Their faces have inspired photographers, advertisers, musicians and movie-makers alike; these ladies were pioneers in modeling and were known as The Faces of the 60s. Check out the most popular models of 1960s:
Colleen Corby
Two weeks after walking into Eileen Ford’s modeling agency (ostensibly to look for a summer job), Corby was sent on her first modeling assignment.
By the end of that first summer, she was steadily booking assignments and her parents enrolled her in Manhattan’s Professional Children’s School, which allows for the irregular schedules of actors and models. By her last year of high school, she was so busy she hardly ever attended classes
By the mid-1960s, Corby’s popularity was at its peak. In 1963, she signed a multi-year movie contract with Universal Pictures, and had every intention of making acting her new career. A
lthough, sadly for her, it never really got off the ground. Her popularity as a model, however, was still strong; she appeared in TV commercials, magazines and catalogs. Corby was most closely associated with Seventeen magazine, appearing on an unprecedented 15 covers in the 1960s (five times in 1964 alone) and in the magazine’s fashion spreads almost every month.
Donyale Luna
After being discovered by the photographer David McCabe, she moved from Detroit to New York City to pursue a modeling career. In January 1965, a sketch of Luna appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. She became the first black model to appear on the cover of a Vogue magazine; the March 1966 British issue, shot by photographer David Bailey.
According to the New York Times, she was under exclusive contract to the photographer Richard Avedon for a year at the beginning of her career.
An article in Time magazine published on April 1, 1966, “The Luna Year”, wrote “a new heavenly body who, because of her striking singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season. Donyale Luna, as she calls herself, is unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment.
She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed if one reads Harper’s Bazaar, Paris Match, Britain’s Queen, the British, French or American editions of Vogue.”
By the 1970s, however, Luna’s modeling career began to decline due to her drug use, eccentric behavior and tendency to be difficult.
A designer for whom Luna once worked said, “She [Luna] took a lot of drugs and never paid her bills”. Fellow model Beverly Johnson later said, “[Luna] doesn’t wear shoes winter or summer. She went up and down the runways on her hands and knees. She didn’t show up for bookings. She didn’t have a hard time, she made it hard for herself.”
Pattie Boyd
Patricia Anne “Pattie” Weston (originally Boyd) is an English model, photographer and author. She was the first wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Boyd began her fashion career in 1962, modelling in London, New York and Paris.
She was photographed by David Bailey and Terence Donovan, and appeared on the cover of Vogue. Boyd appeared on the cover of the UK and Italian editions of Vogue magazine in 1969, with other popular models of the day, such as Twiggy, who based her early modelling appearance on Boyd.
Boyd was asked by Gloria Stavers to write a column for 16 Magazine, and appeared in a TV commercial promoting Smith’s crisps. She was cast for A Hard Day’s Night, where she met George Harrison.
Boyd exhibited her photos of Harrison and Clapton at the San Franciso Art Exchange on Valentine’s Day 2005, in a show entitled Through the Eye of a Muse.
The exhibition appeared in San Francisco and London during 2006, and in La Jolla, California in 2008. Boyd’s photography was shown in Dublin and in Toronto in 2008 and at the Blender Gallery in Sydney, Australia and in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2009 and 2010.
Her exhibit “Yesterday and Today: The Beatles and Eric Clapton” was shown in Santa Catalina Island in California,and at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, DC in 2011.
In 2007 Boyd published her autobiography, which includes some of her photographs, titled Wonderful Today in the UK; in the US it was published with the title Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. In the United States, Boyd’s book debuted at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list
Jean Shrimpton
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During her career, Shrimpton was widely reported to be the “world’s highest paid model”,the “most famous model”and the “most photographed in the world”
.She was also described as having the “world’s most beautiful face” and as “the most beautiful girl in the world”. She was dubbed “The It Girl”, “The Face”, “The Face of the Moment”, and “The Face of the ’60s”. Glamour named her “Model of The Year” in June 1963.
She contrasted with the aristocratic-looking models of the 1950s by representing the coltish, gamine look of the youthquake movement in 1960s Swinging London, and she was reported as “the symbol of Swinging London”.
Breaking the popular mould of voluptuous figures with her long legs and slim figure, she was nicknamed “The Shrimp”. Shrimpton was also known for her long hair with a fringe, wide doe-eyes, long wispy eyelashes, arched brows,and pouty lips.
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson widely known by the nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress and singer. In the mid-1960s, she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree.
Twiggy was initially known for her thin build (thus her nickname) and her androgynous look consisting of big eyes, long eyelashes, 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 modeled in France, Japan, and the US, 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. As an actress, Twiggy’s role in The Boy Friend (1971) brought her two Golden Globe Awards.
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 best-seller lists. Since 2005, she has modeled for Marks and Spencer, most recently to promote their recent re-branding, appearing in television advertisements and print media, alongside Myleene Klass, Erin O’Connor, Lily Cole and others.In 2012, she worked alongside Marks & Spencer’s designers to launch an exclusive clothing collection for the M&S Woman range.