Saturday, September 7, 2024

Original And Totally Unforgettable

a recent short writeup about Shelley, 2024
(and modeling pics of hers from the 1980s)
note: just one correction,
Shelley is a blue-eyed blonde

When Shelley graduated from Smith College in 1970, she decided to become a model full-time. Represented by the top model management company, Ford Models Inc., she began her transition from teen model to top model (and eventually to Supermodel.) Her then boyfriend, photographer Steen Svensson, and make-up artist extraordinaire Rick Gillette came up with test shots of Shelley in the early '70s with the hope that the images could get her on the pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar - which eventually happened. She appeared on both the US and international editions of the magazines. According to Rick, "In the early 70’s before "Charlie", before "Charlie’s Angels", Shelley Hack was an ex-teen model looking for a more sophisticated look to get her into Vogue. I was creating a portfolio with the same goal in mind." By the late 1970s and in the 1980s, Shelley was a certified Supermodel and was one of the highest-paid in the modeling industry. (For more, check out: Million-Dollar Faces)

a recent writeup about the Supermodels
of the 1980s, 2024

Aside from her role as Tiffany Welles in the hit TV series Charlie's Angels, Shelley is widely known as THE Charlie Girl - Revlon Charlie's glamorous and fabulous "It" Girl. Shelley was and always will be THE quintessential Charlie Girl. Her image embodied all the ideals of the brand - she was independent, bright, chic and confident. She catapulted the brand (as well as herself) to iconic status when she began endorsing it in 1976 and everyone who lived through the era remembers how much they emulated THE Charlie Girl. (For more, check out: The Woman They Aspired To Be) And Shelley's impact as THE Charlie Girl was so inspirational that it resonated beyond the 1970s and 1980s and has left a lasting legacy on generations of not just models but of women all over the world. So much so that she was included in the 25 Legendary Supermodels From the 80's list (that came out this August 2024) - along with Cindy Crawford, Patti Hansen, Iman, Cheryl Tiegs, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson, Cristina Ferrare, Tatjana Patitz, Paulina Porizkova, Carol Alt, Brooke Shields, Jerry Hall, Kim Alexis, Yasmin Le Bon, Janice Dickinson, Christie Brinkley, Ines de La Fressange, Estelle Lefebure, Kara Young, Isabella Rossellini, and Kathy Ireland. They are all legendary models who are definitely originals and totally unforgettable.

Supermodel Kara Young
back in the day and recently
(note: just one correction,
the Kara Young pic in the OG writeup
is the Tony-Award nominated actress,
not the Supermodel)