Biography of Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a supermodel, UN Commonwealth ambassador, and philanthropist. She broke into modeling at 15 and became the first Black model to grace the covers of both British and French Vogue. Since then, she has appeared on the covers of over 1,000 magazines, starred in campaigns for luxury brands including Burberry, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, and Louis Vuitton, and walked in iconic shows for Chanel, Azzedine Alaïa, Christian Dior, and Versace.Beyond fashion and entertainment, Campbell has leveraged her influence for charitable and non-profit initiatives worldwide.
Childhood, Youth, Family
Naomi Elaine Campbell was born in the spring of 1970 to young Valerie Morris, a girl of Jamaican descent. She grew up in Streatham, a southern district of London. Her father, who was half Chinese, wasn't listed on any of her documents. Naomi never had contact with him—her mother, abandoned during pregnancy, made that decision.In one of her many interviews, the Black Panther—as she's known for her grace and dark skin—stated:
Naomi spent the first years of her life in Rome because her mother was a dancer and received a job offer from an Italian dance troupe. At three years old, Naomi was enrolled in Barbara Speake's stage school, and she started her studies at Dunraven School.I have never seen my father. My mother didn't want it, and my birth certificate says: 'x x x'. She doesn't want it, and I've always respected her wishes.
Back in London, Valerie left Naomi with relatives and began performing abroad with the Fantastica troupe, sending money home. This money was also for Naomi's dance classes, and in 1980 she entered the famous London Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts to learn ballet. "They taught me posture, how to present myself, and to be polite," the supermodel later noted in an interview.
At eight years old, Naomi appeared in Bob Marley's music video for the song "Is This Love?" and also featured in Boy George's video "I'll Tumble 4 Ya." Additionally, she participated as an extra in the filming of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" music video.
When her mother remarried, Campbell tried spending less time at home due to constant conflicts with her stepfather, whose last name she now carried. In 1985, her half-brother Pierre was born, and Naomi went to Paris for a photo shoot.
During a walk in Covent Garden, a scout from the Parisian modeling agency Beth Boldt noticed the future Black Panther of the runway.
Career and Charity
80s
After featuring on the cover of British Elle in 1986, Naomi also appeared in the advertisement for Yves Saint Laurent's Jazz perfume. Fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa, who treated her like a daughter, offered her a room in his Paris home.American supermodel Christy Turlington caught Gianni Versace's eye, leading him to bring the sixteen-year-old Naomi onto the runway. He invited her to his shows for the next twenty years. "Gianni never did a show without Naomi," said Donatella Versace.
In 1986, Naomi posed for her first portfolio for American Vogue. She lived with Christy Turlington in her Soho loft. She soon joined Turlington and Linda Evangelista on the runway for Isaac Mizrahi's debut collection show.
A year later, Campbell, Evangelista, and Turlington—dubbed "The Trinity"—walked together at Paris Fashion Week shows. Over the next few years, this tight-knit trio became the world's leading supermodels, commanding record fees and generating headlines wherever they appeared.
Campbell later recalled her loyal friends saying, "If you don't book Naomi, you won't get us." Naomi made history as the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue. In the eighties, she made her acting debut on "The Cosby Show," playing Julia.
In photo sessions, Campbell worked only with leading photographers: Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber. The latter captured the young model with boxer Mike Tyson, who said, "She has a magnificent body. And she fears nothing."
In December 1987, she first appeared on the cover of British Vogue. In 1989, she posed for her first American Vogue cover, wearing a red sequined pantsuit, gold hoop earrings, and layered pearls—the first black model to grace the September cover.
90s
The start of 1990 was marked by an iconic image: Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford appeared together on the cover of British Vogue, shot by Peter Lindbergh. Pop sensation George Michael then featured them in his iconic video "Freedom! '90."Shortly after, Campbell posed for Vogue with dalmatians, wearing spotted clothing—including wild Vivienne Westwood leggings, an Isaac Mizrahi trench coat, and a Bill Blass bandeau top.
Then, again for Vogue, Patrick Demarchelier captured her laughing in a light elbow-length wig and a wildly adorned Versace Atelier jumpsuit.
