Twiggy (model) life and biography

Lesley Lawson née Hornby better known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree.

Twiggy was initially known for her androgynous looks, large eyes, long eyelashes, thin build, and short hair. In 1966, she was named “The Face of 1966” by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year.By 1967, Twiggy had modelled in France, Japan, and the U.S., and landed on the covers of Vogue and The Tatler. Her fame had spread worldwide.

After modelling, Twiggy went on to enjoy a successful career as a screen, stage, and television actress. She has hosted her own series, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities, and also appeared as a judge on the reality show America's Next Top Model. Her 1998 autobiography, Twiggy in Black and White, entered the bestseller lists. Since 2005, she has modelled for Marks and Spencer, most recently to promote their recent rebranding, appearing in TV adverts and print media, alongside Myleene Klass, Erin O'Connor, Lily Cole and others.

Twiggy married American actor Michael Witney in 1977. They had a daughter, Carly, born in 1978. The marriage ended with his sudden death in 1983 from a heart attack. Twiggy met Leigh Lawson in 1984.In 1988 they worked on the film Madame Sousatzka, and married that year in Sag Harbor, Long Island. Lawson adopted Twiggy’s daughter, Carly, who took on his surname. The couple resides in London, and also own a home in Southwold, Suffolk.
In her official site, she describes herself as being an ardent supporter of breast cancer research, animal welfare, and anti-fur campaigns.

Twiggy is best remembered as one of the first international supermodels and a fashion icon of the 1960s. Her greatest influence is Jean Shrimpton, whom Twiggy considers to be the world's first supermodel.
Twiggy has also been described as the successor to Jean Shrimpton. In January 1966, young Lesley Hornby had her hair colored and cut short in Mayfair at The House of Leonard, owned by celebrity hairdresser Leonard.The hair stylist was looking for models on whom to try out his new crop haircut and he styled her hair in preparation for a few test head shots.
A professional photographer Barry Lategan took several photos for Leonard, which the hairdresser hung in his salon.

Hornby's career quickly took off. She was 5'6" tall (short for a model), weighed 8 stone (51 kg, 110 lbs) and had a 31-23-32 figure, "with a new kind of streamlined, androgynous sex appeal."
Her hairdresser boyfriend, Nigel Davies, became her manager, changed his name to Justin de Villeneuve, and persuaded her to change her name to Twiggy (from “Twigs”, her childhood nickname[citation needed]). De Villeneuve credits himself for Twiggy’s discovery and her modelling success, and his version of events is often quoted in other biographies. Ten years her senior, he managed her lucrative career for seven years, overseeing her finances and enterprises during her heyday as a model.

Twiggy was soon seen in all the leading fashion magazines, commanding fees of £80 an hour, bringing out her own line of clothes called “Twiggy Dresses” in 1967,and taking the fashion world by storm. “I hated what I looked like,” she said once, “so I thought everyone had gone stark raving mad.” Twiggy’s look centered on three qualities: her stick thin figure, a boyishly short haircut and strikingly dark eyelashes. Describing how she obtained her prominent eyelashes, now known as Twiggys, she said, “Back then I was layering three pairs of false eyelashes over my own and would paint extra ‘twigs’ on my skin underneath.”

One month after the Daily Express article, Twiggy posed for her first shoot for Vogue. A year later, she had appeared in 13 separate fashion shoots in international Vogue editions.

After four years of modelling, Twiggy retired in 1970, claiming "You can't be a clothes hanger for your entire life!" She broke off with Justin de Villeneuve, who had been overseeing her business affairs since 1966, and released him from his duties as her manager, claiming in later years that "her career had more to do with that famous picture of her with those funny painted eyelashes, which appeared in the Daily Express under the headline 'The Face of 66' " than with his promotional efforts.

Twiggy embarked on an award-winning acting and singing career, starring in a variety of roles on stage and screen, and recording albums. In 1971, she made her film debut as an extra in Ken Russell's The Devils. The same year, she performed her first leading role in features as Polly Browne in Ken Russell's adaptation of Sandy Wilson's pastiche of 1920s hit musicals The Boy Friend. This marked her initial collaboration with Tommy Tune, and won her two Golden Globe Awards in 1972 (New Star of the Year - Actress and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy). In 1974, she made her West End stage debut in Cinderella, and made a second feature, the thriller W; co-starred with future husband Michael Whitney, and hosted her own British television series, Twiggs (later renamed Twiggy).

In 2001, Twiggy co-hosted the British magazine programme This Morning. In 2003, she released another album, Midnight Blue. Seventeen of the CD's 20 tracks had previously unreleased material from 1982–1990, including a duet with Leo Sayer, 'Save The Last Dance For Me' & a cover of the Stones' 'Ruby Tuesday'. Feel Emotion and Diamond have both been released onto CD format since. In 2005, she joined the cast of the television show America's Next Top Model for Cycles 5-9 as one of four judges, and a year later, she appeared on the cover of the Icons issue of SWINDLE magazine. She also returned to modelling, fronting a major television, press and billboard campaign for Marks & Spencer, the British department store chain. Her involvement in the advertising campaign has been credited for reviving Marks and Spencer's fortunes. In 2006, she portrayed herself as a nineteen-year-old in the radio play Elevenses with Twiggy for BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play series. She did not return to America's Next Top Model in its tenth season due to scheduling conflicts. Her replacement was model Paulina Porizkova.

Also in 2007, Sepia Records released a previously shelved album that Twiggy recorded in 1979, produced by Donna Summer and Juergen Koppers. Heaven In My Eyes ["Discotheque"] contains the eight original tracks due to be released, plus four remixes by The Outsider. The album was also made available on iTunes.
She is signed to London agency Models 1. In 2008, she supported the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign in support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, alongside fellow celebrities — comedian Alan Carr, singer Natalie Imbruglia, actress Anna Friel and DJ & presenter Edith Bowman.

In the summer of 2009, beauty company Olay debuted its "Definity Eye Cream" campaign depicting Twiggy. Accusations of airbrushing created a stir with the media and public. A website campaign set up by Jo Swinson, the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP, attracted 700 individual complaints. Procter & Gamble admitted to minor retouching and replaced the image. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced that the ad gave a “misleading” impression, but that no further action was required because the image had already been withdrawn.

Twiggy remains in the forefront of fashion for women of her age. She was the only one of the famous celebrities to survive being cut from the Mark & Spencer fashion team in 2010, when Dannii Minogue joined her for the spring/summer women's wear campaign. She's also started an HSN fashion line called the Twiggy London collection, and has begun a fashion blog to discuss the line.Women in their 60's and 70's are remaining stylish today, and this trend has been termed the "Twiggy effect".

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