Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista, August 12, 2004.
Born	(1965-05-10) May 10, 1965 (age 47) St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Years active	1984–1998 (retired), 2001–present
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Hair colour	Dark brown
Eye colour	Blue-green
Measurements	86.5-61-89 (EU); 34-24-35 (US)[2]
Weight	55 kg (121 lbs)
Dress size	36-38 (EU); 6 (US)
Manager	DNA Model Management Models 1 Agency

Linda Evangelista (born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian model. She has been featured on over 600 magazine covers. Evangelista is mostly known for being the longtime muse of photographer Steven Meisel. She holds the record for her multiple appearances on the cover of Vogue Italia, all of which were photographed by Meisel.

Early years[link]

Evangelista was born to Italian parents^{[citation needed]} who emigrated to Canada and was raised in a working-class, traditional Roman Catholic family in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada near Niagara Falls, where she attended Denis Morris Catholic High School.^[3] Her father worked for GM and her mother, Marisa, was a bookkeeper.^[4] She has two brothers. Linda knew she wanted to become a model when she was 12 years old. Evangelista began modelling when she was discovered by an agent from Elite Model Management at the 1988 Miss Teen Niagara beauty pageant.

Career[link]

Evangelista later moved to New York City and signed with Elite Model Management. She then moved to Paris to further her career. She worked extensively with fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh who encouraged her to consider a short do. Top hairdresser Julien Dy's then cut her hair into what she described as "a bowl cut with sideburns". She cried during the haircut but it turned out to be the defining moment of her career.

Evangelista once uttered the quote, "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day",^[5] (often misquoted as: "We don't get out of bed for less than..." or "I don't get out of bed for less than...") Spoken in Vogue (1990) to Jonathan van Meter, talking about money and how she and a few other models were calling the shots and changing the game.

In 2007, she signed a multiple-year exclusive contract with the cosmetics company L'Oreal Paris. It was announced in early 2008 that she would be featured in the Prada Fall 2008 campaign seen in magazines internationally.^[6]

She is signed to DNA Model Management in New York City, and Models 1 in London.

In June 2010, the New York Post reported that Evangelista will be the new face of Talbots.^[7]

Personal life[link]

At the age of 22, Evangelista married Elite executive Gerald Marie.^[8] They were married from 1987 to 1993. After separating from Marie, she began a 6-year relationship with actor Kyle MacLachlan, and then divorced Marie.^[9]

In 1999, she became pregnant by French football player, Fabien Barthez. At 6 months pregnant, she delivered a stillborn baby. The couple then broke up and Evangelista left modelling for several years to recuperate.^[10]

On October 11, 2006, Evangelista gave birth to a boy, Augustin James, refusing to name his biological father, which sparked numerous rumours.^[9] While pregnant, she appeared on the August 2006 issue of Vogue. In late June 2011, Evangelista filed court papers that revealed her son was fathered by billionaire Frenchman François-Henri Pinault, by then the husband of actress Salma Hayek.^[11][12] After several court appearances aimed at establishing a child support agreement, on August 1, 2011, Evangelista formally filed for a child support order in Manhattan Family Court, seeking $46,000 in monthly child support from Pinault. It was reported that if granted, this amount "would probably be the largest support order in the history of the family court".^[13][14] A heavily-publicized^[15] child support trial began on May 3, 2012,^[16] and included testimony from both Pinault and Evangelista with Evangelista's attorney claiming that Pinault had never supported the child.^{[17] [18]}Several days into the trial, on May 7, 2012, Evangelista and Pinault reached an out-of-court settlement.^[19]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Linda Evangelista

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Linda Evangelista

• Linda Evangelista at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Evangelista at the Fashion Model Directory

François-Henri Pinault
François-Henri Pinault (2011)
Born	(1962-05-28) 28 May 1962 (age 50) Rennes, France,
Residence	Paris, France,
Nationality	French
Alma mater	HEC
Occupation	Chairman of PPR Co-Chair of the PPR Foundation
Years active	1985–present
Board member of
Spouse	Salma Hayek (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: Salma Hayek to François-Henri Pinault" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Fran%C3%A7ois-Henri_Pinault)
Children	4
Parents	François Pinault

François-Henri Pinault, born (1962-05-28) 28 May 1962 (age 50) in Rennes, Brittany, France, is a French businessman and the chief executive officer of PPR. He is the son of the company's founder, businessman François Pinault. Often nicknamed â€�FHP’, he is also Director of Financière Pinault, as well as the President of ArtĂ©mis' executive board.

