Neith Andrina Hunter is an American former model and actress. She began her modeling career in the 1980s in her home town of San Francisco, California, where she was discovered as a teen by John Casablancas; she was the first graduate of his exclusive model training center. French

couturier ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the ...

Hubert de Givenchy Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 21 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the p ...

offered her an exclusive contract to work for his House of

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

in Paris. She is well known for playing Marcie (better known as "The redheaded woman in the green dress") in the film Born in East L.A. She would later appear in several other films, including '' Fright Night 2'' (1988) and '' Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation'' (1990).

Career

In the early-1980s, Hunter established herself as a muse of French-based fashion designer

Diane Pernet Diane Pernet is a Paris-based American-born international fashion blogger and critic and founder of the international ASVOFF (A Shaded View on Fashion Film) festival. Education and early career Pernet was born in Washington, D.C. on October 8, ...

. Hunter went on to become an international model on

runways According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...

and in print appearing regularly in publications such as ''

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 ...

'' and

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 ...

catalogs. Neith worked with photographers Gian Paolo Barbieri, Albert Watson, Sheila Metzner, Arthur Elgort,

Guy Bourdin Guy Bourdin (2 December 1928 – 29 March 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with ''Vogue'' as well as other publications including '' Harper's Bazaar''. He shot ...

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also cre ...

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...

, Antonio Guccioni,

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

and

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in ''Vogue'' and ''Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, ''Sex''. He is n ...

. Returning to the states, Neith modeled in New York City for ''

American Vogue ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vog ...

'' and became the signature model for

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

and

fashion journalist Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, and worked extensively with photographer

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black a ...

. She studied acting with

Daniel Mann Daniel Chugerman (August 8, 1912 – November 21, 1991), known professionally as Daniel Mann, was an American stage, film and television director. Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he directed over 31 feat ...

in the mid-1980s, and relocated to Los Angeles. Working with Ritts, Hunter collaborated on the iconic image, ''Neith with Tumbleweed'', for his book, ''Pictures'', as well as, ''Neith with Shadows'' and images for Ritts' book, ''Men / Women''. Neith also appeared in books by photographers

and Gian Paolo Barbieri for ''

''.

introduced Neith to master sculptor, Robert Graham. Neith became Graham's muse and the two were a couple, during which time

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

sculpted, sketched and photographed Neith for such installations as the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

memorial in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

and ''Study for Column 1,'' in the Rolfe Courtyard, at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Hunter would later appear in films and television as an actress making her film debut in '' Born in East L.A.'' (1987). Other films include '' Less than Zero'' (1987), ''

Fright Night Part 2 ''Fright Night Part 2'' is a 1988 American horror film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and starring William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Traci Lind, and Julie Carmen. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Fright Night'', with Ragsdale and McDowall rep ...

'' (1988) and

Brian Yuzna Brian Yuzna is an American producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as ''Re-Animator'' (1 ...

's '' Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation'' (1990).

Personal life

Hunter attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

and graduated with a BFA degree in studio art in 2002. She has one child with songwriter Andrew Scandal and was married to author Warren Fahy in 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Neith Hunter, Horror Film Icon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Neith Living people American film actresses Female models from California American television actresses Actresses from San Francisco California Institute of the Arts alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)