Naomi Campbell

Naomi Elaine Campbell was born on 22 May 1970 in Lambeth, Per her mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her father, who abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant Campbell is of Black-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent. Her Chinese heritage comes through her paternal grandmother, whose surname was Ming. On their return to London, she lived with relatives while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. From age three, Campbell attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and at age 10 she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet. == Career ==

1978–1986: Career beginnings In 1978 at age 8, Campbell made her first public appearance in the music video for Bob Marley's "Is This Love" at the Keskidee, a Black-led arts and theatre centre in London. She tap-danced in 1983 in the music video for Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "Mistake No. 3", in 1984. In 1986, while still a student of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Campbell was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro Model Agency, while window-shopping in Covent Garden. 1987–1997 Supermodel status Over the next few years, Campbell walked the catwalk for such designers as Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa, and Isaac Mizrahi and posed for such photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber. When faced with racial discrimination, Campbell received support from her white friends; she later quoted Turlington and Evangelista as telling Dolce & Gabbana, "If you don't use Naomi, you don't get us." In August 1988, she became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue, The following year, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue, which marked the first time a black model graced the front of the September magazine, traditionally the year's biggest and most important issue. appeared with Turlington, Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz on a cover of British Vogue, shot by Peter Lindbergh. The group was subsequently cast to star in the music video for George Michael's "Freedom! '90". That same year, she appeared in Madonna's controversial book Sex, in a set of nude photos with Madonna and rapper Big Daddy Kane. In 1993, Campbell twice appeared on the cover of American Vogue; in April, alongside Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour and Helena Christensen, and again, solo, in June. She also fell on the Vivienne Westwood 1993 Fall catwalk in foot-high platform shoes, which were later displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1996, Campbell walked in the second-ever Victoria Secret Fashion Show and made history as the first black model to open the show. She went on to grace the show's catwalk seven times. Her last catwalk for the brand was in 2005. When asked why she never became a full-time Angel, the supermodel simply stated: "[They] could not afford me". In 1997, Campbell became the first black woman ever to open a Prada show. 's inauguration party in 1997 In the mid-1990s, Campbell branched out into other areas of the entertainment industry. It was ghostwritten by Caroline Upcher, with Campbell stating that she "just did not have the time to sit down and write a book." That same year, she released her album Babywoman, which was named after designer Rifat Ozbek's nickname for Campbell. with its only single, "Love and Tears", reaching No. 40 on the charts. Babywoman was mocked by critics, inspiring the Naomi Awards. Campbell performed with Kate Moss and other supermodels in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, where they modelled haute couture to represent British fashion. Campbell wore a design by Alexander McQueen—a staggered hem gown with a train speckled with flecks of gold. 2013–2020 Spring/Summer 2014 show at New York Fashion Week, September 2013 In March 2013, Campbell appeared on the inaugural cover of Numéro Russia. Campbell also became involved in reality television through the modelling competition The Face and its international offshoots. In the U.S., she served as a coach and judge, along with Karolina Kurkova and Coco Rocha, on Oxygen's The Face, hosted by photographer Nigel Barker. She also hosted the British version of the show, which aired on Sky Living later that same year, and The Face Australia, which ran on Fox8 in 2014. In 2014, Campbell covered the May issue of Vogue Australia, the September issue of Vogue Japan, and the November issue of Vogue Turkey; the latter two were special editions celebrating Campbell and fellow supermodels. Campbell also covered the Vietnamese, Singaporean and the 35th anniversary Latin American edition of ''Harper's Bazaar''. In 2014, Campbell was named TV Personality of the year by Glamour Magazine. The award was presented at London's annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards. The following year, she closed the Fall/Winter Zac Posen show at New York Fashion Week, and featured in Spring/Summer 2015 campaigns for Burberry and lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur. In 