth of the Cool: 1957–1969''
22. (15 June 2001). "David Bailey: Godfather of cool". BBC News.
23. Bocca, Geoffrey. (8 January 1967). "The girl behind the world's most beautiful face". Family Weekly.
24. Polly. (12 June 1967). "Shrimp shines up Londonderry hair". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
25. Hammond, Fay. (19 August 1968). "Not the Very Model of a Modern Major Mannequin". [[Los Angeles Times]].
26. (8 June 1967 }}{{Dead link). "American designs best 'London Look'". Milwaukee Journal.
27. Cloud, Barbara. (11 June 1967). "Most photographed model reticent about her role". The Pittsburgh Press.
28. Morris, Ann. (23 June 2001). "A womb with a view". Telegraph.
29. (3 March 1969). "Clippings on 3 March 1969". Independent.
30. McKenzie, Sheena. (1 November 2012). "Melbourne Cup memories: The legs that stopped a nation". CNN.
31. (30 June 1980}}{{Dead link). "Being 'ordinary' has its rewards". The Miami News.
32. [https://archive.today/20130123172332/http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/14/model-muse-pictures-generation-opinions-art-review-metropolitan-museum_slide_4.html Jean Shrimpton in London of Sloane Street coat, 1964, by David Bailey] Forbes.com
33. [http://www.nelsonthornes.com/aqagce/AS%20sample%20material/Head%20of%20History/History%20%E2%80%93%2060s/A%20level%20History%2060's%20sample.pdf Changes in culture and society in the sixties]{{Dead link. (February 2020)
34. (23 January 1969). "'Funny Girl' Can Become Beautiful Girl". The Evening Independent}}{{Dead link.
35. Menkes, Suzy. (28 February 2005). "A striking combo:broadtail and fringe". [[The New York Times]].
36. Alexander, Hilary. (28 February 2005). "The Look bounces back in Milan with 'Shrimp Clones'". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
37. (18 February 1984). "He focused on the most fashionable faces of the '60s". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
38. Meacham, Savannah. (13 August 2022). "Melbourne socialite Lillian Frank dies aged 92".
39. Ephron, Nora. (2007). "The Man in the Bill Blass Suit". Wallflower at the Orgy.
40. (4 September 2018). "The Legendary Jean Shrimpton (1971)".
41. Hauptfuhrer, Fred. (26 September 1977). "The Women David Bailey Photographs Become His Lovers, and Marie Helvin Is the Latest". People.
42. (17 November 2019). "Terry O'Neill obituary". [[The Times]].
43. Jones, Jerene. (14 June 1982). "Once the Face of the '60s, Jean Shrimpton Is Now the Model of An English Innkeeper". People.
44. Smyth, Mitchell. (29 September 1985). "The Shrimp's running a hotel". Toronto Sun.
45. "The Abbey Hotel FAQ".
46. Churchill, Penny. (2023-12-09). "An elegant Cornish abbey being sold by one of iconic supermodels of the 1960s".
47. "Especially for You (1986)".
48. "We'll Take Manhattan". BBC News.
49. Carpenter, Julie. (2 August 2011). "Return of the Shrimp". Daily Express.
50. (2012). "We'll Take Manhattan". IMDb.