In the early '90s, Campbell also appeared in a Peter Lindbergh documentary. At Versace's fall-winter 1991 show, the supermodel quartet—Linda, Cindy, Naomi, and Christy—walked hand in hand, lip-syncing to George Michael's "Freedom! '90." It was the peak of the supermodel era.
Campbell was breathtaking as Michael Jackson's passionate lover in his steamy "In the Closet" video. This was followed by a Time magazine cover that read, "Supermodels: Beauty and Bucks."
Lindbergh captured her for a Vogue spread sitting on a motorcycle in a Harley-Davidson cap, feather-sleeved bodysuit, boots, and Chanel necklace. "Naomi acts like she always wears what she models," commented Grace Coddington, the fashion editor of the spread.
In late 1991, Naomi played a singer in "Cool as Ice." She also provided backup vocals for Vanilla Ice's title track and appeared in the music video.
For a while, Campbell worked with photographers Irving Penn and Arthur Elgort for Vogue. She also starred in the legendary Vogue centenary shoot—a ladder full of supermodels in white shirts and Gap jeans.
In 1992, Naomi appeared in Madonna's music video for "Erotica" and posed for the singer's provocative book "Sex." Campbell donated her Tanzania shoot earnings to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress.
In 1992, Naomi famously tumbled during a Vivienne Westwood show in towering blue snakeskin platforms. Laughing off the fall, she bounced back up and finished the runway like a pro.
The infamous shoes later landed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, while Campbell reportedly used another pair as a doorstop.
Soon, Campbell, Turlington, Helena Christensen, Claudia Schiffer, and Stephanie Seymour posed in matching striped shirts and shorts for a Vogue cover shot by Herb Ritts.
In September 1994, Naomi released her debut single "Love and Tears" and album "Babywoman"—a nickname from designer Rifat Ozbek. Ellen von Unwerth shot the provocative cover—Naomi shaving her legs in a bathtub—while the back featured her notorious Westwood platforms with a mobile phone poking out.
That same year, Campbell's book "Swan" was published. Vivienne Westwood dressed her for the launch party in a white dress with feathered panties. Irving Penn composed a black-and-white portrait of the nude model for Vogue.
The model accepted an invitation from the African National Congress to visit South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela. He became close with Naomi, dubbing her his "honorary granddaughter" in 1997, and she began championing many of his campaigns and causes.
In 1995, Campbell played the role of Kaia in the comedy "Miami Rhapsody" with Sarah Jessica Parker and Antonio Banderas. She also appeared in Spike Lee's film "Girl 6."
One major milestone came when she recorded the hit "La La La Love Song" with Japanese pop star Toshinobu Kubota. The chart-topping single sold millions in Japan.
In 1998, Campbell launched a 50-piece collection of denim, dresses, and T-shirts called Naomi Campbell Jeans and starred in the documentary "Naomi Conquers Africa," directed by Douglas Keeve, which followed her trip to South Africa for a charity Versace fashion show benefiting the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Donatella Versace told journalists:
In 1999, Naomi appeared alongside Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, Shalom Harlow, and Amber Valletta in a humorous Versace Jeans advertising campaign shot by Steven Meisel.She is very misunderstood. They say she is spoiled and annoying. But that's not true. She is very determined and very generous, and these are two qualities that no one ever talks about. She has a big, generous heart.
Vogue writer Jonathan Van Meter featured Campbell in the article "The Last Supermodel" with photographs by Helmut Newton. The article discussed her engagement to Formula 1 race director Flavio Briatore and her first global cosmetics contract with Cosmopolitan Cosmetics, a Wella division (for which she would release several signature fragrances).
She later posed in a Richard Tyler Couture outfit with twelve other supermodels for the cover of Vogue's Millennium Issue, shot by Annie Leibovitz.
Near the end of 1999, Naomi shot a Playboy cover in a white string bikini and fur. She also starred in the thriller "Prisoner of Love," playing Tracey—a murder witness who falls in love with a hired killer named Johnny.
