Campbell, Naomi (1970– )

English model. After appearing on the cover of Elle magazine in 1986, she became a major supermodel in the 1980s and 90s. Her success led to forays into film, television, and popular music, as well as business ventures in fashion and restaurants.

Her exotic, sophisticated look derives from her mixed Jamaican and Chinese heritage, and she was the first black model to appear on the covers of Time and French and British Vogue magazines. She represented fashion houses such as Ralph Lauren, Gianni Versace, and Valentino, and became the spokesmodel for advertising campaigns for brands such as Lee Jeans, Olympus, H&M (Hennes and Mauritz), and Louis Vuitton.

Campbell was born in London, where she studied acting at the London Academy for Performing Arts and at the Italia Conti Academy. She appeared in a number of music videos including Bob Marley's ‘Is This Love?’ (1978) and Culture Club's ‘I'll Tumble 4 Ya’ (1982), as well as films such as David Frankel's Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Spike Lee's Girl 6 (1996). She released the album Babywoman in 1995, which was panned by music critics but achieved moderate commercial success in Japan. She co-wrote the novel Swan in 1997, and in the late 1990s developed her own line of perfumes and cosmetics.