2015, Campbell signed on as a recurring character in the Fox drama Empire as Camilla Marks, a fashion designer and love interest to Hakeem Lyon, portrayed by Bryshere Y. Gray. In October 2015, Campbell was featured in a two-episode arc in American Horror Story: Hotel, as a Vogue fashion editor named Claudia Bankson. In 2016, Campbell was cast as a recurring character Rose Crane, mother of Alexandra Crane played by Ryan Destiny, and wife of Ronald Crane played by Lenny Kravitz, in Fox newest musical drama Star (TV series). In 2016, Campbell appeared in the music video for Anohni's single "Drone Bomb Me". In September 2017, Campbell appeared in Versace's Spring/Summer 2018 show celebrating the late Gianni Versace, alongside Schiffer, Crawford, Christensen, and Carla Bruni and also featured in the campaign for the collection. In February 2018, Campbell and Moss returned to the catwalk and closed Kim Jones' final menswear show for Louis Vuitton. In April, she featured on the cover of British GQ alongside rapper Skepta. In June 2018, Campbell received the Fashion Icon award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In 2019, Campbell received the first beauty contract of her career, with NARS Cosmetics. In the spring of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell began her web series on YouTube, No Filter with Naomi, in which she conducts conversations with various guests. Her inaugural guest was Cindy Crawford, while subsequent guests ranged from Marc Jacobs, Adut Akech, and Christy Turlington to Ashley Graham and Nicole Richie. The 50th episode of No Filter with Naomi premiered on 16 March 2021, featuring guest Jean Paul Gaultier. Campbell signed with Studio71 in August 2020; under this partnership, Studio71 curates her content concerning ad sales, channel optimization, and brand partnerships across various platforms including YouTube and Facebook. Wikipedia page white washing The public relations firm Sunshine Sachs, hired by Campbell, committed undisclosed paid editing on Campbell's Wikipedia page. In these edits, references to her album Babywoman and her relationship with Mike Tyson were white washed. 2021–present On 12 January 2021, Campbell was appointed as a tourism ambassador by the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. In February, Campbell appeared on the cover of i-D spring issue, describing it as one of the few times she's had the opportunity to work with a photographer of colour. The following month, Campbell was named as the face of the relaunch advertising campaign for streetwear brand Hood by Air. In July 2022, Campbell was awarded an honorary doctorate by UCA (University for the Creative Arts) in the south of London for her impact on global fashion. Campbell executive produced the film Invisible Beauty about Bethann Hardison, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Victoria's Secret revealed the Icon Collection in August 2023, which features Campbell along with Gisele Bündchen and Candice Swanepoel. Photographed by Mikael Jansson, the campaign features familiar faces from the '90s and 2000s, as well as new model-ambassadors Paloma Elsesser, Adut Akech, Emily Ratajkowski, and Hailey Bieber. The same month, Hugo Boss launched its new collection, featuring Campbell (dubbed as "Queen Boss"), Suki Waterhouse, Matteo Berrettini, and Lee Min-ho in its campaign. On 5 September 2023, Campbell debuted her new collaboration with PrettyLittleThing during a catwalk show to kick off New York Fashion Week. The collection was designed by Campbell as well as designers Victor Anate and Edvin Thompson. Campbell is featured in the 2023 four-part Apple TV+ docuseries titled The Super Models. The series also features Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista and is directed by Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills. Campbell has been a special advisor to the music company Gamma, founded by Apple Music executive Larry Jackson, since 2023. -designed shoes worn by Campbell on display at an exhibition in Sheffield, England In June 2024, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London launched a solo exhibition titled "Naomi: In Fashion", which highlighted Campbell's philanthropic work and activism. The exhibit opens with personal images from Campbell's archive and also displays 100 curated outfits she has worn throughout her modelling years. As of 2024, Campbell has walked the catwalks and appeared in advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Diane Von Furstenberg, Prada, Chanel, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Zac Posen, Blumarine, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferré, Versace, Helmut Lang, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Marchesa, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Fendi, Escada, Isaac Mizrahi, La Perla, Philipp Plein, Mango, Thierry Mugler, Balmain, Nars, David Yurman, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, DSquared2, Express, H&M, Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Avon, Revlon and Victoria's Secret. == Recognition, activism and charity work ==

