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Eileen Ford, Founder of Ford Model Agency Dies SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2014 Eileen Ford, founder of Ford Model Agency dies odeling agency founder Eileen Ford, who shaped a gen- Ford felt a motherly responsibility toward her models, often eration’s standards of beauty as she built an empire and inviting the youngest to live at her Upper East Side apartment. Mlaunched the careers of Candice Bergen, Lauren Hutton, She prohibited the young Kim Basinger from going out before fin- Christie Brinkley and countless others, has died. ishing her French homework. Turlington recalled pretending to She was 92 and died Wednesday of complications from a brain do laundry at night so she could sneak out while the family slept. tumor and osteoporosis, according to Arielle Baran, a spokes- “Models are a business, and they have to treat themselves as a woman for Derris & Co., which handles public relations for Ford business,” Ford told The Toronto Star in 1988. “Which means they and announced the death Thursday. have to take care of themselves and give up all the young joys.” Ford was known for her steely manner and eye for talent. She The Ford agency continued to grow in the 1970s, when it demanded professionalism from her models, putting them on began representing children, including a young Brooke Shields, strict diets and firing those with a taste for late-night revelry. Her and men. By then, Christie Brinkley, Jane Fonda, Ali MacGraw, discipline pushed Ford Model Agency to the top, making multi- Candice Bergen, Beverly Johnson and Suzy Parker had all been on millionaires of both Ford and her late husband, Jerry, who han- the Ford roster. dled the business side. John Casablancas provided stiff competition for the Ford The typical Ford woman was tall, thin, often blond, with wide- agency when he founded rival Elite in the 1970s. He became set eyes and a long neck. Eileen Ford was known to tell hopefuls known for wooing talent from other agencies - resulting in law- shorter than 5 foot 7 to give up their dreams. suits - and stressing a more sensual, European look. Supermodel Christie Brinkley posted a photo of her and Ford Eileen Ford, born Eileen Otte in New York City in 1922, grew up on her Instagram account, saying Ford was “the best in the busi- in the leafy Long Island suburb of Great Neck, N.Y. She earned a ness. She saw something in me and with her brilliant business psychology degree from Barnard College and married, then acumen, her knowledge, experience, and personal touch, she worked as a photographer, stylist and fashion reporter. After los- took me from Malibu surfer girl and guided my career.” ing her stylist job when she became pregnant, according to Katie Another Ford protege, Christy Turlington Burns, said she felt Ford, she helped several friends book modeling jobs. That led her “fortunate to have worked in the and her husband to found the agency in 1946. industry at a time when legends like Eileen Ford were still This July 20, 1992 file photo shows Eileen Ford, of Ford Ford wrote five books including “Eileen Ford’s A More reigning. Being a part of the Ford Agency when I began my career Models, Inc., in New York. Ford, who shaped a generation’s Beautiful You in 21 Days” (1972) and “Eileen Ford’s Beauty Now was truly special. I will always remember Eileen and her standards of beauty as she built an empire and launched the and Forever: Secrets of Beauty After 35” (1977), plus a syndicated indomitable presence with fondness and gratitude.” careers of Candice Bergen, Lauren Hutton, Jane Fonda, died newspaper column, “Eileen Ford’s Model Beauty,” in the 1970s. Ford’s daughter Katie, who at one time ran the company, said Wednesday, July 9, 2014. She was 92. —AP The agency engaged the public with events like a Supermodel of in a statement that her mother’s Ford maintained that a model’s charisma was as important as the World contest and weekly open houses in Soho that attracted “greatest thrill was to spot a model in the daily course of life.” her looks, and prided herself on being able to detect successful 60,000 people a year. She’d then follow the prospect surreptitiously to assess her. A few personalities. The agency’s revenues topped $40 million a year by the 1990s. of those finds went on to fame, including Vendela Kirsebom, “There’s a cockiness to them ... They’re just going to be good Katie Ford served as CEO from 1995 until the company was sold whom Ford discovered in a restaurant in Sweden, and Karen and you can just tell it,” she told Life magazine in 1970. “I see girls to an investment bank, Stone Tower Equity Partners, in 2007. Graham, whom Ford spotted at Bonwit Teller department store that I know - I absolutely know - will be star models within just a Jerry Ford died in August 2008. and who went on to become the face of Estee Lauder beauty matter of weeks, and they always are.” Eileen Ford’s survivors include, in addition to Katie, daughters products. For high-fashion photography, she said, an ample bust was a Jamie and Lacey and son Billy; her brothers Tom, Bill and Bobby; The classic Ford look changed remarkably little over the years, disqualifier because the camera adds pounds and curves distract eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. — AP and set a standard for the industry. Height and a willowy build from the picture. “A bosom is terribly detrimental because it cuts remain paramount, though Ford was disdainful of the “waif” look you all up in pieces,” she told The New York Times in 1967. - typified by British model Kate Moss - popular in the early 1990s. Models wear creations of Marina Hoermanseder’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, Germany yesterday. — AP Photos.
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