Born 1917 in San Antonio, Texas, dark-haired, blue-eyed, 5ft 5in tall, with an hourglass figure and exquisite features, Dorian Leigh appeared on no fewer than six covers of Vogue in 1946, and, over the next six years, graced the covers of 50 more glossy magazines.
Dorian Leigh in the 1940s
Leigh played muse to a clutch of photographers – Avedon, Beaton, Blumenfeld, Horst and Penn among them – and in the 1950s became the signature model for Revlon’s Fire and Ice lipstick and nail polish campaign in a series of images, photographed by Richard Avedon with the advertising slogan: “For you who love to flirt with fire; who dare to skate on thin ice”. Avedon later stated that she was the most versatile model, and the loveliest, that he had ever worked with.
Dorian Leigh’s career lasted from the 1940s to the 1960s. After retiring from modeling, she opened a modeling agency in Paris. In 1980, she published her autobiography, The Girl Who Had Everything. She also wrote two cookery books: Pancakes and Doughnuts.
Leigh died in a Falls Church, Virginia nursing home from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 91 in 2008. Take a look at these stunning photos to see fashion portraits of a young Dorian Leigh in the 1940s.
Dorian Leigh in charming nightgown of yellow voile and ruffles and white cotton lace by Brigance for Lord & Taylor, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper’s Bazaar, November 1944
Dorian Leigh in a Dan River cotton plaid sundress, Vogue, June 1, 1945
Dorian Leigh is wearing a bonnet in mauve taffeta with wide streamers and roses at Bergdorf Goodman, Kodachrome by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper’s Bazaar, February 1945
Dorian Leigh in a fern-printed Onondaga rayon dress, jewelry by Seaman Schepps, photo by Serge Balkin, Vogue, May 1, 1946
Dorian Leigh in abstract print evening dress in rayon crêpe, leather girdled by Omar Kiam for Ben Reig, gold jewelry by John Rubel, background by Marcel Vertès, photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, April 1, 1946
Leave a Reply