Twiggy

Before the term supermodel entered everyday language, Twiggy stood among the earliest women to gain worldwide recognition through fashion modeling. Her slender build and youthful charm ignited a lasting shift in the industry’s preferred aesthetic. She also ranked among the first prominent models to cross into entertainment, carving out a distinct path as both performer and vocalist. Born Leslie Hornby on September 19, 1949, in North London, she was the youngest of three daughters to William and Helen Hornby. Although she developed an early fascination with clothes after her mother instructed her in sewing, chance rather than planning propelled her into modeling. At sixteen, she visited the House of Leonard, an exclusive Mayfair salon, for a new hairstyle. Once her brown hair had been bleached blonde and cropped into a fashionable short cut, a stylist recommended her for an upcoming promotional photograph. Barry Lategan captured the images, which soon drew the notice of fashion writer Deidre McSharry. Weeks later McSharry published a profile in the Daily Express that anointed Hornby “the Face of ’66.” Adopting the professional name Twiggy, drawn from her childhood nickname “Twigs,” she rapidly became one of Europe’s most in-demand models. Vogue featured her only weeks after the newspaper story appeared, and recognition quickly spread to America and Japan. Her large blue eyes framed by dramatic lashes, together with her androgynous silhouette, helped define the visual language of London’s Swinging Sixties. Twiggy stepped away from modeling in 1970. Director Ken Russell then cast her in the lead of his stylized tribute to 1920s and 1930s musicals, The Girl Friend. The 1971 release showcased her acting, singing, and dancing; although the film underperformed commercially, reviewers largely praised her contributions. Three songs from its soundtrack—“I Could Be Happy with You,” “A Room in Bloomsbury,” and “You Are My Lucky Star”—appeared as singles. Later that year she issued the standalone Bell Records single “Zoo Dee Zoo Zong” backed with “Little Pleasure Acre.” In 1974 she hosted her own BBC variety series, which earned a second season and prompted an international contract with Phonogram. Mercury Records released her self-titled debut album, steeped in country material, in 1976. The record succeeded commercially in Britain; a follow-up, Please Get My Name Right, arrived in 1977. Her studio band for those sessions was the American group Clover, which also accompanied Elvis Costello on My Aim Is True. A third Mercury album was completed but shelved, though the track “Tomorrow Is Another Day” surfaced as a single in late 1977. After recording with longtime friend David Essex in 1978 and contributing to the children’s soundtrack Captain Beaky and his Band, Twiggy cut a disco project with Donna Summer and Juergen Koppers. The album remained unreleased until 2007, when it appeared as Heaven in My Eyes. Throughout the 1980s she concentrated on acting, appearing in The Blues Brothers, Club Paradise, Madame Sousatzka, and There Goes the Bride. She also portrayed Eliza Doolittle in a British television version of Pygmalion and co-starred in the Wonderworks children’s series Young Charlie Chaplin. In 1983 she made her Broadway debut opposite Tommy Tune—who had appeared in the film of The Boy Friend—in My One and Only. The production earned critical and commercial acclaim, securing Twiggy a Tony nomination, and Atlantic Records issued the original cast album. Having established herself in musical theater on both sides of the Atlantic, she returned to the studio in 1996 for London Pride: Songs from the London Stage, a collection of British theatrical standards. In 1998 she collaborated with Marilyn Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez on a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be with You” for the film Dead Man on Campus. The two have not worked together since; Hornby soon turned to hosting the British talk series Twiggy’s People. She returned to the stage in 1999 as Gertrude Lawrence in If Love Were All, with Varese Sarabande releasing the cast album that year. In 2005 she joined the judging panel of America’s Next Top Model and resumed modeling as the face of Marks & Spencer. She has also introduced her own clothing and bedding collections. In 2011 she recorded the album Romantically Yours, featuring guests Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, and her daughter Carly Lawson.