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Helena Christensen (born 25 December 1968) is a Danish model and photographer. She is a former
Victoria's Secret Angel Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...
, clothing designer and
beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...
. Christensen was also the co-founder and original creative director for ''
Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
'' magazine, and she is a supporter of funding for breast cancer organizations and other philanthropic charities.


Early life

Christensen was born in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark, as the elder of two daughters of a Danish father, Fleming and a Peruvian mother, Elsa. She has one sister, Anita, She is fluent in Danish, Spanish, English, French and German. Winning the
Miss Universe Denmark Miss Denmark () is a national Beauty pageant in Denmark. The pageant was founded in 1926, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe and other titleholders to Miss World, Miss International and Miss Supranational. Organization The Miss D ...
crown in 1986 at the age of 17, she subsequently represented Denmark in the
Miss Universe 1986 Miss Universe 1986, the 35th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 21 July 1986 at the Atlapa Convention Centre in Panama City, Panama. Bárbara Palacios Teyde of Venezuela was crowned by Deborah Carthy-Deu of Puerto Rico. Seventy-seven contestant ...
pageant held in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. The following year, she participated in the Look of the Year 1987 competition, where she was a finalist. Christensen left home soon after to pursue modelling in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.


Career


Modeling

Christensen rose to prominence in the 1990s, becoming one of the most popular models of her time. In 1990, she starred in the music video for
Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...
's song "
Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...
". The video was later featured on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's "Sexiest Video of All-Time", voted #4 on VH1's "50 Sexiest Video Moments", and voted #13 on VH1's "100 Greatest Videos". She became a spokesmodel for
Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...
cosmetics in 1992. She appeared on magazine covers including ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
'', ''
Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''
Harper’s Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'', and '' W'', and in fashion campaigns including
Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...
,
Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
,
Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...
,
Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...
,
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
,
Sonia Rykiel Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...
,
Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...
, Valentino and
Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
. One noted campaign featured her in a billboard in
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
, naked, "except for a strategically placed banana leaf." She was in the ''
Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...
'' catalog and in their television commercials as one of the original "Angels", along with
Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
,
Karen Mulder Karen Mulder (born 1 June 1970) is a Dutch model and singer. She is well known for her work with Versace, Dior, and Chanel as a supermodel during the 1990s. Mulder repeatedly was featured on the cover of ''Vogue'' and was also a Victoria's Secr ...
,
Daniela Peštová Daniela Peštová (born 14 October 1970) is a Czech model. She was born in Teplice, Czech Republic, and was discovered by the Madison Modeling Agency's Dominique Caffin. She had plans to attend college after grammar school but after winning a mo ...
, and
Stephanie Seymour Stephanie Michelle Seymour (born July 23, 1968) is an American model and actress. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was one of the most popular supermodels, being featured in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and the cover of ''Vogue'', ...
. In 1996, Frank DeCaro of the ''New York Times'' cited Christensen, along with
Linda Evangelista Linda Evangelista (; born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian fashion model. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential models of all time, and has been featured on over 700 magazine covers. Evangelista is primarily known for being ...
,
Christy Turlington Christy Nicole Turlington Burns (born January 2, 1969) is an American model and humanitarian. She represented Calvin Klein (fashion house), Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign in 1989 and again in 2014, and also represents Maybelline. Turlington w ...
,
Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...
,
Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...
,
Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson (; née Gow; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading ...
and
Claudia Schiffer Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...
, as "The Magnificent Seven". DeCaro reflected, "Known by their first names to legions of fans, they are the
supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...
legends of the modern catwalk, the girl next door pretty underneath all the paint". Christensen has continued to model. She graced the covers of ''
Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''N ...
'' (2016), Portuguese ''Vogue'' (2016), British ''
Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...
'' (2018), French ''Elle'' (2018). In September 2017, Christensen, along with Schiffer, Campbell, Crawford, and
Carla Bruni Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
, closed the Versace spring/summer 2018 fashion show, which was an homage to the late
Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
and
supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...
history. She walked the runway for
Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetic ...
and appeared in their spring/summer 2019 advertisement campaign with Carla Bruni,
Eva Herzigová Eva Herzigová (born 10 March 1973) is a Czech-Italian supermodel and actress. Early life and career Herzigová was born in Litvínov, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), the daughter of an accountant mother and an electrician father. Growing ...
and
Marpessa Hennink Marpessa Hennink (born 12 July 1964) is a Dutch fashion model. She is best known for her work as a runway model, which earned her the moniker “The Catwalk Contessa”. Early life Hennink was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands to a Dutch mother a ...
. Christensen is signed to ZZO Management in Paris, D Management in Milan, Unsigned Group in London and 1/One Management in New York City."Helena Christensen Profile"
Fashion Model Directory The Fashion Model Directory (FMD) is an online database of information about fashion models, modelling agencies, fashion labels, fashion magazines, fashion designers, and fashion editorials. FMD has been described as "the IMDb of the fashion ind ...
database. Retrieved 11 July 2008.


