Precious Lee is an American model. She has gained prominence as the first African American curve model to work with longstanding fashion houses. She has walked for

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, Camp (style), campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. Moschino's ...

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

, and others.

Early life

Lee was born and raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. Her father, is an entrepreneur and her mother, is a teacher. She has two older sisters, and one older brother. Her sister Charisma, died in a car accident when Lee was a child. Lee was an active student and participated in competitive cheerleading, student government, debate club, thespian club, and concert band. In her high school years she was crowned homecoming queen. She enjoyed fashion from her youth and was particularly inspired by her sister Charisma and parents' attire.

Career

Lee began modeling at age 18 as a student at

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

, when she attended an Elite Models open call to support a friend and instead received a contract offer. She started her career doing catalog shoots and modeled part-time as an undergraduate. Lee moved to New York after college to pursue modeling full-time after signing with

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. History 20th century Eileen and Jerry began the bu ...

, with plans to attend law school if her modeling career did not pan out. She named

Crystal Renn Crystal Renn (born June 18, 1986) is an American model and author. Personal life Renn started her modeling career in high fashion at the age of 14 after being spotted by a professional scout in her hometown in Clinton, Mississippi. Renn was tol ...

and

Toccara Jones Toccara Elaine Jones (born March 13, 1981) is an American television personality, fashion model, occasional actress and singer. Jones was a contestant on the third season of the UPN series ''America's Next Top Model'', where she was the eighth el ...

as "

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

" models (those bigger than sample size) who inspired her. She's walked

Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fol ...

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin in Paris. It is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Lanvin Group includes Lanvin, S ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

, Balmain,

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

and more. She has also modeled couture for

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs in ...

, and she has a long-term partnership with YSL Beauty. She has covered ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', three ''

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 ...

'', ''

Vogue Arabia ''Vogue Arabia'' / ''Vogue العربية'' (stylised in all caps) is the Arabian-edition of the American Fashion journalism, fashion magazine Vogue (magazine), Vogue. The magazine has been in operation since 2017 and is based out of the United ...

'', ''

Vogue Brazil ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collection of ...

'', '' Vogue Portugal'', ''

Vogue Netherlands ''Vogue Nederland'' is the Dutch language, Dutch edition of the American fashion and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle magazine ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', published by Condé Nast. The magazine has been published since March 2012, which is over ...

'', ''

Italian Vogue ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine owned by Condé Nast International. In publication since 1964, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. The publication is currently edited by Francesca Ragazzi and w ...

'' twice, ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'', ''

Dazed Magazine ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a quarterly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. ''Dazed'' is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for produ ...

'', '' iD Magazine'', ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', '' Elle Brazil'', '' Elle UK'' and more. Lee fulfilled a special aspiration when she walked in the spring 2021 Versace show and was the first black curve model to do so for the first time in the history of the brand. Lee made her acting debut in 2021 on the

STARZ Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

series '' Run the World''. She was also a guest judge on ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

''. In 2023, Lee starred in the music video of "

Spin Bout U "Spin Bout U" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake and Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage from their collaborative studio album ''Her Loss'' (2022). It was sent to US rhythmic radio on February 24, 2023, as the third single from the album alongside a mu ...

" by rappers

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

Personal life

Lee is interested in acting, music, astrology, and writing.

Accolades

* GQ International Model of the Year 2022, GQ Portugal.pt * Nominee, 2020 Breakout Star, Models.com * Nominee, 2021 Model of the Year, Models.com

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Precious Living people African-American female models 21st-century African-American women People from Atlanta Clark Atlanta University alumni Plus-size models IMG Models models Female models from Georgia (U.S. state) 1990 births