Agyness Deyn
Encyclopedia
Agyness Deyn is an English fashion model, actress and singer.
Early life
Deyn is from FailsworthFailsworth
At Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. The daughter of a nurse, Lorraine, and second of three children she moved to Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
and attended All Saints RC High School, as well as Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is a selective co-educational foundation school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.-History:...
and Sixth Form in Waterfoot, Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
.
Deyn's name was apparently coined to further her modelling career after she consulted her mother's friend, a numerology
Numerology
Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...
expert who advised her of the most 'fortuitous' way to spell the name 'Agnes'. It was reported that her mother Lorraine and sister Emily have both changed their surname to Deyn, while Lorraine has changed the I in her first name to Y.
Deyn's working life started serving part-time aged 13, at a fish and chip shop in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. Even at an early age she had an eye for style and by 17 she had already had her head shaved. "I’ve had short hair since I was 13, and when I was 17, I had a skinhead." In 1999, she won the Rossendale Free Press "Face of '99" competition, aged just 16. She then moved to London, working in a fast-food restaurant during the day and a bar at night but admits: "It didn’t quite work." During this time she says she was also at college in Hull, studying drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and music.
Modelling
Deyn's biography states that she was spotted while shopping with fashion designer Henry HollandHenry Holland (fashion designer)
Henry Holland is a fashion designer from Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, England. He has attracted notice with his bold, '80s-inspired T-shirts with catchphrases such as "I'll tell you who's boss, Kate Moss". He is well known for his work with model Agyness Deyn...
in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She then signed with SELECT model management.
In May 2007, she was featured on the cover of Vogue from USA, alongside Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini
Caroline Trentini
Caroline Trentini , also known as Carol Trentini, is a Brazilian fashion model.- Early life :...
, Raquel Zimmermann
Raquel Zimmermann
Raquel Zimmermann is a Brazilian model of German descent.-Discovery and modeling career:Zimmermann was discovered by a scouting agency in Porto Alegre, Brazil at the age of 14 and made her way to Japan and on to Paris...
, Sasha Pivovarova
Sasha Pivovarova
Sasha Pivovarova is a Russian model. She is perhaps best known for her consecutive 6-season run with Prada.-Modeling career:As an art history student at the Russian University for the Humanities, Pivovarova never dreamed of becoming a model until friend and photographer Igor Vishnyakov took photos...
, Jessica Stam
Jessica Stam
Jessica Stam is a Canadian model. She is considered to be part of the crop of models described as "doll faces" alongside Gemma Ward, Sasha Pivovarova, Vlada Roslyakova, Lily Cole, Caroline Trentini, Devon Aoki, and Heather Marks...
, Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha is a Canadian fashion model.- Personal life :Rocha was born in Toronto, Ontario, and moved to Richmond and attended McRoberts secondary school, British Columbia at a very young age. Her family is in the airline industry. Her mother, Juanita, is a flight attendant and her father, Trevor...
, Hilary Rhoda
Hilary Rhoda
Hilary Hollis Rhoda is an American model. She is perhaps best known for her work with the brand Estée Lauder and her 2009, 2010, and 2011 appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.-Early life:...
, Chanel Iman
Chanel Iman
Chanel Iman Robinson , known professionally as Chanel Iman, is an American fashion model perhaps best known for her work for Victoria's Secret.-Early life:...
, and Lily Donaldson
Lily Donaldson
-Career:Donaldson was born in London, and educated at the Camden School for Girls, living in Kentish Town with her parents.Since being scouted by Select Model Management in 2003 at the age of 16 while shopping in Camden, Donaldson has landed campaigns for fashion houses such as Dior, Jil Sander,...
as the new crop of supermodels.
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, the Observer Woman supplement, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
Style, Pop, Grazia
Grazia
Grazia is an Italian weekly women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Japan, the Netherlands, India, Bulgaria and Germany....
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Style & Life, Vogue Italia
Vogue Italia
Vogue Italia is the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it is the least commercial of all editions of Vogue magazine and has been called the top fashion magazine in the world....
, and numerous other international publications.
As for professional endorsements Deyn has appeared in advertisements for Anna Sui
Anna Sui
Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...
, Blugirl by Blumarine
Blumarine
Blufin S.p.A is an Italian fashion house founded by Anna Molinari and her late husband Gianpaolo Tarabini. The core brand is Blumarine, which they started in 1977, followed by Miss Blumarine , Blugirl and Anna Molinari , which is being repositioned as their luxury brand...
, Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
, Cacharel
Cacharel
Cacharel is a French brand of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories. It was created in 1962 by Jean Bousquet, in Nîmes, who founded the company of the same name in 1964...
, Gianfranco Ferré
Gianfranco Ferrè
Gianfranco Ferré was a fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design....
