Naomi Elaine Campbell was born on 22 May 1970, in Streatham, South London to Jamaican-born dancer, Valerie Morris .
She is an English model, actress and businesswoman.
Discovered at the age of 15, she established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s, 1990s and earlier 2000s, including modern day.
Naomi Campbell was one of six models of her generation, declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. However, Naomi Campbell spent her early years in Rome, Italy, where her mother worked as a modern dancer.From age three, she attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and at 10, she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet. Naomi also attended Dunraven School.
Campbell was 7 in 1978, when she made her first public appearance in the music video for Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”. At the age of 12, she tap-danced in the music video for Culture Club’s “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”. She had studied dance from age 3 to 16, and originally intended by to be a dancer. In 1986, while still a student of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Campbell was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro Model Agency, while window-shopping in Covent Garden. Her career quickly took off—in April, just before her 16th birthday, when she appeared on the cover of British Elle.
Over the next few years, Campbell’s career progressed steadily: she walked the catwalk for such designers as Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa, and Isaac Mizrahi and posed for such photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber. By the late 1980s, Campbell with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, formed a trio known as the “Trinity”, who became the most recognisable and in-demand models of their generation.
In addition to her modelling career, Campbell has embarked on other ventures, including an R&B studio album and several acting appearances in film and television, such as the modelling-competition reality show “The Face” and its international offshoots. Campbell is also involved in charity work for various causes.
In 1998, Time declared the end of the supermodel era.Campbell continued modelling, both on the runway and, more frequently, on print. In 1999, she signed her first cosmetics contract with Cosmopolitan Cosmetics, a division of Wella, through which she launched several signature fragrances. In November of that year, she posed with 12 other top models for the “Modern Muses” cover of the Millennium Issue of American Vogue, shot by Annie Leibovitz.The following month, she appeared in a white string bikini and furs on the cover of Playboy. In October 2001, she appeared with rapper Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs on the cover of British Vogue, with the headline “Naomi and Puff: The Ultimate Power Duo”.
In 2007, she walked the catwalk for Dior’s 60th-anniversary fashion show at Versailles. In July 2008, she appeared with fellow black models Liya Kebede, Sessilee Lopez and Jourdan Dunn on the gatefold cover of a landmark all-black issue of Italian Vogue, shot by Steven Meisel. In September of that year, Campbell reunited with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Stephanie Seymour for “A League of Their Own”, a Vanity Fair feature on the supermodel legacy.
In 2011, Campbell appeared with Liya Kebede and Iman on the cover of the 40th-anniversary issue of Essence. She also starred as Duran Duranfrontman Simon Le Bon in the band’s music video for “Girl Panic!”, with Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Eva Herzigova and Yasmin Le Bonportraying the other band members; they appeared in the November edition of British Harper’s Bazaar in an editorial titled “The Supers vs. Duran Duran”. Campbell performed with Kate Moss and other supermodels in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, where they modelled haute couture to represent British fashion. Campbell wore a design by Alexander McQueen—a staggered hem gown with a train speckled with flecks of gold.
In March 2013, Campbell graced the inaugural cover of Numéro Russia. Campbell also became involved in reality television through the modelling competition The Face and its international offshoots. In the U.S., she served as a coach and judge, along with Karolina Kurkova and Coco Rocha, on Oxygen’s The Face, hosted by photographer Nigel Barker. She also hosted the British version of the show, which aired on Sky Living later that same year, and The Face Australia, which ran on Fox8 in 2014.
In 2014, Campbell covered the May issue of VogueAustralia, the September issue of Vogue Japan, and the November issue of Vogue Turkey; the latter two were special editions celebrating Campbell and fellow supermodels. Naomi Campbell also covered the Vietnamese, Singaporean and the 35th anniversary Latin American edition of Harper’s Bazaar. In 2014, Campbell was named TV Personality of the year by Glamour Magazine. The award was presented at the annual Glamour Women of The Year Awards in London.
The following year, she closed the Fall/Winter Zac Posen show at New York Fashion Week and featured in Spring/Summer 2015 campaigns for Burberry and lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur.
Campbell has walked the runways for Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Diane Von Furstenberg, Prada, Chanel, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Zac Posen, Blumarine, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferré, Versace, Helmut Lang, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Marchesa, Roberto Cavalli and Valentino.
She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Fendi, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Chloé, Versace, Givenchy, Blumarine, Yves Saint Laurent, Isaac Mizrahi, Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, La Perla, Dennis Basso, Philipp Plein, Mango, Thierry Mugler, Balmain, Nars, Roberto Cavalli, David Yurman, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, DSquared2, Express, H&M, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Avon, Revlon and Victoria’s Secret.
In 2015, Campbell signed on as a recurring character in the Fox drama Empire as Camilla Marks, a fashion designer and love interest to Hakeem Lyon, portrayed by Bryshere Y. Gray. In October 2015, Campbell was featured in a two-episode arc in American Horror Story: Hotel, as a Vogue fashion editor named Claudia Bankson.
In 2016, Campbell appeared in the music video for Anohni’s single “Drone Bomb Me”. In September 2017, Campbell appeared in Versace’s Spring/Summer 2018 show celebrating the late Gianni Versace, alongside Schiffer, Crawford, Christensen and Carla Bruni and also featured in the campaign for the collection. In February 2018, Campbell and Moss returned to the runway and closed Kim Jones’ final menswear show for Louis Vuitton. In April, she featured on the cover of British GQ alongside rapper Skepta.
In June 2018, Campbell received the Fashion Icon award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
In 2019, Campbell received the first beauty contract of her career, with NARS Cosmetics.
In the spring of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell began her own web series on YouTube, No Filter with Naomi, in which she conducts conversations with various guests. Her inaugural guest was Cindy Crawford, while subsequent guests ranged from Marc Jacobs, Adut Akech, and Christy Turlington to Ashley Graham and Nicole Richie.
In October 2020, Campbell and Apple TV+ announced a documentary about Campbell and fellow supermodels Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, directed by Barbara Kopple. The documentary, named “The Supermodels”, comes from Brian Grazer’s and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries.
In January 12, 2021, She was appointed Magical Kenya International Tourism Ambassador by Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. In March 2021, Campbell was named as the face of the relaunch advertising campaign for streetwearbrand Hood by Air.