2000s
The first five years of the new millennium were challenging for Naomi. Peter Lindbergh shot a portrait book with her across Ibiza, Paris, and Camargue, published as an Italian Vogue supplement.Campbell participated in a Special Olympics charity event at the White House during Bill Clinton's presidency. Soon after, the Daily Mirror reported she was attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings and detailed her drug abuse. She sued the publication, and a UK court ruled in her favor for privacy breach.
In 2001, her photobook NAOMI was published, and she appeared with rapper P. Diddy on the October cover of British Vogue with the headline "Naomi and Puff: The most powerful duo." Milliner Philip Treacy chose Naomi to model his Campbell's Soup hat.
Alongside Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Angela Lindvall, Liya Kebede, and Karen Elson in a desert near Dubai, the model participated in a Louis Vuitton spring ad campaign by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, later making Vogue's list of most stylish women.
In August 2005, Naomi carried the Olympic torch in Athens during the final leg of its journey through 34 cities.
The model's biggest achievement was founding her charity organization, Fashion for Relief. The first star-studded show took place during New York Fashion Week, raising over a million dollars for Hurricane Katrina victims. Campbell also donated her Fashion Week fees to humanitarian aid.
In 2006, Vogue columnist Andre Leon Talley detailed Campbell and designer Marc Jacobs' first visit to Moscow.
In 2007, another scandal involving the model surfaced: her maid Ana Scolavino claimed Campbell hit her with a jewel-encrusted mobile phone and sued her employer. Campbell pleaded guilty and was sentenced to community service in New York's sanitation department. She served her court-appointed community service in designer workwear (a fedora, furs, and—upon completion—a silver demi-couture Dolce & Gabbana dress with sequins).
The model wrote about her community service experience in "Naomi's Diaries," illustrated by Steven Klein. Campbell later joined Linda Evangelista, Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow, Angela Lindvall, and Gisele Bündchen on the runway for the Dior couture show in Versailles, marking the sixtieth anniversary.
In a Dunkin' Donuts commercial directed by actor Zach Braff, the model, dressed in an evening gown, broke a heel while gardening and threw a fit, hurling the shoe at a glass window.
She participated in the Louis Vuitton fall show in a nurse outfit with a transparent plastic coat designed by artist Richard Prince. Among six supermodels, Naomi posed on artist Richard Prince's 1970 Dodge Challenger for Louis Vuitton's spring campaign, photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
In 2008, Campbell was permanently banned from British Airways after throwing a tantrum over lost baggage and allegedly assaulting a security guard at Heathrow Airport. She later pleaded guilty to four of the six charges and was sentenced to community service again.
She later became the face of Yves Saint Laurent's fall campaign, styled by Stefano Pilati and shot at the house's headquarters on Avenue George V. Simultaneously, Art Basel Miami hosted a retrospective of Naomi Campbell portraits by leading world photographers.
Campbell organized the Mai Mumbai fashion show during Lakmé Fashion Week for victims of the November 2008 terror attacks in India. In one of the episodes, she joined former and current top models for a discussion on the modeling industry and posed with Stephen Meisel's favorite faces, including her "Trinity" friends Evangelista and Turlington.
Naomi also posed for Louis Vuitton's spring-summer 2010 bag campaign, supporting the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, where she served as goodwill ambassador. Shortly after, Campbell spearheaded the Fashion for Relief show to support CARE's Haiti earthquake recovery program. Her friends—models Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista—joined her on the runway.
In spring 2010, Naomi guest-edited a Russian Vogue issue dedicated to her, celebrating the model's 40th anniversary. She also closed the Vogue Fashion's Night Out extravaganza at Lincoln Center in New York.
Dolce & Gabbana celebrated Campbell's 25th anniversary in fashion with a limited-edition T-shirt collection priced at $200, featuring photographs of the model shot by leading world photographers. She and the designers went on a global tour to promote the T-shirts, with all proceeds going to aid victims of Pakistan's floods.
In early 2018, Campbell returned to the runway, closing Kim Jones' final menswear show for Louis Vuitton. She also received the Fashion Icon award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
In spring 2020, during the global lockdown, Naomi launched her YouTube show. Her first guest was Cindy Crawford.
