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| Bettina Graziani, early supermodel, dies | Bettina Graziani, early supermodel, dies |
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| Bettina Graziani, the willowy Parisian redhead who became one of the first global supermodels, posing for fashion luminaries such as Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel and Valentino, died March 2 in a Paris hospital. | |
| She long-shrouded her age and was reported to be 89 or 90. Her death was first announced by the news service Agence France-Presse, which did not cite a cause. | She long-shrouded her age and was reported to be 89 or 90. Her death was first announced by the news service Agence France-Presse, which did not cite a cause. |
| Considered “the most photographed woman in France” in her heyday — and one of the first French models to attain enormous success in the United States — Ms. Graziani dominated fashion magazine covers and advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s with her regal poses and dramatic doe eyes. | Considered “the most photographed woman in France” in her heyday — and one of the first French models to attain enormous success in the United States — Ms. Graziani dominated fashion magazine covers and advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s with her regal poses and dramatic doe eyes. |
| Making her fashion career under the moniker Bettina — a name bestowed upon her by designer Jacques Fath — she helped influence and shape French haute couture in postwar Paris. She served as a muse to Fath and a bevy of other French courtiers. | Making her fashion career under the moniker Bettina — a name bestowed upon her by designer Jacques Fath — she helped influence and shape French haute couture in postwar Paris. She served as a muse to Fath and a bevy of other French courtiers. |
| She became one of the highest-paid models of her era and posed for many of the leading 20th-century photographers, including Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Horst P. Horst and Erwin Blumenfeld. | She became one of the highest-paid models of her era and posed for many of the leading 20th-century photographers, including Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Horst P. Horst and Erwin Blumenfeld. |
| The French-born cover girl was “popular not only with the editors and photographers but with every man who ever dreamed of meeting a French mannequin,” wrote former Vogue fashion editor Bettina Ballard in her 1960 autobiography “In My Fashion.” | The French-born cover girl was “popular not only with the editors and photographers but with every man who ever dreamed of meeting a French mannequin,” wrote former Vogue fashion editor Bettina Ballard in her 1960 autobiography “In My Fashion.” |
| She was born Simone Micheline Bodin in the Normandy region in 1925. She was raised by her mother, a schoolteacher. Her father, a railworker, deserted the family. “We had no money,” she once told The Washington Post. “We had to learn to clean and cook, which was the best thing that could happen.” | She was born Simone Micheline Bodin in the Normandy region in 1925. She was raised by her mother, a schoolteacher. Her father, a railworker, deserted the family. “We had no money,” she once told The Washington Post. “We had to learn to clean and cook, which was the best thing that could happen.” |
| She moved to Paris following the city’s liberation from the German occupiers in 1944. She told reporters her childhood wartime experiences kept her grounded in an industry known for its vanity and excess. “I cycled across frozen cabbage fields to get to school every morning. Experiences like that make you who you are,” she told Vogue in 2010. | She moved to Paris following the city’s liberation from the German occupiers in 1944. She told reporters her childhood wartime experiences kept her grounded in an industry known for its vanity and excess. “I cycled across frozen cabbage fields to get to school every morning. Experiences like that make you who you are,” she told Vogue in 2010. |
| She met with designer Jacques Costet in 1945, hoping to secure a job in fashion design. Believing she showed more promise as a mannequin than a designer, he took her on as a model. | |
| Soon thereafter, she linked up with Fath. “He liked that I was ‘different’: I was very young, very genuine,” she told Interview Magazine. “I wore no makeup and I had red hair. At the time, Fath was interested in conveying an American spirit and a brand new attitude. He wanted to communicate a modern image to the media. … I became the face of Fath.” | Soon thereafter, she linked up with Fath. “He liked that I was ‘different’: I was very young, very genuine,” she told Interview Magazine. “I wore no makeup and I had red hair. At the time, Fath was interested in conveying an American spirit and a brand new attitude. He wanted to communicate a modern image to the media. … I became the face of Fath.” |
