- Born Countess Vera Gottliebe Anna von Lehnorff
- Birth Place: East Prussia
- Coined the world's first supermodel and a pioneer in the art of body painting.
- Cover model for Vogue magazine 11 times
- Ranked #23 in Chanel 5's "World's Greatest Supermodel"
- One of the highest paid models of her time
Veruschka was born in 1939 as Countess Vera Gottliebe Anna von Lehnorff. She lived with her family in East Prussia and enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle as she was the daughter of a rich landowner and German army reserve officer. Her father, Count Heinrich Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort, was a key member in the German Resistance after witnessing Jewish children being beaten and killed. He was involved in the July 20th plot in 1944 to assassinate Hitler. After a failed attempt he was hanged (by piano wire from a meat hook) that year when Vera was only three.
After her father's death, her mother was arrested and Vera and her sisters spent the rest of the war in Gestapo camps-concentration camps run by the secret state police in Nazi Germany-until the end of World War II. They were later reunited with their mother after the war but by then her family was destitute and blackballed by other Germans for her father`s treason. Vera attended 13 schools and spent a lot of time alone in the woods hiding among the trees and wishing to become one. "I was living a totally underwater life after the war. We were under shock about what had happened to us," states Vera. She went on to study art in Hamburg and then textile design in Florence where a fashion designer first asked her to model. She was later discovered at age 20 by photographer Ugo Mulas in 1959 and became a full-time model.
Vera was a statuesque 6 foot 1 inch tall with dark blond hair and blue eyes. During that time tall models were not considered desirable in Paris but it was there where she met Eileen Ford, head of the reputable and respected Ford Modeling Agency. Eileen informed her that tall models were fashionable in America and advised her to eat hard boiled eggs to stay slim. She moved to New York City in 1961 but had no luck with booking modeling jobs and unfortunately Eileen did not remember meeting her. To distinguish herself as a model she returned to Munich and told people that she was from Russia and changed her name to Veruschka to create a mysterious persona. She traveled back to New York visiting the top photographers and stated, "I am Veruschka who comes from the border between Russia, Germany and Poland. I'd like to see what you can do with my face." It was then that she started to gain various bookings.
One of her most noted accomplishments was her brief yet paramount appearance in the cult film, "Blowup" by Michaelangelo Antonini in 1966. Although she only had a five minute appearance, that cameo vaulted her into international stardom. In the same year, she did her first photo shoot wearing nothing but body paint, which became a lifelong artistic pursuit. Most of the time she did her own make-up, hair and styling and sometimes even the photography. She was painted with different outfits transforming her into wild animals, personalities and even scenery. At her peak, Veruschka earned as much as $10,000 a day-a sum unheard of in those days. Occasionally, she still appears on catwalks, for example, as a guest model in the Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2000 in Australia and in 2006 made an appearance in the James Bond movie "Casino Royale".
Other facts about Veruschka:
- Premiere magazine named her five minute scene in "Blowup" the sexiest scene in film history despite the fact that there was no nudity.
- The make-up brand, MAC, sells a lipstick called Veruschka named after her for her influence in the fashion industry during the 60s.
To Veruschka:
Daughter, survivor, pioneer Supermodel, actress, imagineer From a world of suffering and pain To a stage of glamor and gain A standing a ovation is the least I can do I applaud your brilliance and tip my hat to you.
Thank you for giving "extraordinary" yet another definition.
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© JustB.BBreezy.Com 2010
Veruschka: The World's First Supermodel
September 22, 2009
J U S T B . B B R E E Z Y . C O M
I'm the spokesmodel and photographer for The Studio Concept in Atlanta, GA. The modeling and fashion industry is my passion! Here on my blog I want to introduce you to industry professionals, budding talent and even some of the wonderful clients I get to work with!
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B. Breezy
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The Studio Concept
Atlanta, GA USA
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