In 2023, the film "Invisible Beauty," executive produced by Campbell, premiered.
Naomi Campbell's Personal Life
The model had an impressive list of admirers and fiancés, with numerous high-profile romances. Her boyfriends included Mike Tyson and Sylvester Stallone.Starting in 1992, Naomi began dating actor Robert De Niro; they broke up and got back together several times. She also dated rock musician Eric Clapton.
In 1993, Naomi got engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton, who gave her an extravagant emerald and diamond ring. A year later, they broke up.
She briefly dated Leonardo DiCaprio, and then the world-famous flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés. When the Spaniard left her, the model fell into a depression.
In 1999, news broke of her engagement to Formula 1 executive Flavio Briatore, but the wedding never happened—they split in 2003.
Naomi also dated Russian real estate tycoon Vladislav Doronin. Their relationship lasted until 2013, during which the supermodel spent time living in Russia. Doronin built a house for his beloved in Barvikha, sparing no expense—the yacht-shaped building was designed by British architect Zaha Hadid, who had never worked on residential projects before. After their breakup, the oligarch put the house up for sale, but couldn't find buyers for such a unique property.
Campbell had connections to American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of human trafficking and sexual crimes:
In the spring of 2021, Campbell announced she had a daughter and later posed with the baby for a Vogue photoshoot. Two years later, the supermodel announced the birth of her son, revealing that both children were born via a surrogate mother.What he did is unforgivable, when I heard what he did, it turned my stomach inside out, just like everyone else, because I had enough sexual predators, and thank God, there were good people around me who protected me from that. I support the victims. They are traumatized for life. For life.
Naomi Campbell Now
These days, the supermodel has been prioritizing motherhood while keeping up with her public and charitable work. In June 2024, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London showcased Naomi Campbell in an exhibition celebrating her activism and charitable contributions. The exhibition also showcased one hundred carefully selected outfits that Naomi wore throughout her modeling career.Campbell has also been working on a book where she's promised to open up to fans about becoming a mother and her life today.
Interesting Facts
- In 2022, Naomi launched her global initiative, EMERGE, a business development platform dedicated to discovering, showcasing, and promoting creative talent from underrepresented communities.
- In 2010, Naomi testified at a war crimes trial in The Hague regarding the "blood diamonds." She received them as gifts from former Liberian President Charles Taylor, reportedly at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela. She later turned them over to Jeremy Ratcliffe, director of the Children's Fund, but he never donated them because he suspected they were illegal. During the investigation, the diamonds were confiscated from him. The supermodel wasn't charged because investigators found no criminal intent in her actions.
Important Life Events
- 1978: Appeared in Bob Marley's music video "Is This Love?"
- 1980: Enrolled in the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.
- 1986: Featured on the cover of British Elle.
- 1987: Appeared on the cover of British Vogue.
- 1988: Appeared in "The Cosby Show." Became one of the "Trinity" supermodels.
- 1989: Became the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue.
- 1990: Appeared in the film "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
- 1991: Featured in Peter Lindbergh's documentary and the film "Cool as Ice."
- 1992: Met Nelson Mandela.
- 1996: Recorded the hit "La La La Love Song" with Japanese pop star Toshinobu Kubota.
- 1998: Featured in the documentary "Naomi Conquers Africa."
- 2001: Released the photo book "NAOMI." Daily Mirror reported her attendance at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, won a legal case.
- 2004: Ranked among the most stylish women by Vogue.
- 2007: Participated in the Dior anniversary show in Versailles. Completed community service for a legal case.
- 2008: Banned for life from flying with British Airways.
- 2009: Organized the Mai Mumbai fashion show to benefit victims of the India attacks.
- 2015: Closed Zac Posen's show at New York Fashion Week. Appeared in the drama "Empire."
- 2021: Announced the birth of her daughter.
- 2023: Announced the birth of her son. Became a producer for the film "Invisible Beauty."
- 2024: An exhibition entirely dedicated to the supermodel took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.