Karen Graham
Encyclopedia
Karen Ann Graham is an American model
from the 1970s and the 1980s and a respected fly-fishing expert. For fifteen years, she was a spokesmodel for the cosmetics company Estee Lauder, Inc.
in 1945. After studying French at the University of Mississippi
in Oxford, Mississippi, and at the Sorbonne
in Paris
, she moved to New York City
to pursue a career as a French-language high school teacher. In 1969, however, her life was changed forever when she shopped at the Bonwit Teller store in Manhattan one day. Becoming impatient waiting for the down elevator, she took the stairs instead, where she met modeling agency owner Eileen Ford
. As Graham remembered in a 1999 interview, she had started chatting with Mrs Ford on the stairs, and by the time they were outside, Mrs Ford handed Graham her card and suggested that she think about becoming a model. Because Graham had not found a teaching job yet and was working as a bookkeeper, she decided to try modeling for a few years to make extra money to furnish her small apartment.
Graham's early work as a model included a photo shoot for Irving Penn
, who found her to have a lovely look and was interested in photographing her for Vogue
. Diana Vreeland
, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, found her too small, but reluctantly agreed after Penn persisted. Graham first appeared in Vogue in 1970, and suddenly found herself in greater demand when Grace Mirabella
replaced Vreeland as editor-in-chief. Between 1970 and 1975, Graham would appear on the magazine's cover twenty times.
. She was employed so frequently that by 1973, she became Estee Lauder's exclusive spokesmodel. It was a job she would do for the rest of the decade, appearing in print and television ads that presented her in tasteful, elegant, generously appointed tableaux - a parlor, a drawing room, a veranda - to represent the high-class image the Estee Lauder company created for itself.
In these ads, Graham was never identified by name, which Estee Lauder herself frankly admitted was deliberate. Mrs. Lauder did not want to dilute attention on the product by focusing more attention on the model in the ads. Many people, unfamiliar with the fashion and modeling world, thought Graham was, in fact, Mrs. Lauder. Ironically, the ads were a reflection of Mrs. Lauder's own idea of a woman of taste and sophistication. Skrebneski was happy to oblige, decorating his sets with Chinese vases, Pablo Picasso
ceramics, and well-stocked bookshelves. Because the Lauder company aimed its products at upper-income women, at expensive prices, the ads had to project luxury. Various props were used - dolls, horses, and, curiously, a framed photograph of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia, in a 1981 ad. The ad campaigns were mainly meant to project traditional, Old World elegance. A stunning exception was an ad campaign for the Lauder company's "Swiss age-controlling skincare program," in which Skrebneski photographed Graham standing among edged cylinders in a futuristic tableau and wearing her hair back, adorned with what looked like a plastic stereo headset and worn as if it were a space-age tiara.
Far more successful was a romance with British television icon Sir David Frost
but, bowing to familial pressure, she returned to Mississippi. It was there she rekindled her relationship with Sam Mavar. They had a son named Graham, after Karen's maiden name.
Karen Graham was joined by model Shaun Casey
in the Estee Lauder campaign in 1981, and for the next four years the Lauder company was thus represented by two spokesmodels. Graham quit in 1985, when she turned 40; as she told People
magazine in 2000, she decided to leave modeling while she was still on top. Casey only briefly appeared in magazine advertisements before being fired and replaced with future news anchorwoman Willow Bay
.
, where she pursued her favorite hobby, fly fishing
. She had taken up the sport in the seventies after her brother had given everyone in her family a fly rod. Her passion for fly fishing led to a second career as a fly-fishing school operator and instructor, when she co-founded, with veteran fisherman Bert Darrow, Fly Fishing With Bert and Karen. The school offers two-day instructional courses, and furnishes all equipment.
In 1999, she returned to modeling for Estee Lauder's "Resilience Lift" face cream, aimed at older women and designed to help female skin reproduce the skin nutrients that prevent wrinkles. Graham was happy to return to modeling for the campaign, which lasted for a few years, and Victor Skrebneski returned to shoot the print ads for the Lauder company after leaving in 1993. Graham also did a few seasons of ESPN2
's fishing series "In Search of Fly Water," and now lives in the foothills of North Carolina. In addition to fly fishing, she takes a great interest in horseback riding.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
from the 1970s and the 1980s and a respected fly-fishing expert. For fifteen years, she was a spokesmodel for the cosmetics company Estee Lauder, Inc.
Early years
Karen Graham was born in Gulfport, MississippiGulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
in 1945. After studying French at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in Oxford, Mississippi, and at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris 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...
, she moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to pursue a career as a French-language high school teacher. In 1969, however, her life was changed forever when she shopped at the Bonwit Teller store in Manhattan one day. Becoming impatient waiting for the down elevator, she took the stairs instead, where she met modeling agency owner Eileen Ford
Eileen Ford
Eileen Ford is a model agency executive and co-founder, in 1946, with her late husband Gerard William "Jerry" Ford, of Ford Models, one of the earliest and internationally best known modelling agencies in the world.-Early life:...
