Who said grannies can't be models? :)
The woman who blasted the stereotype and destroyed this hypothesis is the 80 years old model Carmen Dell'Orefice who celebrated her anniversary on June, 3, 2011.
Carmen is an American model born in New York, NY. She was discovered at the age of 13 by the wife of photographer Herman Landschoff. Later, when she was 15, she was introduced to Vogue by her godfather and this was the beggining of her official modeling carreer, signing a contract for $7.50 per hour. An year later she appeared in Vogue as Little Red Riding Jood, Snow White and also Cinderella along with other supermodels and actors.
Carmen and her family were so poor they hadn't even a telephone. That's why the reprezentant of Vogue magazine had to go to her appartment to propose a modeling job.
Carmen was one of the youngest Vogue cover models ever when she appeared on the October 1947 cover of Vogue.
Despite early successes at such a young age, her agent Eileen Ford refused to represent her. This way, Vogue lost their interest in her. After doctors prescribed shots to start puberty, she instead started working as a ligerie model, earning $300 per hour. In 1953 she joined Ford Models agency.
Carmen had three marriages. Her husbads were Bill Miles, photographer Richard Heinmann and architect Richard Kaplan.
She decided to return to modeling in 1978 continuing till now.
In the '90s and 2000s she modeled for Isaac Mizrahi's clothing line at Target, as well as Cho Cheng and Rolex. Carmen is featured regularly in their ad campaingns appearing in Vogue, W and Harper's Bazaar.
She created a fashion trend when she painted her hair silver, after this many public figures taking her example or simply copying her...
In 1985 she publishes her book called: Staying beautiful: beauty secrets and attitudes from my forty years as a model .
In the '80s and '90s, Carmen lost most of her money in the stock market. She was forced to auction off her famous modeling photos from the '40s-'80s through Sotheby's.
Besides all the financial and personal obstacles she met during her life, Carmen Dell'Orefice remains, at least for me, a mystery...an admirable mystery of true beauty. I am extremely impresses by this incredible and gorgeous woman who, despite such age has the will to stay young and beautiful, also to walk on runways surprising everyone with her extraordinary, marvelous body and wonderful facial features.
I'm sure that Carmen Dell'Orefice is and will remain a legend for the modeling history of the entire world.
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