Rachel Williams

Last updated
Rachel Williams
Born (1967-04-29) April 29, 1967 (age 56) [1]
New York City, New York, U.S.
Modeling information
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) [2]
Hair colorBlonde [2]
Eye colorBlue [2]

Rachel Williams (born April 29, 1967) [1] is an American model, TV presenter, and landscape designer.

Contents

Early life

Williams is the daughter of architect Tod Williams and Patricia Agnes Jones, a dancer. Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she and her younger brother, filmmaker Tod "Kip" Williams, lived with their mother in the West Village in Lower Manhattan. [3] After her mother's remarriage in the late 1970s, they moved to Woodstock, New York. [3] After graduating from high school, Williams enrolled at Mills College. After a year, she transferred to Bard College where she majored in art history. [3]

Career

In November 1985, Williams was discovered by a Click Model Management employee while visiting her father's studio. On the advice of the employee, Williams met with Click's owner Frances Grill. Grill deemed Williams too heavy to model but signed her to a conditional, one-year contract after Williams promised to lose weight. [3] Williams returned to school and, over the course of a year, lost twenty pounds. She returned to Click in October 1986, and renewed her contract. [3]

Williams' career started off slow but she got her break in January 1987. After another model became sick and was unable to make a swimsuit shoot for Mademoiselle , Williams was assigned to the job on the recommendation of Grill. Williams' pictures from the shoot drew the interest of photographers. Her next job was a photoshoot in Barbados for Arthur Elgort. Upon her return, she worked with Bill King for French Elle . [3]

Williams' popularity grew. In February 1987, she booked jobs for the British and Italian editions of Vogue and a sitting for Bloomingdales. The following month, she was photographed by Bruce Weber for Calvin Klein. [3] Williams later appeared in Cosmo , and did catalog work for Victoria's Secret and J. Crew. She also appeared in advertising campaigns for Bon Jour jeans, Ciara perfume, Absolut vodka, [4] and Revlon. [5]

Dissatisfied with the quality of her modeling jobs, Williams left Click after two years and signed with the Ford Agency. Click filed an $11 million breach of contract lawsuit against Williams. Click also filed a lawsuit against the Ford Agency and model Christy Turlington who was signed with Ford. Click claimed that Turlington and Ford's vice president Eileen Ford persuaded Williams to break her contract with Click to sign with Ford. [3] In April 1990, a judge ruled in Turlington's favor. [6]

At the height of her modeling career, Williams left to study architecture at Columbia University. After graduation, she returned to modeling. In 1992, she posed for Playboy . In 1995, she appeared in an ad campaign photographed by Richard Avedon and walked the runway for Thierry Mugler's Winter haute couture show, [5] and was the cover model for the Red Krayola's EP Amor and Language. From 1996 to 1997, she co-hosted the Channel 4 series The Girlie Show . In 1996 she was also featured in videos for George Michael's "Fastlove" and Simply Red's "Never Never Love". In 2000, Williams guest starred as "Dr. Rachel Williams, Supermodel", in an episode of Strangers with Candy . In February 2009, Williams opened Giles Deacon's Fall/Winter fashion show during London Fashion Week.[ citation needed ]

Personal life

While attending college, Williams dated restaurateur Eric Goode. [5]

In March 1995, Williams' manager publicly announced her relationship with British pop singer Alice Temple.:

"The simplicity of the story is what makes it really beautiful. Here are two people who respect each other and have an attraction based on their life and their lifestyle. They have a lot of time to be with each other (sharing a flat in London). They've created a life together. Rachel has no problem with the fact that she's with Alice. 'I never thought to hide it,' the megamodel known as The Amazon shrugged in coming out of the fashion closet to shocked headlines. 'I've had flings with women before, though my long-term relationships have always been with men. I was pleasantly surprised when I fell for Alice!'" [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gia Carangi</span> American model (1960–1986)

Gia Marie Carangi was an American model, considered by many to be the first supermodel. She was featured on the cover of numerous magazines, including multiple editions of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and appeared in advertising campaigns for luxury fashion houses such as Armani, Dior, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supermodel</span> Highly paid fashion model

A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothing brands. They may have multimillion-dollar contracts, endorsements, and campaigns. Supermodels have branded themselves as household names and worldwide recognition is associated with their modeling careers. They have been on the covers of leading fashion magazines. Claudia Schiffer stated in 2007 that, "In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time so that people can recognise the girls."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Schiffer</span> German model (born 1970)

Claudia Maria Schiffer is a German model and actress based in England. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compared to Brigitte Bardot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Evangelista</span> Canadian model (born 1965)

Linda Evangelista is a Canadian fashion model. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential models of all time, and has been featured on over 700 magazine covers. Evangelista is primarily known for being the longtime "muse" of photographer Steven Meisel, as well as for the phrase: "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day."