Business and photography

Christensen was co-founder and
creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
of ''
Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
'' magazine in 1999 with ''Ray Gun'' magazine publisher Marvin Scott Jarrett, and ''
Kung Faux ''Kung Faux'' is an international action comedy television series and audiovisual art assemblage created by Mic Neumann, an American creator–developer showrunner, conceptual artist and multimedia entrepreneur, who remixes classic kung fu films ...
'' creator Mic Neumann. She launched her own clothing line, Christensen & Sigersen, with lifelong friend Leif Sigersen. The pair previously ran Butik, a shop in New York's
West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
. Christensen created a
vintage clothing Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second hand retail outlets, e.g. i''n vintage clothing store''. While the concept originated ...
line, sold in her mother's store, the Yo-Yo Second Hand Shop, in
Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
, Copenhagen, Denmark.English tr.
In 2012, she created a lingerie collection, Helena Christensen for Triumph, for the UK-based lingerie brand. Christensen's collaboration with Triumph started in 2008 as the face of the Triumph brand. Aside from her modeling work, Christensen is an accomplished photographer herself, whose work has appeared in ''Nylon,'' ''
Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...
,'' and ''
ELLE ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
.'' Her exhibition "A Quiet Story," curated by Jim Cook, premiered at the Locus Gallery in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, 2006, and HotelArena in Amsterdam, 2007. Her exhibition "Far From, Close" appeared at
Dactyl Foundation Dactyl Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization in New York City founded by New York-based artist Neil Grayson and novelist/philosopher of science V.N. Alexander. History Founded in 1997 in the "evening of the postmodern day," ...
in 2008–09, to benefit
International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...
educational programs and
Chernobyl Children's Project International Chernobyl Children International (CCI) is a non-profit, international development, medical, and humanitarian organisation that works with children, families and communities that continue to be affected by the economic outcome of the 1986 Cherno ...
. In 2014, Christensen worked on a photography series: Liberty Ross, Liv Tyler, and The Pursuit of Grace. "I like doing personal, very intimate projects that don’t require a lot of pre-meetings". Christensen has traveled extensively and often finds herself on both sides of the camera. In 2016, she was announced as the "Global Explorer" for the Luxury Collection Hotels and Resorts. Her major project for the company was documenting a trip from the seaside town of Paracas to the colonial city of Cusco and the nearby
Urubamba Valley The Sacred Valley of the Incas ( es, Valle Sagrado de los Incas; qu, Willka Qhichwa), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In c ...
.


Climate change awareness

Christensen partnered with
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
in 2009 to document the impact of climate change in Peru, where her mother was born. "
Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
in Peru is already devastating and we welcome Helena’s commitment to show this to the rest of the world," said Frank Boeren, Oxfam’s coordinator in Peru. "Peru is on the frontline of climate change, along with other developing countries, which have played little part in causing the problem".


Breast cancer fundraising

Christensen launched the second
Fashion Targets Breast Cancer Fashion Targets Breast Cancer is a charity campaign originally launched in the UK in 1996 by Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and now operated under the charity's new name Breast Cancer Now. Corporate partners for the campaign represent famous high-st ...
campaign, which involves the sale of designer t-shirts to raise money for Ireland's Action Breast Cancer (
Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society (formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign) is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. History Fo ...
) and Europa Donna Ireland to help younger women with breast cancer.


Personal life

Christensen dated and lived with
INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
frontman
Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...
on and off in France and Denmark for five years in the early 1990s. She was in a relationship with actor
Norman Reedus Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1969) is an American actor best known for starring as Daryl Dixon in the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror drama series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022). He also starred as Murphy Mac ...
for five years; together they have a son born October 1999. Reedus and Christensen separated in 2003. Later, she dated
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
singer Paul Banks for seven years. Christensen has an apartment in Copenhagen, a house in Catskill, NY, and lives in Manhattan, where she drives "the only type of car I've ever had", a
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in th ...
.Philby, Charlotte (21 November 2009
"My Secret Life: Helena Christensen, Supermodel, 40"
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
She reported in 2007 that she had been residing in Monaco.


See also

* Bower Studios


References


External links

* *
Helena Christensen
at EBA Artist Listings
Helena Christensen Profile
HELLO! Magazine
Awareness_Raising:_''"What's_Your_Excuse?"''_Food_Bank_For_New_York_City
_Past_Campaigns_public_service_announcement.html" ;"title="Food Bank For New York City">Awareness Raising: ''"What's Your Excuse?"'' Food Bank For New York City
Past Campaigns public service announcement">Food Bank For New York City">Awareness Raising: ''"What's Your Excuse?"'' Food Bank For New York City
Past Campaigns public service announcementbr>Christensen's acceptance speech at the 2008 Can-Do Awards Dinner
Food Bank For New York City.
Helena Christensen: ''"Journey in fashion, from being Victoria's Secret Angel to working behind the lens"''
Interview with MEAWW {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Helena 1968 births Creative directors Danish beauty pageant winners Danish expatriates in Monaco Danish expatriates in the United States Danish female models Danish people of Peruvian descent 20th-century Danish photographers 21st-century Danish photographers Danish women photographers Fashion photographers Living people Miss Universe 1986 contestants People from Copenhagen Victoria's Secret Angels Danish fashion designers Danish women fashion designers Women Management models 20th-century women photographers 21st-century women photographers