, Moussy
Moussy
Moussy - Japanese fashion brandMoussy may refer to the following places in France:* Moussy, Marne, a commune in the Marne department* Moussy, Nièvre, a commune in the Nièvre department* Moussy, Val-d'Oise, a commune in the Val-d'Oise department...
, Maison Gilfy, Shiseido
Shiseido
is a major Japanese hair care and cosmetics producer. It is the oldest cosmetics company in the world and the fourth largest cosmetics company in the world.-History:...
, Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...
, Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
, Mulberry
Mulberry (company)
Mulberry is a British fashion company known for its luxury leather goods.-Background:The company was founded in 1971 by Roger Saul and his mother Joan—in 1973 they opened a factory in Chilcompton, Somerset, England. Mulberry established itself as a British lifestyle brand, noted for its leather...
, Paul Smith
Paul Smith (fashion designer)
Sir Paul Smith jr, RDI, is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear. He is both commercially successful and highly respected within the fashion industry....
, Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
and Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
. While garnering such prestigious contracts she is currently the face of the new fragrance The Beat by Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
, Gold by Giles Deacon at New Look replacing Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, Jean Paul Gaultier's fragrance Ma Dame, Shiseido
Shiseido
is a major Japanese hair care and cosmetics producer. It is the oldest cosmetics company in the world and the fourth largest cosmetics company in the world.-History:...
(replacing Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
), and childhood friend Henry Holland
Henry Holland (fashion designer)
Henry Holland is a fashion designer from Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, England. He has attracted notice with his bold, '80s-inspired T-shirts with catchphrases such as "I'll tell you who's boss, Kate Moss". He is well known for his work with model Agyness Deyn...
's label House of Holland. In 2009, Deyn landed the new Uniqlo campaign and appeared in a commercial with Gabriel Aubry
Gabriel Aubry
Gabriel Aubry is a Canadian male model.-Early life:Born in Montreal, Quebec to French-Canadian parents, Gabriel is one of nine siblings.-Modeling career:...
.
In May 2008, Deyn was guest editor of i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
magazine. The issue was devoted to her and includes articles written by and about Deyn, as well interviews she conducted with fashion insiders such as Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
. Deyn was one of the faces to land in one of the fourteen covers of V magazine
V (American magazine)
V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...
fall issue. Each cover boasts a head shot of a famous model, either from the new crop of leading models or the supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
era; it was lensed by duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
In June 2009, the Daily Mirror reported that Deyn had quit modelling to spend more time with her boyfriend. The newspaper quoted a source as saying that modelling had started to bore Deyn and that she had hired an acting agent to pursue an acting career in British independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s.
Vogue Paris
Vogue Paris
The French edition of Vogue magazine, Vogue Paris, is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920.-1920–1954:The French edition of Vogue was first issued on June 15, 1920. More information about French Vogue in the 1920s is available in Mary E. Davis's book Classic Chic: Music, Fashion,...
declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.
Deyn is known for being something of a chameleon and constantly changing her looks. Her hair has been blonde, red, brown and black during her modelling career. Although usually she sports a boyish cut more recently she has been seen with a bob and a bowl cut. In April 2010 she caused headlines when she arrived at the Coachella Music Festival with her head shaved to a "skinhead" style similar to that of Sinead O'Connor in the early 90s.
Deyn has recently collaborated with her younger sister Emily to create a line of T-shirts and tank tops for high street chain Uniqlo
UNIQLO
is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...
.
Deyn appeared in the May 2011 British Vogue editorial, photographed by Tim Walker.
Music
Deyn provides vocals for the single "Who" by Five O'Clock HeroesFive O'Clock Heroes
Five O'Clock Heroes are a New Wave influenced indie rock band currently based in New York City. Lead singer Antony Ellis is originally from Northampton in the UK...
as well as featuring in the video. The single was poorly received by NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, who gave it only a 2/10. The single charted at #109 in the UK. Until recently she was a member of the now defunct group Lucky Knitwear. Deyn's voice can be heard at the beginning of Rihanna's We Found Love
We Found Love
"We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her sixth studio album Talk That Talk . The song features Scottish singer-songwriter Calvin Harris. "We Found Love" was released as the lead single from the album and premiered on September 22, 2011, in the United Kingdom on the...
music video.
Acting
In the 2010 film Clash of the TitansClash of the Titans (2010 film)
Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010...
, Deyn played Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, Greek goddess of beauty, love and sex.
In March 2011, Deyn appeared as an owl-bearing warrior in Woodkid's debut music video, "Iron".
Agencies
- Models 1 - LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Women Management - New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- Why Not Model Agency - MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- Viva Models - ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- New York Models - New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...