Bridget Hall is an American model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Hunter</span> New Zealand model and actress

Rachel Hunter is a New Zealand model, actress, and host of Imagination Television's Rachel Hunter's Tour of Beauty. She has appeared on several magazine covers, including Vogue, Elle, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar. She has been on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue twice: in 1994 and in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christy Turlington</span> American model and humanitarian

Christy Nicole Turlington Burns is an American fashion model and humanitarian. Turlington initially attracted fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a supermodel. She represented Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign in 1989 and again in 2014, and also represents Maybelline. Grace Coddington, the long-time creative director of American Vogue magazine, has described Turlington as "the most beautiful woman in the world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Seymour</span> American model and actress

Stephanie Michelle Seymour is an American model and actress. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was one of the most popular supermodels, being featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the cover of Vogue, as well as being a former Victoria's Secret Angel. She had a book published about beauty tips and has participated in advertising campaigns for clothing and cosmetic products. In 2017, Seymour launched her own line of lingerie. She has ventured into acting with one appearance in each medium of film, television, and video games.

Nicole Jo Linkletter Nathanson is an American fashion model and the winner of Cycle 5 of America's Next Top Model. Her prizes were a contract with Ford Models, a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl, and her photo appearing in a Ford Fusion (Americas) national advert. She is the first of two America's Next Top Model winners from North Dakota, the second being CariDee English, winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7.

The American television game show The Price Is Right has, since its 1972 relaunch, employed a number of models to showcase the prizes and items that are given away on the show. From 1972 to 2007, the group was referred to as "Barker's Beauties", in reference to Bob Barker, who hosted the show during that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Ford</span> American model agency executive (1922–2014)

Eileen Cecile Ford was an American modeling agency executive. Along with her husband Gerard "Jerry" Ford, she co-founded Ford Models in 1946, which emerged as one of the earliest and most successful modeling agencies in the mid and late-20th century.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects are a husband-and-wife architectural firm founded in 1986, based in New York. Williams and Tsien began working together in 1977. Their studio focuses on work for institutions including museums, schools, and nonprofit organizations.

Tod Culpan "Kip" Williams is an American director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the 2010 horror film Paranormal Activity 2.

Kristen McMenamy is an American model known for her unconventional, androgynous appearance. Originally a long-haired redhead, she reinvented her look in the early 1990s by having her hair cut short and dyed black, and her eyebrows shaved off. Her career was boosted by the advent of the grunge fashion trend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Models</span> American modeling agency

Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Burdeu</span> Australian fashion model

Alice Burdeu is an Australian former fashion model who won the third cycle of Australia's Next Top Model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Campbell</span> English model (born 1970)

Naomi Elaine Campbell is an English model. Beginning her career at the age of 8, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was the first black woman to appear as a model on the covers of Time and Vogue France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Alexander (fashion model)</span> American model

Karen Alexander is an American fashion model. Alexander worked with many of fashion's top designers and magazine editors in a career that spanned over two decades. In 2019, she was diagnosed with dermatomyositis, an incurable neuromuscular disease.

Lana Ogilvie is a Canadian fashion model. She was the first model of colour to be given a contract with the CoverGirl cosmetics brand, frequently being paired with Rachel Hunter. She appeared in the 1994 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and was a host on Soul Train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaika Firth</span> Kenyan-born British model

Malaika Firth is a Kenyan-born British model. Firth attracted attention when, in 2013, she was booked as the first black model in nearly 20 years to appear in a Prada advertising campaign.

References

  1. 1 2 Cosmopolitan. Hearst Corporation. 206: 197. January 1989.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 Rachel Williams at Fashion Model Directory Retrieved May 31, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Keteyian, Armen (1989-03-06). "Follow That Girl". New York . 22 (10): 40–43. ISSN   0028-7369 . Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  4. ↑ Lewis, Richard W. (1996). Absolut Book.: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story . Tuttle Publishing. p.  105. ISBN   1-885-20329-2.
  5. 1 2 3 Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna (1995-02-26). "Rachel Williams Resumes Modeling - With A Difference". New York Daily News . Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  6. ↑ Staff writers (1990-10-12). "Facts On Files From All Over: Pretty Women". New York . 23 (48): 12. ISSN   0028-7369 . Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  7. ↑ Kielwasser, Al (1995-04-21). "Fair Coverage". GLAAD . Retrieved 2007-08-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.