. As Graham remembered in a 1999 interview, she had started chatting with Mrs Ford on the stairs, and by the time they were outside, Mrs Ford handed Graham her card and suggested that she think about becoming a model. Because Graham had not found a teaching job yet and was working as a bookkeeper, she decided to try modeling for a few years to make extra money to furnish her small apartment.
Graham's early work as a model included a photo shoot for Irving Penn
Irving Penn
Irving Penn was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.-Early career:Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art from which he was graduated in 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he...
, who found her to have a lovely look and was interested in photographing her for Vogue
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...
. Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, found her too small, but reluctantly agreed after Penn persisted. Graham first appeared in Vogue in 1970, and suddenly found herself in greater demand when Grace Mirabella
Grace Mirabella
Grace Mirabella is a former editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine. She started working at Vogue in the 1950s and served as editor in chief between 1971 and 1988.-Biography:...
replaced Vreeland as editor-in-chief. Between 1970 and 1975, Graham would appear on the magazine's cover twenty times.
The "Estee Lauder Woman" (1970-1985)
Her status as a legendary model was set, however, with the Estee Lauder advertising campaign. The company began employing her intermittently in 1970 and 1971 to appear in their print ads, and she worked with Chicago photographer Victor SkrebneskiVictor Skrebneski
Victor Skrebneski is a photographer born to parents of Polish and Russian heritage. He was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1943 and attended the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1947 to 1949...
. She was employed so frequently that by 1973, she became Estee Lauder's exclusive spokesmodel. It was a job she would do for the rest of the decade, appearing in print and television ads that presented her in tasteful, elegant, generously appointed tableaux - a parlor, a drawing room, a veranda - to represent the high-class image the Estee Lauder company created for itself.
In these ads, Graham was never identified by name, which Estee Lauder herself frankly admitted was deliberate. Mrs. Lauder did not want to dilute attention on the product by focusing more attention on the model in the ads. Many people, unfamiliar with the fashion and modeling world, thought Graham was, in fact, Mrs. Lauder. Ironically, the ads were a reflection of Mrs. Lauder's own idea of a woman of taste and sophistication. Skrebneski was happy to oblige, decorating his sets with Chinese vases, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
ceramics, and well-stocked bookshelves. Because the Lauder company aimed its products at upper-income women, at expensive prices, the ads had to project luxury. Various props were used - dolls, horses, and, curiously, a framed photograph of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia, in a 1981 ad. The ad campaigns were mainly meant to project traditional, Old World elegance. A stunning exception was an ad campaign for the Lauder company's "Swiss age-controlling skincare program," in which Skrebneski photographed Graham standing among edged cylinders in a futuristic tableau and wearing her hair back, adorned with what looked like a plastic stereo headset and worn as if it were a space-age tiara.
Personal life
Karen Graham inevitably gained attention from many men, including Delbert Coleman, a tycoon who ran the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was known for his controversial financial deals. He married Graham in 1974, but the marriage did not last long.Far more successful was a romance with British television icon Sir David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...
but, bowing to familial pressure, she returned to Mississippi. It was there she rekindled her relationship with Sam Mavar. They had a son named Graham, after Karen's maiden name.
Karen Graham was joined by model Shaun Casey
Shaun Casey
Shaun Casey was a model active from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s. By 1987 she had given up modeling for all but a few favorite clients....
in the Estee Lauder campaign in 1981, and for the next four years the Lauder company was thus represented by two spokesmodels. Graham quit in 1985, when she turned 40; as she told People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine in 2000, she decided to leave modeling while she was still on top. Casey only briefly appeared in magazine advertisements before being fired and replaced with future news anchorwoman Willow Bay
Willow Bay
Willow Bay is an American television correspondent, editor, author, former model, and wife of Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger. She is currently a Senior Editor for the Huffington Post and a special correspondent for Bloomberg Television.-Career:Bay was born Kristine Carlin Bay in New York, New...
.
Fly fishing and more modeling
Graham remained in New York City for another six years before she moved to Rosendale, New YorkRosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, where she pursued her favorite hobby, fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
. She had taken up the sport in the seventies after her brother had given everyone in her family a fly rod. Her passion for fly fishing led to a second career as a fly-fishing school operator and instructor, when she co-founded, with veteran fisherman Bert Darrow, Fly Fishing With Bert and Karen. The school offers two-day instructional courses, and furnishes all equipment.
In 1999, she returned to modeling for Estee Lauder's "Resilience Lift" face cream, aimed at older women and designed to help female skin reproduce the skin nutrients that prevent wrinkles. Graham was happy to return to modeling for the campaign, which lasted for a few years, and Victor Skrebneski returned to shoot the print ads for the Lauder company after leaving in 1993. Graham also did a few seasons of ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
's fishing series "In Search of Fly Water," and now lives in the foothills of North Carolina. In addition to fly fishing, she takes a great interest in horseback riding.