Best Known As: Teutonic supermodel for Guess Jeans
Model Claudia Schiffer was one of the best-known blondes in the world for a time in the 1990s. Like Anna Nicole Smith, Schiffer got her first American exposure as a Big Blonde in glossy print ads for Guess Jeans. Unlike Smith, Schiffer parlayed her appearances into a career as a top print model. Her classic German looks and classic German business savvy made her an international star. She's made occasional film appearances, notably in Zoolander (2001, starring Ben Stiller) and Love Actually (2003, with Liam Neeson), and she served in 2006 as the public face of a national economic campaign called "Germany -- Land of Ideas."
Schiffer was the longtime girlfriend and fiancee of glam magician David Copperfield; the two broke up in 1999. She married film producer Matthew Vaughn in 2002; their son Caspar was born in 2003, and daughter Clementine was born in 2004.
Career Highlights: Claudia Schiffer: Perfectly Fit - Arms, The Blackout, Life Without Dick
First Major Screen Credit: Claudia Schiffer: Perfectly Fit - Abs (1995)
Biography
German beauty Claudia Schiffer has parlayed her statuesque elegance into international fame, becoming one of the world's most recognizable supermodels. Along with such contemporaries as Cindy Crawford and Elle MacPherson, Schiffer took the catwalk world by storm in the early '90s, and made a predictable move into acting soon after. Claudia Schiffer was born on August 25, 1970 in Rheinberg, Germany, and raised in Dusseldorf. Originally eager to follow in her father's footsteps by becoming a lawyer, Schiffer warmed to modeling after being discovered in a nightclub in 1987. With her 5'11" frame and striking angular countenance, Schiffer was a natural, first gracing the cover of Elle magazine, then in 1989, landing the coveted spot as the centerpiece of the Guess? jeans advertising campaign. The sultry black-and-white ads turned her into a familiar face, and paved the way for over 500 magazine covers throughout her career. Schiffer made her first appearance on celluloid in Richie Rich (1994), as an aerobics instructor. The role apparently encouraged some real-world pursuits, as she would release a line of workout videos the following year. Also in 1994, she was a natural to cameo in Robert Altman's fashion industry send-up Ready to Wear, the first of Schiffer's many film appearances as herself, including Ben Stiller's Zoolander (2001). She took on a larger role in the romantic comedy Friends & Lovers (1999), and earned real credibility by getting cast in James Toback's cinéma vérité approach to multiracial youth culture, Black and White (1999). Schiffer is one of the owners of the Fashion Café chain of trendy restaurants, along with fellow supermodels Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Elle MacPherson. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
"The difference between the girls today and models of the past is that we are not only interested in fashion: we are going in so many different directions at once. We work harder -- at night and on weekends. [On the modeling profession]"
Claudia Schiffer (born August 25, 1970)[1] is a Germanmodel and actress, who reached the height of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her striking resemblance to Brigitte Bardot.[2] Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers.[3][4]Forbes estimated her net worth at about $55m (£38m).[3]
Schiffer was born in Rheinberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is a small town 15 km northeast of Duisburg. She is the daughter of Gudrun and Heinz Schiffer, a lawyer.[5] She has two brothers, Stefan and Andreas, and one sister, Ann Carolin.[4]
Schiffer said that she was popular in high school, but felt socially overshadowed by the other girls in her class.[4] She has revealed that because she was so tall, she became very shy and did not want to be noticed. She was also subjected to jealousy by others as she came from a wealthy family that was well-known locally.[4] Schiffer became fluent in French and English.[4]
She originally wanted to become a lawyer and work in her father's law firm.[6] She later dropped these aspirations when in October 1987 at seventeen she was spotted in a nightclub in Düsseldorf by Michel Levaton, the boss of Metropolitan Model Agency who signed her up to become a model.[1]
Modeling and fashion
She completed her education and then began to work as a model. She flew out to Paris for a trial photo shoot and soon after she appeared in the cover of French Elle after being well received in Paris. After several other magazine appearances she quickly achieved supermodel status when she was selected by Karl Lagerfeld to become the new face of Chanel.[1] Schiffer went on to become a world-famous supermodel, becoming instantly recognizable with her blue eyes, blond hair and tall figure, now standing at 5ft 11.[7]