Biography[link]

Education[link]

François-Henri Pinault graduated from HEC School of Management in 1985, and did his military service in the French Consulate Economic Expansion station in Los Angeles (United States),^[1] during which he was in charge of studying fashion and new technology sectors in the States.

Career in PPR[link]

He started his career in PPR in 1987.^[2] In 1988, he became the manager of the company’s buying department. In 1989, he became head manager of France Bois Industries, and then of Pinault Distribution in 1990.

In 1993, he was appointed CEO of CFAO (formerly Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale) a retail subsidiary of the Group in Africa and in the overseas territories, specialized in cars and medicine. In 1997, he became CEO of Fnac.

His hobby in computing led him to take an interest in the Internet’s expansion in the 1990s, and he decided to develop the Group’s Internet activities.

In February 2000, he became vice-president of the Internet branch of the Group, alongside Serge Weinberg, board president. He launched PPR Interactive, a structure dedicated to new technologies.

From January 2001 until March 2005, he was a member of the PPR Security Board. In May 2003, he was appointed vice-president of the board until March 2005.

Heading PPR[link]

In May 2003, François Pinault, his father, gave him the presidency of Artémis, as the controlling shareholder of the Group, founded in 1992. In March 2005, François-Henri Pinault became Chairman of the Board and CEO of PPR.

On 20 June 2007, he also became president of German sports retailer Puma’s Executive Committee, the newest Group acquisition. On 17 February 2011, François-Henri Pinault announced that he would head the luxury branch of PPR.

Other functions[link]

• Manager of Financière Pinault
• President of ArtĂ©mis Executive Board
• President of Puma’s Supervisory Committee
• President and member of Gucci Group NV Supervisory Committee
• Vice-president of Boucheron’s Holding and CFAO Supervisory Committee
• Fnac SA, Soft Computing and Sapardis administrator
• Member of the Yves-Saint-Laurent SAS Supervisory Committee
• Member of the Chateau Latour winery SC Management Committee
• Board member Christie’s International Plc.
• President of Sowind Group’s Board Committee
• Administrator of Bouygues SA.

Personal life[link]

François-Henri Pinault is the father of two children, François and Mathilde, from his previous marriage to French first wife Dorothée Lepère. He also fathered a son called Augustin James Evangelista (born in 2006) with Linda Evangelista.^[3] He married Salma Hayek on 14 February 2009 in Paris, in the Sixth Arrondissement town hall. A few weeks later, on 25 April 2009, they repeated their wedding vows with friends in Venice.^[4] They have a daughter called Valentina Paloma (born on 21 September 2007).^[5]

Dating back from his student years, François-Henri Pinault has always been fascinated about the Web and new technologies. He founded the Electronic Business Group in 2000.

During his free time, he likes to relax practicing magic with playing cards. He also likes football. He owns the Stade Rennais, a French Ligue 1 football club.

In April 2006, he was awarded Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur.

Vision[link]

Passionate about the Web and its potential, François-Henri Pinault founded PPR Interactive, and has developed the Group’s Internet’s activities for quite some time, in order to position PPR and its brands in the digital era.

The purchase of Puma in 2007, the selling of Conforama in 2011, as well as the announcement of the Group’s intention to sell Redcats Group ( La Redoute, Cyrillus, Vertbaudet) and Fnac in the future, all illustrate François-Henri Pinault’s will to reinforce PPR group in the luxury and �Sport & Lifestyle’ sectors.

During the annual financial results communication on 17 February 2011 François-Henri Pinault announced that he would head the Group’s luxury brands department.^[6]

On 2 June 2011, PPR acquired Californian brand Volcom in the latest step to bolster its �Sport & Lifestyle’ division.^[7]

Aware of the fashion market’s development and consumer trends, François-Henri Pinault has an optimistic view of the luxury sector future : â€� I sincerely think that fashion has a brilliant future ahead, with five structuring key trends : hedonism comeback, community multiplication, the growing role of brands, the digital revolution and sustainability’.

