Shelley was one of the highest-paid Ford Models
in the 1970s to the early 1980s
Shelley was spotted by A&P supermarket heir Huntington Hartford at a debutante ball when she was just 14 years old and he urged her to try modeling. Shelley wasn't interested at first. But then she was taught never to close doors on opportunities that came her way; so she decided to take a peek. She ended up in model agent Eileen Ford's office in New York (her mother, a former model herself, and Mrs. Ford were acquainted); and the rest is history. She became one of the top Ford Supermodels of all time and one of the first models to sign those lucrative and exclusive modeling contracts models nowadays aspire to get.
a writeup on the top Ford Models of all time,
circa 1987
Many of the most famous models in the world were Ford Models. In 1987, a writeup called "Best-Built Fords" listed them all down with comments from The Godmother Eileen Ford herself. The list included Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Ali MacGraw, Shelley Hack, Lauren Hutton, Cheryl Tiegs, Cristina Ferrare, Kim Basinger, Jerry Hall, Christie Brinkley, Shari Belafonte and Brooke Shields. The list wasn't complete though. The other notable Ford Supermodels as of 1987 were:
other notable Ford Supermodels as of 1987:
Carmen Dell'Orefice, Jean Patchett, Dovima,
Wilhelmina Cooper, Twiggy, Evelyn Kuhn
Carmen Dell'Orefice
- she's the Supermodel with the longest tenure; she has been modeling since the 1940s and now, in her 80's, is still a cover girl and still fabulous
Jean Patchett
- the model on two of the most famous Vogue covers - January and April 1950
Dovima
- her photo set "Dovima with Elephants" by Richard Avedon is legendary. she appeared in the movie Funny Face alongside Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn
Wilhelmina Cooper
- she eventually opened her own successful modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models, which later represented Supermodel Gia Carangi
Twiggy
- the face of Youthquake in the 1960s
Evelyn Kuhn
- probably the very first model to ever sign an exclusive beauty contract (with Revlon) which started the trend where models wanted to secure contracts
other notable Ford Supermodels as of 1987:
Anjelica Huston, Karen Graham, Beverly Johnson,
Shelley Smith, Rene Russo, Margaux Hemingway
Anjelica Huston
- who went on to win an Academy Award for the 1985 film Prizzi's Honor which was directed by her father John Huston and co-starred Jack Nicholson, her former flame
Karen Graham
- Estée Lauder's breathtakingly beautiful muse and spokesmodel for 15 years
Beverly Johnson
- Donyale Luna was the first African-American model on the cover of any Vogue (Vogue UK March 1966). Beverly was the first African-American model on the cover of "American" Vogue, which is a huge deal as well
Shelley Smith
- she was so versatile, she was on covers of competing magazines simultaneously
Rene Russo
- she was a favorite of Vogue for covers and editorials; she gained Hollywood fame when she starred in the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan
Margaux Hemingway
- the first model to ever get a million-dollar contract, not a series of contracts that amounted to a million dollars
other notable Ford Supermodels as of 1987:
Rosie Vela, Janice Dickinson, Kim Alexis,
Catherine Oxenberg, Jacki Adams, Renée Simonsen
Rosie Vela
- she too was a favorite of Vogue for covers and editorials; her debut album Zazu was certified silver in the UK in 1987
Janice Dickinson
- she was initially turned down by Ford for being too ethnic, but was eventually taken in; she became a judge in the reality show America's Next Top Model from 2003–2006
Kim Alexis
- she appeared in a gazillion ads and spreads during her tenure as a Supermodel and took over from Lauren Hutton in the 1980s as the face of Revlon's Ultima II line
Catherine Oxenberg
- she is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and was a already successful Ford model before she joined the cast of the TV series Dynasty, playing Amanda Carrington, in 1984
Jacki Adams
- she appeared on countless magazine covers, was a Chanel muse in the early 1980s, and was the face of Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics in the 1980s
Renee Simonsen
- she won Eileen Ford's international modeling contest Face of the 80s (later renamed Supermodel of the World) in 1982 and became one of the most sought-after models in the 1980s