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The ‘black’ revolution on the ramp

Naomi Campbell is a sensational diva in the world of fashion and glamour. She can be considered as a revolution on the ramp that was earlier mostly dominated by good-looking white females.

Abhimanyu Kukreja
Naomi Campbell is a sensational diva in the world of fashion and glamour. She can be considered as a revolution on the ramp that was earlier mostly dominated by good-looking white females. Her signature walk on the runway is universally known among her admirers. Her emergence as a top model even after being a ‘black’ left the people stunned as they realised that skin colour and race hardly makes a difference in this ever-changing world. Campbell was born on 22nd November 1970 in London. Her mother was a ballet dancer while her father was unknown before her mom disclosed that he was a mixed raced man of part Chinese ancestry. Campbell’s first thrust with the big screen was when she was just 7 years old. She featured in a music video for Bob Marley’s ‘Is this love`. Naomi’s extraordinary looks earned her an appearance on the cover of Elle when she was just 16 years old. She went on to be the first black model to feature on the cover page of Vogue. After starting her career on the ramp, Naomi quickly turned her attention to advertisements for different top brands like Lee Jeans and Olympus Corporation that ultimately exposed her to the American market. The gorgeous Naomi Campbell quickly managed to captivate the American modeling world after she signed up for two big fashion houses named ‘The Big Six’ and ‘The Trinity’. Naomi’s picture on the cover page of ‘Time’ won her laurels and fans throughout the world as she was the first black model to do so. Her extraordinary career is highlighted by the fact that she has featured in more than 500 magazine covers. Naomi Campbell’s popularity doesn’t end with the modeling world. She keenly takes interest in music videos. She has appeared in a number of music videos that includes a list of top musicians and singers throughout the world. She appeared for stars like Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Usher, Bob Marley, The Notorious B.I.G, Madonna, Prince and George Michael. She tried her part of singing as well by releasing her solo album ‘Baby Woman’ that sold more than 1 million albums throughout the world. The flip side of Naomi’s popularity among her admirers goes beyond her catwalk and music appearances. She has hit headlines many times owing to her short temper and police cases. Her drug addiction shows a much darker side of this super-model. There were always rumours surrounding her drug addiction that were time and again denied by her. In 2001, the world was taken aback after they saw pictures featuring Naomi Campbell leaving a Narcotic Anonymous meeting in the city of London. A big hue and cry enveloped the modeling world as Naomi sued ‘The Mirror’ for publishing the pictures that they claimed to be in public interest. Naomi’s violent behavior over the last few years resulted in a lot of negative publicity for this black bombshell. She apparently, lost many fans because of her anger. Her dirty spat with celebrities like Tyra Banks and Victoria Beckham was the good news for tabloids and entertainment channels that poked fun of her bad temper. Italian actress Yvonne Scio even went on to term Campbell as ‘Mike Tyson’. Campbell was accused of throwing a telephone at her assistant Georgina Galanis in a hotel room and threatened to throw her out of a moving car. In 2000, Naomi pleaded guilty for this brutal crime but was lucky that the case was sorted out without any jail term. Even Amanda Brack, her assistant began legal proceedings against Campbell accusing her of assault and allegedly slapping her after she began to work for the super-model. On 30th March 2006, Campbell’s anger crossed all limits after she threw a jewel-encrusted phone at her house-keeper that resulted in several stitches on the head. A second degree assault case was filed against Campbell. There have been different theories surrounding Naomi’s temper as a TV channel once claimed that it was the result of Naomi’s father abandoning her as a child. Naomi’s violent nature towards her maid got her into trouble on many occasions as she was arrested several times for alleged assault and violence. Naomi has revolutionised the fashion world with her black exotic beauty but her controversies refuse to die out.