Penelope Tree

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Penelope Tree
Born (1949-12-02) December 2, 1949 (age 74) [1]
NationalityBritish/American [1]
Occupation Fashion model
Years active1960s onwards
Known for Swinging sixties
Notable work The Rutles (1978 film)
Spouse Ricky Fataar
Partner(s) David Bailey
Stuart MacFarlane
Children2
Parents
Relatives Jeremy Tree (half-brother)
Frances FitzGerald (half-sister)

Penelope Tree (born 2 December 1949) is an English fashion model who rose to prominence during the Swinging Sixties in London. [2]

Contents

Family

Penelope Tree is the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a U.S. socialite and political activist, and Ronald, a British journalist, investor and Conservative MP. She is the half-sister of racehorse trainer Jeremy Tree and author Frances FitzGerald, and she is a niece of former Massachusetts governor Endicott Peabody.

Life and career

Tree's family initially objected to her career as a model, [2] and when she was first photographed at age 13 by Diane Arbus, her father vowed to sue if the pictures were published. [3]

Tree made a striking appearance at the 1966 Black and White Ball thrown by author Truman Capote, wearing a black V-neck tunic with long slashes from the bottom making floating panels, worn over black tights. [4]

The sensation she caused led photographers Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon to work together to make her a supermodel. [5] She was 16 and her father had relented. David Bailey described Penelope as "an Egyptian Jiminy Cricket". [6]

In 1967, Tree moved into Bailey's flat in London's Primrose Hill neighbourhood. [2] It became a social space for hippies during the "Swinging Sixties" who, Bailey recalled, would be "smoking joints I had paid for and calling me a capitalist pig!" In another famous quote, when John Lennon was asked to encapsulate Tree in three words, he replied, "Hot, Hot, Hot, Smart, Smart, Smart!" [7]

Tree has been extensively compared to The Beatles for inspiring the swinging 60's movement and for galvanizing a generation of young American females.[ citation needed ] Scars from late-onset acne ended her career [2] in the early 1970s: "I went from being sought-after to being shunned because nobody could bear to talk about the way I looked." [8] In 1972, she was arrested for possession of cocaine. [7] [8] In 1974, Bailey and Tree split up and she moved to Sydney. She appeared in the British comedy film The Rutles in 1978. [9]

She was married to South African musician Ricky Fataar (a member of The Flames, The Rutles, and the Beach Boys). She has two children: Paloma Fataar, a graduate of Bard College and a student of Tibetan Buddhism and music; and Michael MacFarlane; by her relationship with Australian Jungian analyst Stuart MacFarlane.

Penelope Tree is a patron of Lotus Outreach, a charity which works in Cambodia in partnership with local grassroots women's organisations to give girls from the very poorest families the wherewithal to go to school. [10]

In 1983, English indiepop band Felt released a song called "Penelope Tree", featuring a picture of her on the cover. [11]

In 2011, Tree appeared as an interviewee for a documentary on the life of fashion editor Diana Vreeland.[ citation needed ]

In 2017, she was interviewed for a documentary about Beaton called Love, Cecil

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truman Capote</span> American author (1924–1984)

Truman Garcia Capote was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966). His works have been adapted into more than 20 films and television productions.

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David Royston Bailey is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Bailey has also directed several television commercials and documentaries.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Penelope Tree". Models.com. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gibsone, Harriet (25 May 2024). "Penelope Tree looks back: 'I like to live a life that doesn't depend on image or possessions'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  3. Seebohm, Caroline (October 21, 1997). "No Regrets: The Life of Marietta Tree". Washington Monthly. Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original (Book Review) on February 28, 2008.
  4. Davis, Deborah (February 1, 2006). Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball. John Wiley & Sons. p. 195. ISBN   978-0-470-09821-9.
  5. Davis. Party of the Century. p. 227.
  6. Harrison, Martin; Bailey, David (August 16, 1999). Birth of the Cool: 1957-1969 (First ed.). Viking Studio. p. 273. ISBN   978-0670888184.
  7. 1 2 France, Louise (August 2, 2008). "People thought I was a freak. I kind of liked that". The Observer . London: Guardian News and Media Limited. When John Lennon was asked to describe her in three words he is said to have replied: 'Hot, hot, hot, smart, smart, smart!'
  8. 1 2 France, Louise (August 24, 2008). "I felt just like an alien — so I thought I could look like one". Independent.ie. Dublin, Ireland. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  9. Penelope Tree at IMDb
  10. Penelope Tree (June 2009). "Why Cambodia?". Glass Magazine. London: 102. ISSN   2041-6318.
  11. Felt - Penelope Tree, June 1983, retrieved 30 June 2023