Linda Evangelista

Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista, August 12, 2004.
Born	(1965-05-10) May 10, 1965 St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Years active	1984–1998 (retired), 2001–present
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair colour	Dark brown
Eye colour	Blue-green
Measurements	86.5-61-89 (EU); 34-24-35 (US)
Weight	55 kg (121 lbs)
Dress size	36-38 (EU); 6 (US)
Agency	DNA Model Management Models 1 Agency

Linda Evangelista (born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian model. She has been featured on over 600 magazine covers. Evangelista is mostly known for being the longtime muse of photographer Steven Meisel. She holds the record for her multiple appearances on the cover of Vogue Italia, all of which were photographed by Meisel.

Early years

Evangelista was born to Italian parents who emigrated to Canada and was raised in a working-class, traditional Roman Catholic family in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada near Niagara Falls, where she attended Denis Morris Catholic High School. Her father worked for GM and her mother was a bookkeeper. She has two brothers. Linda knew she wanted to become a model when she was 12 years old. Evangelista began modelling when she was discovered by an agent from Elite Model Management at the 1988 Miss Teen Niagara beauty pageant.

Career

Evangelista later moved to New York City and signed with Elite Model Management. She then moved to Paris to further her career. She worked extensively with fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh who encouraged her to consider a short do. Top hairdresser Julien Dy's then cut her hair into what she described as "a bowl cut with sideburns". She cried during the haircut but it turned out to be the defining moment of her career.

Evangelista once uttered the quote, "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day", (often misquoted as: "We don't get out of bed for less than..." or "I don't get out of bed for less than...") Spoken in Vogue (1990) to Jonathan van Meter, talking about money and how she and a few other models were calling the shots and changing the game.

In 2007, she signed a multiple-year exclusive contract with the cosmetics company L'Oreal Paris. It was announced in early 2008 that she would be featured in the Prada Fall 2008 campaign seen in magazines internationally.

She is signed to DNA Model Management in New York City, and Models 1 in London.

In June 2010, the New York Post reported that Evangelista will be the new face of Talbots.

Personal life

At the age of 22, Evangelista married Elite executive Gerald Marie. They were married from 1987 to 1993. After separating from Marie, she began a 6-year relationship with actor Kyle MacLachlan, and then divorced Marie.

In 1999, she became pregnant by French football player, Fabien Barthez. At 6 months pregnant, she delivered a stillborn baby. The couple then broke up and Evangelista left modelling for several years to recuperate.

On October 11, 2006, she gave birth to a boy, Augustin James, refusing to name his biological father, which sparked numerous rumours. While pregnant, Evangelista appeared on the August 2006 issue of Vogue (magazine).

In July 2011, The New York Post reported that Evangelista's child was fathered by billionaire Frenchman François-Henri Pinault, the husband of actress Salma Hayek. One month later, on August 1, Evangelista appeared in Manhattan Family Court, seeking $46,000 in monthly child support from Pinault for her son, Augustin.

External links

• Linda Evangelista at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Evangelista at the Fashion Model Directory