...e of her own" become one of her top competitors. After all, Ford Models had groomed Wilhelmina in a consummate professional and took her to the top of the fashion world. The Fords "forgave" Willy, and they eventually became close again, but not so as before.

At Wilhelmina Models, Willy continued to work as a model on top assignments for magazines like Vogue while she ran her agency. Thanks to the guidance that she had received while a model at the Ford's, Willy was already an internationally respected model. She was known for being a hard worker too, which greatly aided in getting top clients to come her way now that she was installed as the big cheese at her own agency. She also used her own intimate knowledge of the industry to help shape new talent and to infuse her agency with a different spirit than that which had reigned at Ford Models.

When she opened, she called all the top photographers that she knew. They all were happy to work with her because they knew the kind of person that she was. She also worked greatly with Edgar de Evia during this period. He booked her models for various prestigious jobs. The models that Wilhelmina Models discovered graced countless magazine covers worldwide (as is still the case today), worked with top photographers such as Peter Beard, Richard Avedon, Francesco Scavullo and scored top advertisement campaigns.

Wilhelmina proved to be a most able agent. She had an eye for new talent. She launched the careers of famous models such as the tragic beauty Gia Carangi and Iman. Willy also proved to have flair for the over-the-top and for the dramatic. She and her agency put together a press conference for the coming of Iman. During the conference, her agents claimed that Iman was a sheep herder in Africa and that she spoke no English. The tactic worked and created a mystic around the university student before she had even arrived in on US soil.

In the late 1970s, Wilhelmina was diagnosed with lung cancer. Even i...

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