Twiggy

Twiggy, born Lesley Hornby on 19 September 1949 in Neasden, then part of Middlesex and now a suburb of north-west London, is an English model, actress, and singer who became one of the defining cultural figures of the 1960s. She is the third daughter of Nellie Lydia Hornby, a factory worker at a printing firm, and William Norman Hornby, a carpenter and joiner originally from Lancashire. Her two older sisters, Shirley and Vivien, were born fifteen and seven years before her, respectively. She attended Brondesbury and Kilburn High School and learned to sew from her mother at an early age, a skill she later used to make her own clothes.

Her path into modeling began in January 1966, when celebrity hairdresser Leonard of Mayfair styled her hair into a short crop and arranged test photographs with photographer Barry Lategan. The images were displayed in Leonard's salon, where Daily Express fashion journalist Deirdre McSharry encountered them and arranged a follow-up shoot. The resulting article declared the then-sixteen-year-old Hornby "The Face of '66." Her boyfriend at the time, hairdresser Nigel Davies, became her manager, adopted the name Justin de Villeneuve, and encouraged her to take the professional name Twiggy, derived from her childhood nickname "Twigs." De Villeneuve managed her career for seven years.

Standing five feet six inches tall and weighing six and a half stone, Twiggy built a look centered on her slight, androgynous figure, short hair, and heavily layered false eyelashes. She commanded fees of £80 an hour and launched her own clothing line, Twiggy Dresses, in 1967. That same year she was voted British Woman of the Year and had already been named The Face of 1966 by the Daily Express. Her arrival at Kennedy Airport in New York in March 1967 was covered by the press, and publications including The New Yorker, Life, and Newsweek reported extensively on her. During 1967 she modeled in France, Japan, and the United States, and appeared on the covers of both British and American editions of Vogue as well as The Tatler. She has appeared on the cover of Vogue and its international editions fourteen times in total. Among the photographers who have photographed her are Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, and Steven Meisel.

Following her modeling career, Twiggy transitioned into acting. Her performance in the 1971 film The Boy Friend earned her two Golden Globe Awards. In 1983, she made her Broadway debut in the musical My One and Only, a credit that brought her both a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical that same year. She subsequently hosted her own television series, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities, and later served as a judge on the reality competition America's Next Top Model. Her 1998 autobiography, Twiggy in Black and White, reached the best-seller lists. From 2005 onward, she modeled for the British retailer Marks and Spencer, appearing in television advertisements and print campaigns. She has been credited with contributing to the company's commercial revival during that period. She holds the title of Dame and her married name is Lesley Lawson.