PPR Foundation[link]

Main article : Fondation PPR.

In 2008, François-Henri Pinault launched PPR’s Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights, a part of PPR Home.

Sakineh[link]

In 2010, PPR’s Foundation invited people to sign a petition in favour of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s freedom, after she was sentenced to death by stoning. Newspapers (Libération, Elle, La Repubblica, La Règle du jeu) united to publish a letter a day around Sakineh’s cause, which was either written by a celebrity or a reader. In this campaign, François-Henri Pinault wrote a letter for Sakineh entitled "Sakineh, we are standing by you".

ELA[link]

Related article : Association europĂ©enne contre les leucodystrophies. François-Henri Pinault is a Supervisory Board member of ELA (a European NGO campaigning for research in leukodystrophy).

Home[link]

François-Henri Pinault took the initiative to support the Home movie by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, which was distributed on television and cinema in 2009 for free, and was seen by more than 400 million people around the world.^[8]

References[link]

Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Salma Valgarma Hayek JimĂ©nez (1966-09-02) September 2, 1966 (age 45) Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico
Citizenship	American/Mexican
Occupation	Actress, director, producer
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	François-Henri Pinault (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: François-Henri Pinault to Salma Hayek" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Salma_Hayek)
Children	1

Salma Valgarma Hayek JimĂ©nez de Pinault (Spanish pronunciation: [Ë�salma Ë�xaĘťek]; born September 2, 1966)^[1] is a Mexican and American film actress, director and producer. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.

Early life[link]

Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of Diana Jiménez Medina, an opera singer and talent scout, and Sami Hayek Dominguez, an oil company executive who once ran for mayor of Coatzacoalcos.^[2][3][4] Hayek's father is of Lebanese ancestry, while her mother's ancestry is Spanish.^[5][6] Her first given name, Salma, is Arabic for "safe".^[7] Raised in a wealthy, devoutly Roman Catholic^[8] family, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, at the age of twelve.^[4] While there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia.^[9] She attended college in Mexico City, where she studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana.^[4]

Career[link]

Mexico[link]

At the age of 23, Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful Mexican telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. In 1994, Hayek starred in the film El CallejĂłn de los Milagros (Miracle Alley), which has won more awards than any other movie in the history of Mexican cinema.^{[citation needed]} For her performance, Hayek was nominated for an Ariel Award.^[10]

Early Hollywood acting work[link]

Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler.^[11] She had limited fluency in English, which was attributed to her suffering from dyslexia.^[12] Robert Rodriguez and his producer and then wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995's Desperado.^[4] She followed her role in Desperado with a brief role as a vampire queen in From Dusk Till Dawn, in which she performed a table-top snake dance.

Hayek had a starring part opposite Matthew Perry in the 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In. In 1999, she co-starred in Will Smith's big-budget Wild Wild West, and played a supporting role in Kevin Smith's Dogma.^[4] In 2000, Hayek had an uncredited acting part opposite Benicio del Toro in Traffic. In 2003, she reprised her role from Desperado by appearing in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the final film of the Mariachi Trilogy.

Director, producer and actress[link]

Hayek at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival

Hayek and Banderas at the Puss in Boots premiere in Australia.

Around 2000, Hayek founded film production company Ventanarosa, through which she produces film and television projects. Her first feature as a producer was 1999's El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, Mexico's official selection for submission for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.^[13]

Frida, co-produced by Hayek, was released in 2002. Starring Hayek as Frida Kahlo, and Alfred Molina as her unfaithful husband, Diego Rivera, the film was directed by Julie Taymor and featured an entourage of stars in supporting and minor roles (Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, Geoffrey Rush) and cameos (Antonio Banderas). She earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance.^[4]

In the Time of the Butterflies is a 2001 feature film based on the Julia �lvarez book of the same name, covering the lives of the Mirabal sisters. In the movie, Salma Hayek plays one of the sisters, Minerva, and Edward James Olmos plays the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo whom the sisters opposed.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Hayek produced and directed The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime movie based on the book of the same name, winning her a Daytime Emmy Award^[14] for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special.^[15] In December 2005, she directed a music video for Prince, titled "Te Amo Corazon" ("I love you, sweetheart") that featured MĂ­a Maestro.^[16]

