Shyamoli Varma (born ), is a former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

actress and model. She is known as India's first supermodel and the first

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in P ...

girl. Varma is also known for her role in the Indian thriller

Rog ''Rog'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language romance thriller film directed by Himanshu Brahmbhatt, written by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Pooja Bhatt. The film stars Irrfan Khan, Himanshu Malik and Ilene Hamann. Plot Uday Singh Rathod is a ...

and for her work with

Lakmé Cosmetics Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand, owned by Hindustan Unilever. It was named after the French opera ''Lakmé'', which itself is the French word for goddess Lakshmi who is renowned for her beauty. It was started in 1952 as a 100% subsidiary of ...

. Following her work with Lakmé Cosmetics, Varma went on to live 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 ...

and model with

fashion 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 ...

companies such as

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...

, Yves Saint Laurent, and

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 ...

Early life

Varma was born into an Indian family on 11 December 11th 1953 in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the Indian army and her mother was a housewife. She is of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

, and English descent. Varma has one brother who worked as a financial advisor in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. She studied

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences i ...

in college.

Personal life

Varma married Abhijit Chaterji. She has a daughter, Akiksha, who got her Masters at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Varma is fluent in English, Hindi, and French.

Career

After graduating

Sophia College for Women Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...

, she worked as a telephone operator in Pune before she was spotted by an assistant to fashion choreographer Jeannie Naoroji. She then signed on to a three-year modelling contract with

. Varma is known in India for this partnership and has been coined as the "Lakmé girl". She was used to advertise make-up products to an India that was relatively new to the world of cosmetics. Lakmé had to overcome a negative social taboo about cosmetics in India and market their products to a country of diverse complexions and skin tones. After a year in the modeling industry, Varma appeared in ads for

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938. History Nestl� ...

and on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

, a broadcasting network owned by the Indian government. Following her work with Lakmé Cosmetics, she acquired a contract with

and moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1980 to further her work in the fashion industry. Varma worked with Yves Saint Laurent,

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'', ...

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

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 ...

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2,2 ...

Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (also known as CDG) is a Japanese fashion label based in Paris that was created and led by Rei Kawakubo. Its French flagship store is located in Paris. This label owns a world-wide store chain featuring various lines of prod ...

, and other top fashion companies. During her time in Paris, she was close with fellow Indian model

Anjali Mendes Anjali Mendes (January 29, 1946 – June 17, 2010), born Phyllis Mendes, was an Indian model (person), fashion model from Mumbai who was based in France. She was attached to Pierre Cardin’s salon in Paris during the 1970s and 1980s. Other desig ...

and photographers

Rohit Khosla Rohit Khosla (29 November 1958 – 16 February 1994) was a pioneer of contemporary fashion industry in India. Khosla studied in England, worked with designers in New York, but returned to India to start his own label in 1987, along with his si ...

and

Azzedine Alaïa Azzedine Alaïa (; ar, عز الدين عليّة, ʿIzz ad-Dīn ʿAlayya, ; 26 February 1935 – 18 November 2017) was a Tunisian couturier and shoe designer, particularly successful beginning in the 1980s. Early life Alaïa was born in Tunis, ...

. She then moved back to Pune in 1989, where she began a career as a fashion choreographer. Since then, she has traveled around India, France, and Germany and has held 6 exhibitions. In the next two years, she choreographed shows for fashion institutes, designers and trade fairs. She continued on for 5 years until the birth of her daughter.

Movies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, Shyamoli 1957 births Living people Female models from Mumbai Actresses from Mumbai 21st-century Indian actresses