Early Life
Born Naomi Elaine Campbell in London, England, the supermodel is of Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent. She attended Dunraven School and the London Academy for Performing Arts as a young girl.
When her mother got the job as a modern dancer in Rome, they moved to Italy for some time. Soon afterward, her mother set off on tour through Europe with her dancing group called Fantastica, while Naomi was back in London, living with her relatives.
When she was only three years old, she attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and enrolled in the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts at the age of 10 to study ballet.
Career
Naomi’s career started when she was only seven years old. That’s when she first appeared in front of the public eye, that is, in Bob Marley’s music video for the hit single Is This Love? Five years later, she appeared in another music video, this time for the Culture Club’s hit I’ll Tumble 4 Ya.
Three years later, in 1986, the head of the Synchro Model Agency, Beth Boldt, spotted Naomi as she was window-shopping in London’s Covent Garden district, and the rest is history.
She signed with the agency, and her modeling career rapidly took off. Not a year has gone by, and she was already on the cover of British Elle.
Several years passed, during which Naomi graced numerous fashion runways for the world’s most renowned designers, such as Versace, Mizrahi, and Alaïa. She also posed for famous photographers such as Bruce Webber, Peter Lindbergh, and Herb Ritts.
By the late 1980s, Naomi was part of the world-famous trio called the Trinity, together with Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington – the most in-demand models of their generation.
She started facing a lot of racial discrimination at the time, but her Trinity girls and many other big names in the industry gave her a lot of support. Evangelista and Turlington even told Dolce & Gabbana that the fashion house would lose them if it doesn’t include Naomi too.
In 1987, she graced the cover of British Vogue, before appearing on the cover of French Vogue in 1988, becoming the first black model to achieve that. In 1989, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue.
By 1990, the Trinity expanded by three more members – Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Kate Moss – forming a group of elite supermodels that would soon become known all over the world as the Big Six.
Naomi continued walking the catwalk and appearing on the covers of various prestige magazines. But she didn’t stop at modeling. She spread her wings into other spheres of the entertainment industry.
She released an R&B album Baby Woman (1994), before landing roles in Girl 6, Miami Rhapsody, and New York Undercover.
However, Naomi’s life wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. She’s known for having a short fuse, which is why she’s gotten herself in some legal troubles over the years. She has been arrested a few times for physical violence and verbal abuse, both times pleading guilty.
Naomi Campbell Relationships: Who Has She Dated?
Naomi was engaged twice, to Adam Clayton from U2 and to Formula One’s Flavio Briatore, with whom she was in an on-and-off relationship.
She has been in relationships and short encounters with:
Mike Tyson (1989-1990)
Sylvester Stallone (1990-1992)
Eric Clapton (1993)
Adam Clayton (1993-1994)
Prince Albert of Monaco (1994-1995)
Joaquín Cortés (1995-1998)
Flavio Briatore (1998-2003)
Leonardo DiCaprio (1998)
Sean “Diddy” Combs (2002)
50 Cent (2004)
Tommy Lee (2004)
Usher (2004)
Badr Jafar (2005-2006)
Quincy Jones (2006-2011)
Vladislav Doronin (2008-2013)
Kola Aluko (2013-2014)
Skepta (2015-2019)
Louis C. Camilleri (2017-2018)
Liam Payne (2018-2019)
In the News
Naomi Campbell is lately making the headlines because Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts shared photos where Naomi and Ghislaine Maxwell seem to be standing next to her while, as she claims, she was being abused. She says they did nothing to stop it, but there’s no evidence they even knew the abuse was happening. As soon as we know more, we’ll let you know.
Stay tuned with The Shade Room to stay up-to-date with all the latest Naomi Campbell news!