Hayek was an executive producer of Ugly Betty, a television series that aired around the world from 2006 to 2010. Hayek adapted the series for American television with Ben Silverman, who acquired the rights and scripts from the Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001. Originally intended as a half hour sitcom for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by ABC for the 2006–2007 season with Silvio Horta also producing. Hayek guest-starred on Ugly Betty as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor. She also had a cameo playing an actress in the telenovela within the show. The show won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series in 2007. Hayek's performance as Sofia resulted in a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.^[17]

In April 2007, Hayek finalized negotiations with MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin themed film production company, Ventanarosa.^[18] The following month, she signed a two year deal with ABC for Ventanarosa to develop projects for the network.^[19]

Hayek stars as the wife of Adam Sandler in Grown Ups, which also co-stars Chris Rock and Kevin James.^[20] At his insistence, Hayek co-starred with Antonio Banderas in the Shrek spin-off film Puss in Boots as the voice of the character Kitty Softpaws, who serves as Puss's female counterpart and love interest.^[21]

Singing credits[link]

Hayek has been credited as a song performer in three movies. The first was Desperado for the song Quedate AquĂ­. In Frida she performed the Mexican folk song La Bruja with the band Los Vega. She also recorded Siente mi amor, which played during the end credits of Once Upon a Time in Mexico.^{[citation needed]}

Promotional work[link]

Hayek featured on the cover of Veronica magazine, as seen here on an SUV in Amsterdam

Hayek has been a spokesperson for Avon cosmetics since February 2004.^[22] She formerly was a spokesperson for Revlon in 1998. In 2001, she modeled for Chopard and was featured in 2006 Campari adverts, photographed by Mario Testino.^[23] On April 3, 2009, she helped introduce La Doña, a watch by Cartier inspired by fellow Mexican actress María Félix.^[24]

In 2011, Hayek launched her own line of cosmetics, skincare and haircare products called Nuance by Salma Hayek, to be sold at CVS stores in North America.^[25] She was inspired to create a cosmetic line from her grandmother, who used to make her own facial care products.

Hayek was also featured in a series of Spanish language commercials for Lincoln cars.

In art[link]

In spring 2006, the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio, Texas displayed 16 portrait paintings by muralist George Yepes and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez of Hayek as Aztec goddess Itzpapalotl.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Hayek is a naturalized United States citizen.^[26] She studied at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment,^[27] and is a practitioner of yoga.^[28] Her brother, Sami Hayek,^[29] is a designer with his own line of products at Target^[30] and clients that include Louis Vuitton, Brad Pitt, and the Mexican Government.^[31]

On March 9, 2007, Hayek confirmed her engagement to a French billionaire and PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault as well as her pregnancy. On September 21, 2007, she gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. On July 18, 2008, Hayek and Pinault announced the end of their engagement.^[32] They later reconciled and were married on Valentine's Day, 2009 in Paris.^[33] On April 25, 2009, they were married a second time in Venice.^[34]

In July 2011, Hayek's husband was named in a paternity case. According to reports, Pinault is the father of supermodel Linda Evangelista's four-year-old son, Augustin James. He denied all allegations,^[35][36] although the reports were later substantiated.

Activism[link]

Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants.^{[37][dead link]} On July 19, 2005, Hayek testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.^[38] In February 2006, she donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups.^[39] Hayek is a board member of V-Day, the charity founded by playwright Eve Ensler.