Despite her status as the most famous black model of her time, Campbell never earned the same volume of advertising assignments as her white colleagues, and she was not signed by a cosmetics company until as late as 1999. In 2013, Campbell joined fellow black models Iman and Bethann Hardison in an advocacy group called "Diversity Coalition". In an open letter to the governing bodies of global fashion weeks, they named high-profile designers who used just one or no models of colour in their Autumn 2013 shows, calling it a "racist act". Campbell is involved with several charitable causes. She supports the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, for which she organised a benefit Versace fashion show in 1998. In 2004, she was featured on FHM's charity single ''Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?'', as well as in the accompanying music video, of which all profits were donated to Breakthrough. She appeared in a print and media campaign for the charity's fundraising initiative Fashion Targets Breast Cancer,. She opened a Breakthrough breast cancer research unit in 2009. In 2005, Campbell founded the charity We Love Brazil, which aims to raise awareness and funds to fight poverty in Brazil through the sale of fabrics made by local women. That same year, Campbell founded the charity Fashion for Relief, which has organised fund-raising fashion shows to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008, the Haiti earthquake in 2010, the Japan earthquake in 2011, and the Syrian refugee crisis in 2017. By 2011, Fashion For Relief had reportedly raised £4.5 million. Following the launch of a Charity Commission investigation into Fashion Relief in 2021, Campbell was removed as a trustee from the charity in 2023, with Fashion For Relief eventually being closed by the Charity Commission on 15 March 2024. , London In November 2010, Campbell and her then partner Vladislav Doronin were among the organisers of the Help the Tiger charity event, which took place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and which was attended by Leonardo DiCaprio and Vladimir Putin. In 2012, the charity teamed up with YOOX China and leading global and Chinese fashion designers, including Phillip Lim and Masha Ma, to design Chinese-themed T-shirts to help fund its efforts and the various international charities it works with. Since 2007, Campbell has been the honorary president of Athla Onlus, an Italian organisation that works to further the social integration of young people with learning disabilities. In 2009, Campbell became a goodwill ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood. She has since joined the charity's patron, Sarah Brown, the wife of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, on several missions to promote maternal health. In 2010, Sarah Brown presented her with an "Outstanding Contribution" award from British Elle for her work as an ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance, as well as her work in the fashion industry. In 2016, amfAR honoured Campbell for her 31 years working with the foundation to fund AIDS research. In February 2021, Campbell was a signatory on an open letter decrying Ghana's stance on gay rights. She was joined by other signers, like actor Idris Elba and British Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Edward Enninful. In July 2021, Campbell condemned racist attacks on black players for the England national football team, including Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, after the team's defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 soccer final, disclosing via an Instagram post that it was disgusting to read of the abuses and encouraging players not to let the ignorant voices in. In the same month, Campbell wrote an open letter to former South African president Jacob Zuma, condemning riots and unrest that had broken out in the country following Zuma's incarceration. For 2023, the Centre for Advanced Studies of Fundamental Human Rights, with the approval of the African Fashion Gate President, Hon. Makaziwe Mandela, has conferred La Moda Veste la Pace Award on Naomi Elaine Campbell. The awards ceremony was celebrated in Rome at the seat of the Italian Delegation of the European Commission. Banned as charity trustee In September 2024, Campbell was banned from serving as a charity trustee in the UK for five years after an investigation found "multiple instances of misconduct and / or mismanagement" including that between April 2016 and July 2022, Fashion for Relief spent only 8.5% of its income on charitable grants, while making unauthorised payments to other trustees and advisors. These included paying for Campbell's stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, France, as well as spa treatments, room service, security and cigarettes. The charity was reported to the Charity Commission after Fashion for Relief held an event at the British Museum in 2019 claimed to be held in partnership with UNICEF. UNICEF said it was unaware of the event, was never a partner of Fashion for Relief, and received no money from the charity. Question was also raised as to why Campbell was described as a UNICEF "envoy" when she held no official role with UNICEF. Save the Children Fund and the Mayor's Fund for London also made complaints to the commission over the charity's failure to fully pay them proceeds from events held in 2017 and 2018. A sum of £345,000 has since been recovered from the charity and donated to the two organisations. Campbell appealed against the ban, saying that she was a "victim of fraud and forgery" and "concerted deception" by a fellow trustee, and that she has "never undertaken philanthropic work for personal gain". == Legal issues ==

