Top 10 Facts About Jean Shrimpton

Jean Shrimpton – 1965 photo by Nationaal Archief Wikimedia 

Top 10 Facts About Jean Shrimpton

An English model and actress by the name of Jean Rosemary Shrimpton was born on November 7, 1942.  She is regarded as one of the earliest supermodels in history and was a symbol of swinging London. Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, Newsweek, and Time were just a few of the magazines in which she was featured on the cover. 

Shrimpton was designated one of the 100 most influential fashion icons of all time by Time in 2012, and one of the 26 greatest models of all time by Harper’s Bazaar in 2009. In the movie Privilege, she co-starred with Paul Jones (1967).

1. She was discovered by a fashion photographer while attending the Henley Regatta in 1960

photo by Australian Broadcast Corporation Wikimedia 

During her collaboration with photographer David Bailey, Shrimpton gained notoriety. They first connected in 1960 while Shrimpton, a model at the time. And photographer Brian Duffy was working on a picture shoot for Kellogg’s cornflakes advertising. Bailey was warned by Duffy that she was too sophisticated for him, but he wasn’t discouraged.

In 1960, Shrimpton and Bailey did their first joint picture shoot. As she began working with Bailey, she first gained notoriety in the modeling industry. She owes Bailey her career, according to Shrimpton. And he is frequently given credit for finding her and having a significant impact on her career. She served as Bailey’s inspiration, and his images of her throughout his early career helped him become well-known.

2. Shrimpton became a sensation in the fashion world during the 1960s

 According to several reports, Shrimpton was the “world’s best-paid model,” the “most renowned model,” and the “most photographed model” throughout her career. She was also referred to as “the most beautiful girl in the world” and as having “the most gorgeous face.” She was referred to as “The Face,” “The Face of the Time,” “The Face of the ’60s.” and “The It Girl.” Vogue named her “Model of the Year” in June 1963. She embodied the youthquake movement’s coltish, gamine aesthetic in swinging 1960s London. This  contrasted with the aristocratic-looking models of the 1950s, and she was referred to as “the emblem of Swinging London.”

3. She began modeling at age of 17

photo by Australian Broadcast Corporation Wikimedia 

At the age of 17, she started modeling, shattering the previously popular mold of voluptuous, aristocratic women. She was dubbed “The Shrimp” and known for having a thick fringe, arched brows, and doe eyes.

4. Shrimpton appeared on the cover of numerous fashion magazines

As a brave, hip, and sexually liberated woman of the 1960s, Jean Shrimpton was held up as the model. She was featured on the pages of several fashion magazines. Most notably Vogue, and Newsweek in May 1965 (when she was earning the then-unheard-of amount of $60 per hour). She wore a skirt that ended eight millimeters above her knees to the extremely formal Melbourne Gold Cup Derby in Australia the following November. Her lack of a hat, gloves, or stockings was just as startling as the shortness of her skirt, which some have dubbed the introduction of the miniskirt. The outfit was exposed, denounced, and photographed on the front pages of publications around the world.

5. She was the first model to wear a mini skirt on the cover of a major fashion magazine in the 1960s

Shrimpton assisted in the miniskirt’s debut. She traveled to Australia for a two-week promotional tour in 1965, supported by the Victoria Racing Club and a local manufacturer of synthetic fibers who hired her to advertise a line of brand-new outfits made of Orlon. She received a fee of £2,000, which was a significant figure at the time. When she showed up for the Victoria Derby wearing a white shift dress by Colin Rolfe that stopped 5 in (13 cm) above her knees, she generated a sensation in Melbourne. She donned a man’s watch, which was rare at the period, and lacked a hat, stockings, or pair of gloves. She went to Lillian Frank, a hairdresser. Shrimpton had no idea how the Melbourne community and media would respond to her.

The formal-dressed women instantly made fun of Shrimpton and teased her for not only exposing her legs but also for not donning a hat, stockings, or gloves (must-have accessories for classy women in Australia). She was chastised by radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and even fellow models for wearing “tasteless” clothing. For the first time since the inaugural race in 1861, the winning horse was not mentioned on the top page of the newspaper the following day, which instead focused on Shrimpton’s contentious attire. Despite the outrage in Australia, Shrimpton’s dress started a global fashion movement, inspiring women to hem their dresses and boldly show their knees. Oddly, relative to current skirt trends, Shrimpton’s Derby Day outfit would be deemed fairly lengthy by today’s standards.

6. Shrimpton was in a high-profile relationship with photographer David Bailey during the 1960s, which contributed to her fame

photo by Joost Evers / Anefo Wikimedia 

Soon after starting to collaborate professionally, Shrimpton and Bailey were romantically involved. Their four-year romance came to an end in 1964. When the romance started, Bailey was still wed to his first wife Rosemary Bramble, but he divorced her after nine months to live with Shrimpton.

Actor Terence Stamp and photographer Terry O’Neill were among Shrimpton’s previous lovers.

7. In addition to her modeling career, Shrimpton appeared in several films, including the 1967 thriller “Privilege”

photo by Denise Jans Unsplash

Director Cy Endfield and the producer of his movie Mysterious Island had an unsatisfactory meeting as a result of their fortuitous encounter (1961). Endfield then advised her to enroll in the mock course at the Lucie Clayton Charm School.

She appeared in the movie Privilege with Paul Jones (1967).

8. She retired from modeling in the early 1970s 

In her early 30s, Shrimpton gave up modeling and the fashion industry. She moved to Cornwall in 1975, where she founded an antique store and shortly after met her future husband, Michael Cox. she married photographer Michael Cox in the Penzance, Cornwall, registration office in 1979. Thereafter, she gave birth to a son named Thaddeus in 1979. The couple acquired the Abbey Hotel in Penzance, which Thaddeus and his family currently run.

9. Jean Shrimpton worked on a farm and intended on becoming a secretary

Shrimpton began her glitzy life working with animals on the family farm in the countryside of Buckinghamshire, where she was born in 1942. Shrimpton had aspired to become a secretary and enrolled at Langham Secretarial College in London when she was 17 years old, as many women were unfairly pushed to do. As luck would have it, she met director Cy Endfield at a pharmacy and received an invitation to try out for his movie Mysterious Island. While the audition was unsuccessful, Endfield advised that she enroll in a modeling school, which led Shrimpton to switch to the Lucie Clayton Charm School in London. She was a full-time model at the age of 17.

10.  She was considered to be one of the world’s first supermodels

photo by Rudy Issa Unsplash

Shrimpton has been regarded as one of the earliest supermodels in history and was a symbol of swinging London. Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, Newsweek, and Time were just a few of the magazines in which she was featured on the cover. Shrimpton was designated one of the 100 most influential fashion icons of all time by Time in 2012, and one of the 26 greatest models of all time by Harper’s Bazaar in 2009. In the movie Privilege, she co-starred with Paul Jones (1967).

In conclusion, Shrimpton paved the way for others in the 1960s fashion business, and her influence on modeling and fashion continues until this day. Her renowned photographs, especially the picture taken by David Balley in 1966, helped define the swinging sixties and had a long-lasting impact on fashion and culture. She left the modeling business quite early in her career, yet her legacy endures and many people continue to find inspiration in her.

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