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Jean Shrimpton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is a former English Supermodel (before the term was used) and actress, who graduated from Lucie Clayton's modelling school at the age of 17 in 1960. Nicknamed 'The Shrimp', she was an icon of Swinging Sixties London, possessing some of the gamine features that also made a huge success of the younger Twiggy. She starred alongside Paul Jones in the 1967 movie Privilege, and was name-checked in the Smithereens song, Behind the Wall of Sleep.
In 1965, Shrimpton caused a sensation in very conservative Melbourne in Australia when she arrived for the Victoria Derby race during Melbourne Cup week. She shocked everybody by wearing a daring white shift dress which ended high above her knees, a forerunner of the miniskirt which became a worldwide craze (this dress was designed and made by the young fashion designer, Colin Rolfe). To make things worse she wore no hat, stockings or gloves which was very controversial at the time. Shrimpton was blissfully unaware she would cause such reactions among the then staid and prim Melbourne community and media.
The fashion trendsetter was also a heartbreaker to many glamorous men she knew during her time as a world famous cover girl (including a stint as the face of Yardley of London). She was once engaged to 60s photographer David Bailey, on whom the David Hemmings character in the movie Blowup was based. They met on a shoot for a Cornflakes advertisement. His friend told him she was too posh for him, but Bailey was undeterred and the two subsequently had a relationship for four years. Her other celebrated romance was with actor Terence Stamp. As one of the most beautiful couples among the trendy denizens of Carnaby Street, and other hang-outs of Mod London, the two seemed a perfect couple to outsiders, but Shrimpton dumped him, citing the actor's narcissism. Stamp has said that the break-up pushed him into anguish and despair, while she was quoted in a newspaper interview saying she doubted he ever loved her[citation needed].
Shrimpton eventually found a more enduring love with her photographer husband Michael Cox, with whom she has a son, Thaddeus, born in 1979. They currently run a small hotel in Penzance, Cornwall. Her younger sister Chrissie was also an actress, romantically linked to both Mick Jagger and Steve Marriott of The Small Faces.