| He rechristened her, reportedly telling her, “We already have one Simone. You look to me like a Bettina.” | He rechristened her, reportedly telling her, “We already have one Simone. You look to me like a Bettina.” |
| Ms. Graziani signed with modeling agency owner Eileen Ford in 1950 and, within a week of her arrival in New York, she struck a deal with Vogue to pose exclusively for that publication. She went on to collaborate with Givenchy, a former assistant to Fath, and helped him launch his first design house in 1952 as publicity director. | Ms. Graziani signed with modeling agency owner Eileen Ford in 1950 and, within a week of her arrival in New York, she struck a deal with Vogue to pose exclusively for that publication. She went on to collaborate with Givenchy, a former assistant to Fath, and helped him launch his first design house in 1952 as publicity director. |
| As Life magazine reported at the time, “She beat the publicity drums, pulled in all the important U.S. fashion editors, posed for pictures, set up seat, pressed clothes back-stage, modeled them on the runway and came out afterward to sell them.” | As Life magazine reported at the time, “She beat the publicity drums, pulled in all the important U.S. fashion editors, posed for pictures, set up seat, pressed clothes back-stage, modeled them on the runway and came out afterward to sell them.” |
| Givenchy named his debut line in a nod to her. The collection’s top seller — a crisp, embroidered, senorita-style ruffled shirt dubbed the “Bettina” blouse — became one of his first trademark pieces. | Givenchy named his debut line in a nod to her. The collection’s top seller — a crisp, embroidered, senorita-style ruffled shirt dubbed the “Bettina” blouse — became one of his first trademark pieces. |
| In a statement, the designer referred to her as “an icon of elegance and of Parisian refinement.” | In a statement, the designer referred to her as “an icon of elegance and of Parisian refinement.” |
| After a short-lived marriage to Gilbert “Benno” Graziani, a French journalist and photographer, she drew the attention of novelist and screenwriter Peter Viertel. He abandoned his pregnant wife for Ms. Graziani, and the model later left him for the playboy prince Aly Khan, an ex-husband of actress Rita Hayworth. They soon became engaged and, at his request, she shelved her modeling career at her peak in 1955. | After a short-lived marriage to Gilbert “Benno” Graziani, a French journalist and photographer, she drew the attention of novelist and screenwriter Peter Viertel. He abandoned his pregnant wife for Ms. Graziani, and the model later left him for the playboy prince Aly Khan, an ex-husband of actress Rita Hayworth. They soon became engaged and, at his request, she shelved her modeling career at her peak in 1955. |
| In 1960, Khan was killed in a car crash near Paris; Ms. Graziani, who was pregnant, was a passenger at the time and sustained only minor injuries. She later miscarried from shock and stress caused by the incident. Khan left her $280,000 (around $2.24 million today) in his will. | In 1960, Khan was killed in a car crash near Paris; Ms. Graziani, who was pregnant, was a passenger at the time and sustained only minor injuries. She later miscarried from shock and stress caused by the incident. Khan left her $280,000 (around $2.24 million today) in his will. |
| She had no immediate survivors. | She had no immediate survivors. |
| Ms. Graziani remained involved in the fashion industry, appearing in a Chanel couture show in 1967 and handling publicity for Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro in the 1970s. She developed a friendship with designer Azzedine Alaïa, who commissioned an exhibition of her best-remembered images last fall at the Carla Sozzani Gallery in Milan and the Azzedine Alaïa Gallery in Paris. In her 80s, she continued to shuttle between Paris and New York for runway shows and industry events. | Ms. Graziani remained involved in the fashion industry, appearing in a Chanel couture show in 1967 and handling publicity for Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro in the 1970s. She developed a friendship with designer Azzedine Alaïa, who commissioned an exhibition of her best-remembered images last fall at the Carla Sozzani Gallery in Milan and the Azzedine Alaïa Gallery in Paris. In her 80s, she continued to shuttle between Paris and New York for runway shows and industry events. |
| In 2010, she received France’s Order of Arts and Letters. In presenting the award, French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand called her “the embodiment of the modern woman.” | In 2010, she received France’s Order of Arts and Letters. In presenting the award, French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand called her “the embodiment of the modern woman.” |