In the early 1990s she starred in highly publicised Guess? jeans adverts in North America which created essential publicity for Schiffer.[1] Paul Marciano said in E! Forbes Top 15 Supermodel Beauties Who Made Bank, "Guess name became really much more known around the world because [of] Claudia". Soon after appearing in the campaigns, her name was launched worldwide, appearing on five magazine covers in the United States and seven covers around Europe. Her modelling career continued to grow. Schiffer joined Thomas Zeumer's prestigious Metropolitan Models[8] and was contracted to model for Revlon. She also became deeply involved in modelling for several catalogues and modelled on high profile catwalk shows. Schiffer has done catwalk modelling for Versace, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Valentino.[1][4][9]Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and People all saw Schiffer as the first model to make their covers.[1] She has also appeared many times on covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Time.[4][10]
Schiffer has also been the face of Mango, a chain of Spanish clothes stores[9] and Accessorize,[11] where she had her ears pierced especially for her Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign in 2006.[12] Schiffer still holds a contract with L'Oréal and Ebel watches,[9] and her billboard picture for Kenar has also hung over millions of tourists at Times Square.[4] Since 1990, she has created a swimsuit calendar each year which she stars in and designs herself.[4]
Schiffer later secured contracts with Pepsi appearing in advertisements promoting the brand, and has also danced with a cartoon version of Mickey Mouse in advertisements promoting Fanta for an estimated $2 million.[4] From her appearances in a 1998 Citroën advertisement, she earned a reputed £3 million. Karl Lagerfeld recently filmed her for a Dom Perignon campaign, some ten years after her first appearances in Chanel adverts.[13]
She is signed to several agencies, including 1/One Management in New York City and her mother agency 'Model Management' in Hamburg.[14]
She has also released four exercise videos, entitled Claudia Schiffer's Perfectly Fit, which were successful and reached the bestsellers list.[4] Schiffer has hosted the French Fashion Awards and the World Music Awards in Monaco.[4]
With fellow supermodels Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Elle Macpherson, Schiffer was joint owner of a chain of fashionable restaurants called the Fashion Café in 1995.[6] Schiffer remains a prominent figure in German society and helped present and carry the trophy with Pelé during opening ceremonies at the 2006 World Cup.[3] She also presented Prince William with a polo trophy in 2002.[5]
When talking about the model profession at present, she said: "Supermodels, like we once were, don't exist any more." She has said that Gisele Bündchen was the only person who comes close to earning the supermodel title.[16]
Personal life
Schiffer dated magician David Copperfield for about five years from 1994 until 1999.[1] They first met in 1993 at one of Copperfield's stage shows, where he invited her on stage to take part in his 'Flying' illusion, and he then subsequently sawed her in half during a joint appearance on German television.[17] Throughout their relationship, she often joined Copperfield in his stage shows as a "special guest assistant" in a number of illusions, including being levitated, guillotined and sawed in half.[18] Following the end of her relationship with Copperfield, she met and had a relationship with Tim Jefferies.[15]
On 25 May 2002, she married the film producerMatthew Vaughn.[1] Instead of an engagement ring, Vaughn bought her a tortoise.[9] On her wedding day, many journalists and 200 onlookers gathered to see her in her wedding dress.[3] She was married in St. George's church in the village of Shimpling. The wedding reception was held at Schiffer's Elizabethan mansion.[3]
Schiffer and Vaughn have two children: son Caspar Matthew, (born 30 January 2003) and daughter Clementine de Vere Drummond, (born 11 November 2004). They all now live in London. During spare time, Schiffer enjoys horse riding, painting, playing tennis and skiing.[5] She didn't get her ears pierced until 2006, at the age of 35, when she had them pierced especially for her Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign.[12]
Schiffer had two significant problems with harassment in the past. In 2002, an Italian kitchen porter, named Agostino Pomata, was arrested after making nine visits to Schiffer's £5 million Suffolk mansion near Bury St Edmunds, attempting to see her. Charges against Agostino Pomata were dropped however, as he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.[19] He believed that the Pope had told him to marry Schiffer.[20] In 2004 a Canadian man, Louis Brisette, was accused of harassing Schiffer, again at her mansion in Suffolk. He reportedly called at her mansion three times in the hope of seeing Schiffer.[19] He also repeatedly left letters at her home.[21]
^Karl Lagerfeld used to call Schiffer the “new Bardot” in the early 1990s, see Ringle, Ken (22 October 1990). "Claudia, Queen of the Runway; The Stunning Supermodel, Stopping Traffic & Hearts". The Washington Post.
