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. For Shelley, modeling was a means to an end though. Eileen Ford said of Shelley, "Modeling was just a vehicle she used to get educated. It was never a thing where she wanted to be the best model in the world. She simply became one of them despite herself."