Since the birth of her daughter, Hayek has worked to help mothers in developing nations worldwide, teaming up with Pampers and UNICEF to help stop the spread of life-threatening maternal and neonatal tetanus. She is a global spokesperson for the Pampers/UNICEF partnership 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine to help raise awareness of the program.^[40]

Hayek also advocates breastfeeding. During a UNICEF fact-finding trip to Sierra Leone, she breastfed a hungry week-old baby whose mother could not produce milk.^[41]

In 2010, Hayek's humanitarian work earned her a nomination for the VH1 Do Something Awards.^[42]

Honors and awards[link]

• Recipient of Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award in October 2001.^[43]
• Recipient of Producers Guild of America Celebration of Diversity Award in 2003.
• Recipient of Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award in February 2006.^[44]
• Recipient of Time magazine 25 Most Influential Hispanics in 2005.^[45]
• Knight (Chevalier) of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (France, 30 December 2011)^[46]

In July 2007, The Hollywood Reporter ranked Hayek fourth in their inaugural Latino Power 50, a list of the most powerful members of the Hollywood Latino community.^[47] That same month, a poll found Hayek to be the "sexiest celebrity" out of a field of 3,000 celebrities (male and female); according to the poll, "65 percent of the U.S. population would use the term 'sexy' to describe her".^[48] In 2008, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television^[49] In December of that year, Entertainment Weekly ranked Hayek number 17 in their list of the "25 Smartest People in TV."^[50]

Hayek is not the only Mexican actress to succeed in Hollywood. Others include Dolores del RĂ­o, Lupe VĂ©lez and Katy Jurado.^[51]

Filmography[link]

Event appearances[link]

• Was a member of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival jury.^[53]
• Co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert with Julianne Moore in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2005.^[54]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Salma Hayek

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salma Hayek

• Salma Hayek at the Internet Movie Database
• Salma Hayek at People.com
• Salma Hayek at Emmys.com

Helena Christensen
Christensen at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	(1968-12-25) December 25, 1968 (age 43) Copenhagen, Denmark
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Hair color	Brunette
Eye color	Blue/Green
Measurements	(US) 35-24-35 ; (EU) 89-61-88[1]
Dress size	(US) 4 ; (EU) 34[1]
Manager	Marilyn Model Agency

Helena Christensen (born December 25, 1968) is a Danish fashion model, (former) Victoria's Secret Angel, beauty queen, and photographer. She has also served as creative director for Nylon magazine, designed clothing, and supported funding for breast cancer organizations and other charities.

Early life[link]

Christensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father is Danish, and her mother is Peruvian.^[2][3]

Miss Denmark[link]

Christensen won the Miss Denmark crown in 1986^[4][5] and represented Denmark in Miss Universe 1986.^[6] She left her home soon afterwards to pursue modeling in Paris.^[7]

Modeling career[link]

Christensen appeared on many magazine covers (including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, W) and in fashion campaigns (including Revlon, Chanel, Versace, Lanvin, Prada, Sonia Rykiel, Hermes, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld) during the 1990s. One noted campaign featured her in a 20 by 40 feet (6 by 12 m) billboard in Times Square, bare, "except for a strategically placed banana leaf."^[8] She was in the Victoria's Secret catalog and in their television commercials as one of the signature Angels, along with Tyra Banks, Karen Mulder, Daniela Pestova, and Stephanie Seymour. She also became a spokesmodel for Revlon cosmetics.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991, she starred in the music video for Chris Isaak's song "Wicked Game."^[9] The video was later featured on MTV's "Sexiest Video of All-Time", voted #4 on VH1's "50 Sexiest Video Moments", and voted #13 on VH1's "100 Greatest Videos".

Christensen continues modelling; recently she graced the covers of Spanish Vogue, British Harper’s Bazaar and ELLE, and American Vs. Magazine. She was also featured in the advertising campaigns of Ermanno Screvino, Reebok, Caractere and Triumph. Christensen is signed to Unsigned Management in London, Marylin in Paris, D Management in Milan and 1/One Management in New York City.^[9]

At a 2007 Sustainable/Green Home opening party

Business[link]

Christensen was creative director of Nylon magazine at its 1999 founding by publisher Marvin Scott Jarrett.^{[10][11][12][13]} She launched her own clothing line, Christensen & Sigersen, with life-long friend Leif Sigersen. The pair previously ran Butik, a shop in New York's West Village.^[14][15] Christensen has sold some of her vintage clothes line in her mother's store, the Yo-Yo Second Hand Shop, in Christianshavn, Copenhagen, Denmark.^[16][17] Christensen famously once said, when asked if normal girls would feel comfortable in her new clothing line, "I don't care. I have no clue. I don't think about anyone but me." The quote is printed on the back of Denis Leary's 2008 book, Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid.^[18]

