Cecilia Mary Chancellor (born 1 September 1966) is a British model who has worked consistently since the 1980s and has been referred to as the living embodiment of the "London Girl" by ''
British Vogue
''British Vogue'' (stylised in all caps) is the British edition of the American Fashion journalism, fashion magazine Vogue (magazine), Vogue. The magazine was launched in 1916 by Condé Nast, linking together fashion and high society.König A ...
'' creative director
Robin Derrick in his book ''Vogue Model''.
Background
Chancellor is a direct descendant of
Murray Finch-Hatton the 12th
Earl of Winchilsea
Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of Kent, and united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729.
The Finch family is believed to be descended from He ...
, the daughter of journalist
Alexander Chancellor and the cousin of actress
Anna Chancellor
Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in '' The Hour'' (201 ...
. She was also second cousin of model
Stella Tennant
Stella Tennant (17 December 1970 – 22 December 2020) was a British model and fashion designer, who rose to fame in the early 1990s and had a career that spanned almost 30 years. From an unconventional aristocratic family, she worked with Hel ...
.
Career
While still a pupil at
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England.
The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...
in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
, Cecilia Chancellor agreed to help her friend
Camilla Nickerson, who would later become an influential fashion stylist, by modelling on a test shoot with photographer
Perry Ogden. The resulting £75 seemed like easy money to Cecilia and she moved into professional modelling, with her career being launched through the agency
Models 1. It was
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in '' Vogue'' and '' Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, '' Sex''. He is ...
's decision to photograph her for
Italian Vogue that helped propel her to international success.
Since then, she has walked catwalks for designers from
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...
to
Prada
Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...
and
Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons (CDG, ) is a Japanese fashion label, founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969. It is based in Paris, where its flagship store is located. Other than fashion, the label has expanded to include jewelry and perfume (under the brand Comme ...
to
Givenchy
Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert d ...
, as well as working with fashion photographers such as
Mario Testino
Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer.
His work has featured internationally in ...
(with whom she travelled around South America for a year shooting),
Irving Penn
Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clie ...
,
David Sims,
Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer.
Early life and education
Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and fo ...
,
David Bailey
David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Bailey has also directed several televisio ...
,
Corinne Day
Corinne Day (19 February 1962 – 27 August 2010) was a British fashion photographer, Documentary photography, documentary photographer and fashion model.
Early life
Corinne Day grew up in Ickenham with her younger brother and her grandparents ...
and
Paolo Roversi
Paolo Roversi (born September 25, 1947) is an Italian-born fashion photographer who lives and works in Paris.
Early life
Born in Ravenna on September 25, 1947, Paolo Roversi's interest in photography was kindled as a teenager during a family v ...
.
In the 1990s, she worked extensively with
Helmut Lang and became synonymous with designer
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...
' 1992 grunge-influenced collection for
Perry Ellis
Perry Edwin Ellis (March 3, 1940 – May 30, 1986) was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he in ...
. She went on to model for Jacobs' own label, where he named a quilted leather handbag after her.
She has appeared in numerous campaigns, from
Banana Republic
In political science, the term ''banana republic'' describes a politically and economically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resource.A banana republic is a country with an economy of state capitalism, where th ...
and
Barneys
Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks ...
to
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...
and
Kenzo. She has a son named Lucas, who has been photographed alongside her in campaigns for Marc Jacobs,
The Gap and on the cover of British Vogue.
Nearly thirty years after starting her career as model she continues to regularly feature in the public eye, with
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
Style Magazine recently referring to her as one of the Great British Beauties. She modelled for
Hermès
Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...
' Autumn/Winter 2012 catwalk show and in its Le Monde d'Hermès publication.
Other recent modelling credits include
French Elle,
American Vogue and
French Vogue.
References
External links
*
*
''i-D'' magazine Best of British interviews (on Vimeo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor, Cecilia
1966 births
Living people
British female models
People educated at St Paul's Girls' School
Models from Dorset
C