Shyamoli Varma (born ), is a former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

actress and model. She is known as India's first supermodel and the first

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the '' Opéra-Comique'' at the (second) Salle Fa ...

girl. Varma is also known for her role in the Indian thriller Rog and for her work with

Lakmé Cosmetics Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand owned by Hindustan Unilever. It was named after the French opera '' Lakmé'', which itself is the French word for the goddess Lakshmi who is renowned for her beauty. It was started in 1952 as a 100% subsidiar ...

. Following her work with Lakmé Cosmetics, Varma went on to live in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and model with

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

companies such as

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...

, Yves Saint Laurent, and

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

Early life

Varma was born into an Indian family on 11 December 11th 1953 in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the Indian army and her mother was a housewife. She is of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, and English descent. Varma has one brother who worked as a financial advisor in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She studied

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...

in college.

Personal life

Varma married Abhijit Chaterji. She has a daughter, Akiksha, who got her Masters at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Varma is fluent in English, Hindi, and French.

Career

After graduating

Sophia College for Women Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...

, she worked as a telephone operator in Pune before she was spotted by an assistant to fashion choreographer Jeannie Naoroji. She then signed on to a three-year modelling contract with

. Varma is known in India for this partnership and has been coined as the "Lakmé girl". She was used to advertise make-up products to an India that was relatively new to the world of cosmetics. Lakmé had to overcome a negative social taboo about cosmetics in India and market their products to a country of diverse complexions and skin tones. After a year in the modeling industry, Varma appeared in ads for

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee sold by the multinational food and drink corporation Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee br ...

and on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

, a broadcasting network owned by the Indian government. Following her work with Lakmé Cosmetics, she acquired a contract with

and moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1980 to further her work in the fashion industry. Varma worked with Yves Saint Laurent,

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 ** ' ...

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business that markets upscale ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). As of October 2024 the company ha ...

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 ...

, and other top fashion companies. During her time in Paris, she was close with fellow Indian model

Anjali Mendes Anjali Mendes (born Phyllis Mendes; 29 January 1946 – 17 June 2010) was an Indian fashion model from Mumbai who was based in France. She was attached to Pierre Cardin’s salon in Paris during the 1970s and 1980s. Other designers she modelled f ...

and photographers

Rohit Khosla Rohit Khosla (29 November 1958 – 16 February 1994) was a pioneer of the contemporary fashion industry in India. Khosla studied in England, worked with designers in New York, but returned to India to start his own label in 1987, along with ...

and

Azzedine Alaïa Azzedine Alaïa (; , ; 26 February 1935 – 18 November 2017) was a Tunisian couturier and shoe designer. He became globally known particularly beginning in the 1980s for his women's dresses and he would dress numerous celebrities throughout his ...

. She then moved back to Pune in 1989, where she began a career as a fashion choreographer. Since then, she has traveled around India, France, and Germany and has held 6 exhibitions. In the next two years, she choreographed shows for fashion institutes, designers and trade fairs. She continued on for 5 years until the birth of her daughter.

Movies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, Shyamoli 1957 births Living people Female models from Mumbai Actresses from Mumbai 21st-century Indian actresses Sophia College for Women alumni