Christensen is a photographer whose work has appeared in Nylon,^[11] Marie Claire, and ELLE.^[9] Her exhibition "A Quiet Story", curated by Jim Cook, premiered in at the Locus Gallery in Rotterdam, 2006,^[19] and HotelArena in Amsterdam, 2007.^[20] Her exhibition "Far From, Close" appeared at Dactyl Foundation in 2008/09, to benefit International Center of Photography educational programs and Chernobyl Children's Project International.^[21][22]

Breast cancer fundraising[link]

Christensen launched the second Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign which involves the sale of exclusive designer t-shirts to raise millions for Ireland's Action Breast Cancer (Irish Cancer Society) and Europa Donna Ireland to help younger women with breast cancer.^[23][24]

Personal life[link]

Christensen lived with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence on and off in France and Denmark for a period of five years in the early 1990s.^[25] She was married to actor Norman Reedus for five years, together they have a son named Mingus Lucien Reedus (born October 13, 1999).^[26] Reedus and Christensen split in 2003.^[27][28] While maintaining careers in photography and clothing design, Christensen says of her son, "He's all that matters," she says. "He's my best friend."^[29]

Christensen was heading to actor Heath Ledger's New York apartment on the day that he died, calling Ledger, only to get his voicemail.^[30]

Christensen has an apartment in Copenhagen and lives in Manhattan, where she drives "the only type of car I've ever had", a Morris Minor.^[31][32] She reported in 2007 that she would be giving up her place in Monaco.^[33]

Christensen has claimed on several occasions to be a cheese addict.^[33][34][35]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helena Christensen

External links[link]

• Helena Christensen at the Internet Movie Database
• Helena Christensen at the Fashion Model Directory
• Helena Christensen Profile HELLO! Magazine
• Awareness Raising: "What's Your Excuse?" Food Bank For New York City Past Campaigns public service announcement
• Christensen's acceptance speech at the 2008 Can-Do Awards Dinner. Food Bank For New York City.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Steven Meisel (born 1954) is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex. He is now considered one of the most successful fashion photographers in the industry, shooting regularly for both US and Italian Vogue, and lately W (also published by Condé Nast).

Early life[link]

He was born in 1954. His fascination for beauty and models started at a young age. At that time Meisel would not play with toys, but would instead draw women all the time. He used to turn to magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar as sources of inspiration for his drawings. Meisel dreamt of women from the high society like Gloria Guinness and Babe Paley, who personified to his eyes the ideas of beauty and high society. Other icons were his mother and his sister.

As he became obsessed with models such as Twiggy, Veruschka, and Jean Shrimpton, at 12 years old he asked some girlfriends to call model agencies and, by pretending to be secretaries of Richard Avedon, to get pictures of the models. To meet famous model Twiggy, the 12-year-old Meisel stood outside waiting for her at Melvin Sokolsky's studio.

He studied at the High School of Art and Design and Parsons The New School for Design where he attended different courses but, as affirmed in an interview with Ingrid Sischy for Vogue France, he finally majored in fashion illustration.

Career[link]

One of Meisel's first jobs was to work for fashion designer Halston as an illustrator. He also taught illustration part-time at Parsons. Meisel never thought he could become a photographer. He admired photographers like Jerry Schatzberg, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon and Bert Stern. He felt that illustration was a thing of the past and found photography as a lasting medium. Later on, while working at Women's Wear Daily as an illustrator, he went to Elite Model Management where two girls working there allowed him take pictures of some of their models. He would photograph them in his apartment in Gramercy Park or on the street: on weekdays he would work at Women's Wear Daily and on weekends with the models. One of them was Phoebe Cates. Some of these models took their pictures to Seventeen magazine to show their model books and the people at Seventeen subsequently called Meisel and asked if he wanted to work with them.

Meisel currently works for many different fashion magazines, including US and Italian Vogue, in which he has photographed every cover for two decades. His studio is located in New York City at 64 Wooster Street but he often rents the studios at Pier59 in New York and Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles.

