Dorian Leigh was the first model to receive public attention and substantial name recognition. By the era's standards, she was a supermodel of the 1940's and 1950's. Her younger sister, Suzy Parker, was also a supermodel during the 1950's and early 1960's.

Dorian Elizabeth Leigh Parker was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 13, 1919. (Other conflicting reports claim that her sister indicated that they were from Long Island, New Jersey and even Jacksonville, Florida). But what is known and confirmed is that Dorian dropped the "Parker" from her name because of her family's opposition to her being a model.

As "Dorian Leigh", she became the leading model of her day and earned an unheard-of-before (for a model) annual salary of $300,000. She signed with Eileen and Jerry Ford's young agency, the now legendary Ford Models. And with the aid of the Fords, she became one of the agency's first true stars.

She worked with photographers Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, etc., and got the covers of magazines such as Life, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. She was the very first of Avedon's models to become celebrated in the industry. A woman of a subtle kind of beauty, she was his favourite model at the time and worked with him closely from 1948 to 1951. Avedon later stated that she was the most versatile model, as well as the loveliest, that he had ever had before his lens.

Her style, uncanny elegance, poise, sophistication and worldliness came across in photos, making women want to emulate her. Avedon's photos of her for Revlon's "Fire and Ice" campaign remain one of the most praised campaigns in Revlon's long history. In it, Dorian is dressed in a jewelled gown and red cape. Her fingers are sprawled in front of her face, and she stands in all her majesty. She is also the beautiful model in the "Cherries in the Snow" advertisement campaigns.

In 1950, Dorian aided Avedon in adding additional depth to fashion photography. H...

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