Campbell has been convicted of assault on four occasions between 1998 and 2009. She pleaded guilty to assaulting her former housekeeper in January 2007. She attended her community service wearing designer outfits, including fedoras, furs and a silver-sequinned $300,000 Dolce & Gabbana gown upon completion of her sentence. == Personal life ==

In a 2010 interview for British Vogue, Campbell stated that in 1999 she entered rehabilitation for cocaine addiction and then she joined Alcoholics Anonymous to get sober. She stopped drinking around 2012. Family and relationships Campbell has never met her biological father. She regarded French-based Tunisian fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa, whom she met at 16, as her "papa". She also holds high respect for record producers Quincy Jones and Chris Blackwell as adopted father figures. Former South African president Nelson Mandela referred to Campbell as his "honorary granddaughter". From 1998 to 2003, she was in a relationship with Formula One team principal Flavio Briatore; they were engaged. She also had relationships with Robert De Niro, Hassan Jameel, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Usher. In 2019, she dated Skepta. In May 2021, she announced the birth of her daughter. In February 2022, Campbell confirmed to Vogue that her daughter was not adopted, posing with her child for a photoshoot. In June 2023, she announced the birth of her son. Campbell shared that her daughter and son were both delivered via surrogate. Association with Jeffrey Epstein Campbell appears in the alleged contact book and in flight logs of late American financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as well as in photographs with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. In August 2019, Campbell addressed the relationship on her YouTube channel, admitting she knew Epstein after being introduced to him by ex-boyfriend Flavio Briatore, stating: "What he's done is indefensible, when I heard what he had done, it sickened me to my stomach, just like everybody else, because I've had my fair share of sexual predators and thank God I had good people around who protected me from this. I stand with the victims. They're scarred for life. For life." However, Campbell's claims are disputed by Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claiming Campbell was aware and a close friend of Maxwell. In 2022, The Guardian reported on an alleged email exchange from May 2010 between Campbell and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in which Campbell described Maxwell as a "great friend" and inquired about arranging a visit to Libya for Maxwell. Campbell's spokesperson responded stating that she did not recognize the alleged email exchange and could not comment on its authenticity, as The Guardian refused to provide her with a copy or evidence of the exchange. In August 2025, the Department of Justice released a transcript of an interview between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. During the interview, Maxwell admitted that Campbell probably had visited Little Saint James at some point, and that Campbell had a friendship with Epstein that was "independent" of her. Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd In 2002, Campbell won a breach of confidentiality lawsuit against the Daily Mirror, after the newspaper published a photograph of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The High Court ordered £3,500 in damages from the Daily Mirror. Campbell testified that the diamonds were given to her as a gift by unknown men that she assumed were sent by Taylor. She later gave the diamonds to Jeremy Ractliffe, the then director of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, as a donation to charity. Suspecting they were illegal, Ractliffe did not donate them and kept them in his possession. In August 2010, shortly after Campbell's testimony, Ractliffe handed them over to the police. ==Filmography==

Film Television Music videos Documentaries == Fragrances ==

Since 1999, Campbell has released 28 fragrances for women via her eponymous perfume house, under the Procter & Gamble brand. ;Cat Deluxe line • Cat Deluxe (2006) • Cat Deluxe At Night (2007) • Cat Deluxe With Kisses (2009) • Cat Deluxe Silver (2019) ;Naomi Campbell line • Naomi Campbell (1999) • Naomi Campbell Shine & Glimmer (2001) • Naomi Campbell Light Edition (2003) • Naomi Campbell Winter Kiss (2006) • Naomi Campbell Eternal Beauty (2007) • Naomi Campbell Wild Pearl (2011) • Naomi Campbell At Night (2012) • Naomi Campbell Queen of Gold (2013) • Naomi Campbell Private (2015) • Naomi Campbell Bohemian Garden (2016) • Naomi Campbell Glam Rouge (2018) ;Prêt à Porter line • Prêt à Porter (2016) • Prêt à Porter Silk Collection (2017) • Prêt à Porter Absolute Velvet (2018) ;Miscellaneous fragrances • Naomagic (2000) • Exult (2001) • Mystery (2003) • Sunset (2004) • Paradise Passion (2005) • Seductive Elixir (2008) • Naomi (2010) • Here To Stay (2020) • Here To Shine (2021) == Bibliography ==

;Albums • 1994: Babywoman (Epic, UK, did not chart) ;Singles • 1991: "Cool as Ice (Everybody Get Loose)" (Vanilla Ice featuring Naomi Campbell) • 1994: "Love and Tears" • 1994: "I Want to Live" • 1996: "La La La Love Song" (Toshinobu Kubota featuring Naomi Campbell) ;Guest appearances • 2025: "Every Girl You've Ever Loved" (Miley Cyrus featuring Naomi Campbell) • 2025: "Ms60" (Amaarae featuring Naomi Campbell) == See also ==