Meisel has contributed photos for the covers of several popular albums and singles, including two RIAA Diamond-certified albums, Madonna's 1984 album "Like a Virgin" and Mariah Carey's 1995 album Daydream. His work also can be seen on the cover of Madonna's single "Bad Girl" (a nude), the limited picture disc for Madonna's UK single release of "Fever" (a partial nude), and Mariah Carey's single "Fantasy" (simply a different crop of the photo on the cover of the Daydream album).

Fashion campaigns[link]

Amongst others, Meisel has shot campaigns for Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein (for whom his campaigns were very controversial). Meisel also shoots Prada campaigns each season — having done so since 2004. In April 2008 he shot friend Madonna for Vanity Fair, and later in the year he shot her for the 2009 spring campaign by Louis Vuitton at Splashlight's Skylight Studio.

He is a close friend of designer Anna Sui for whom he also shot several campaigns, even though Sui rarely uses advertising to promote her clothing. He also works closely with digital artist Pascal Dangin.

Influence[link]

As one of the most powerful photographers in the fashion industry, Meisel is credited with "discovering" or promoting the careers of many successful models, including top models Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Kristen McMenamy, Amber Valletta, Snejana Onopka, Viktoriya Sasonkina, Iris Strubegger, Lara Stone, Coco Rocha, Caroline Trentini, Liya Kebede, Karen Elson, Doutzen Kroes, and Raquel Zimmerman, propelling them to fame by regularly featuring them in Vogue and various campaigns, notably Prada, considered one of the most desired campaigns in the business. Meisel's influence and training seems to also extend past models. He used his influence among the fashion elite to create an issue of Vogue that would show only black models. The issue was released in July 2008 with the purpose of addressing the racism seen lately in fashion magazines, runways, and advertising campaigns. He also launched the career of Ross Van Der Heide, a young fashion designer, by showing Ross's artwork to Anna Sui.

He launched the careers of many models and persuaded British model Karen Elson to shave her eyebrows off which earned her the nickname 'Le Freak'

Meisel has been the force behind the careers of people he regularly used on his Vogue shoots; hairstylists Oribe Canales, Garren, Orlando Pita and Guido Palau, and make-up artists François Nars, Laura Mercier, Pat McGrath and the late Kevyn Aucoin owe some of their success to the photographer.

Anna & Franca[link]

Meisel has been a protégé of both Franca Sozzani and Anna Wintour, editors-in-chief of Italian and American Vogue, respectively. For the former, he photographs the cover of every issue, something generally unheard of in the ever changing fashion industry.

Meisel often creates layouts which are controversial, by juxtaposing fashion and politics and/or social standards. For example, in the September 2006 issue of Vogue Italia, Meisel played with the concept of restricted liberties post-September 11 America, with the models portraying terrorists and highly trained policemen. It caused a stir in the press, as the models were presented in violent compositions where they could be seen as being victimized. It also elicited a negative response from feminists which saw the role of the women as being undermined by their male counterparts.

Artist Rep agency Art + Commerce represents Steven Meisel for image licensing and advertising.^[1]

Private Life[link]

Meisel is openly gay.

Meisel is notorious for rarely giving interviews or being photographed. However, in one of few cases, he was interviewed by Ingrid Sischy for Vogue Paris^{[citation needed]}. The following year, Meisel agreed to be interviewed for 032c magazine by Pierre-Alexandre de Looz. De Looz' piece, "Who is Steven Meisel?"^[2] was accompanied by a 14-page fold-out retrospective of Meisel's twenty years of covers for Vogue Italia.^[3]

Album[link]

Meisel is also one of very few famous photographers that does not have a proper book solely dedicated to his work. A book collecting some of his photographs called Steven Meisel^[4] was published by German teNeues Buchverlag in 2003 and sold out.

Further reading[link]

1. ^ http://www.artandcommerce.com/aac/C.aspx?VP=Mod_StaticPage.StaticPage_VPage&SP=home&HN=T
2. ^ de Looz, Pierre-Alexandre. Who is Steven Meisel 032c magazine (issue 16), Berlin, Winter 2008/2009
3. ^ Meisel, Steven. Vogue Italia archive 032c magazine (issue 16), Berlin, Winter 2008/2009
4. ^ Meisel, S. Steven Meisel (Broschiert) (German website), Teneues Buchverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-570-19421-3

External links[link]

• Portfolio at Art and Commerce agency