 |
VeruschkaGerman model, actress
Date of Birth: 14.05.1939
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Veruschka von Lehndorff
Veruschka von Lehndorff, also known as Veruschka, was a German model and actress who became the world's first supermodel in the 1960s. She was born as Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort on May 14, 1939, in Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).
Childhood and Family Tragedy
Veruschka grew up in a massive mansion with her family, which had around a hundred rooms and had been the home of her ancestors for centuries. Her father, Heinrich Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort, was a prominent landowner and a reserve officer who played an active role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power. However, he witnessed the abuse and murder of Jewish children, which led him to join the Resistance Movement against the Nazi regime.
On July 20, 1944, Heinrich von Lehndorff participated in an assassination attempt on Hitler, but it was suppressed, and most conspirators were executed, including Veruschka's father. The execution by hanging took place on September 4, 1944. After this tragedy, Veruschka and her family were sent to labor camps, where they remained until the end of World War II. The war left many families homeless, including the Lehndorffs.
Modeling and Art Career
After completing her schooling, Vera studied fine arts in Hamburg and then moved to Florence when she turned twenty. It was in Florence that she met the photographer Ugo Mulas, known for his portrait and street photography. This meeting led to Vera starting her career as a model.
Later, while in Paris, she met Eileen Ford, the head of the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency. However, Veruschka decided to pursue her modeling career in New York City and moved there in 1961. Despite not achieving success in the United States, she traveled to Munich, where she claimed to have been born in Russia, sparking interest and receiving numerous bookings. It was during this time that her pseudonym Veruschka was born.
In 1966, Veruschka's career took off after she appeared in the cult film "Blowup" directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. That same year, she had her first body art photoshoot, a genre she would continue throughout her modeling career. She worked with Salvador Dali and photographer Peter Beard, with whom she traveled to Kenya. There, before a body art photoshoot, she covered herself in black shoe polish to create surrealist-like plants and animals, attempting to adopt the customs and lifestyle of the local population.
At the peak of her success, Veruschka earned up to $10,000 a day. However, in 1975, she left the fashion world due to disagreements with Grace Mirabella, the new editor-in-chief of Vogue, who wanted to drastically change Veruschka's image to make models more relatable to the majority of women. It wasn't until 1985 that Veruschka returned to the art world, participating in a body art show in Tribeca. From then on, she made occasional appearances on runways, such as at the Melbourne Fashion Festival in Australia in 2000.
Veruschka has three sisters: Marie Eleanore, born in 1937, Gabriele, born in 1942, and Katharina.
