The Lions Management (The Lions Model Management, LLC) is a

modeling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with b ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The company was founded in 2014.

Company history

In 2014, several models quit their agencies to form The Lions, including

Agyness Deyn Agyness Deyn (; born Laura Michelle Hollins; 16 February 1983) is an English model and actress. She is best known for her successful modelling career in the 2000s, and has been called one of the decade's top models. Since her retirement from mod ...

Karen Elson Karen Jill Elson (born 15 January 1979) is an English model and singer-songwriter. Early life and education Elson was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and attended North Chadderton School as a child. She has a fraternal twin sister, filmma ...

and Cameron Russell from

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

, Jessica Hart, Anne Vyalitsyna and Angela Lindvall from

Women Management Women Management is a modelling agency based in New York, Founded by Paul Rowland in 1988, Women Management has two sister agenciesSupreme ManagementanWomen 360 Management which are also part of the Women International Agency Chain. Women Manage ...

, and Frankie Rayder from

IMG Models IMG Models is an international modeling agency headquartered in New York City and with additional offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. It is a subsidiary of the talent management company International Management Group. The com ...

. The transfers are mostly due to models following their agents to the new agency. The Lions subsequently restructured under the leadership of new managing partners Ali Kavoussi, Louie Chaban and Christiana Tran with Julia Kisla serving as the agency's CEO. A few years later, The Lions opened up a division in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 2017. The office was headed by Charlotte Reiss, formerly of

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

, who served as its director. As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the company has closed its Los Angeles branch and remains primarily based out of New York City. In 2020, the company tapped Julie O'Donnell, former director of

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

, to serve as one of its co-directors, alongside Nancy Ortiz. The following year, in 2021, the agency began to shift from its primary strategy away from model management to include creative strategy and

brand development In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is per ...

. The agency was involved in producing advertising campaigns with

Tamara Mellon Tamara Mellon (; born 7 July 1967) is a British fashion entrepreneur who co-founded the luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo. Subsequently, Mellon founded her namesake luxury footwear brand, Tamara Mellon, with co-founder and CEO Jill Layfield and ...

and DHL.

Talent

In addition to primarily managing models in the fashion industry, the agency also maintains a roster of artists, musicians, athletes, and other public-facing figures. As of 2022, talent signed to the agency include: *

Amanda de Cadenet Amanda de Cadenet (; born 19 May 1972) is an English photographer, author, and media personality based in Los Angeles, United States. She began her entertainment career in the 1990s, first as a presenter for British series '' The Word'' and ''The ...

* Anne V * Aya Jones *

Candice Swanepoel Candice Susan Swanepoel (; ; born 20 October 1988) is a South African model and philanthropist. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010. In 2016, she was listed 8th on the ''Forbes'' top-ea ...

* Caroline de Maigret *

Coco Rocha Mikhaila "Coco" Rocha (born September 10, 1988) is a Canadian fashion model. She is known as one of the first "digital" supermodels, and is known for her advocacy for younger models. As an author, she collaborated on the 2014 book ''Study of Pos ...

Daphne Groeneveld Daphne Groeneveld (born 24 December 1994) is a Dutch model best known for appearing on the 2010 December/January cover of ''Vogue Paris'' alongside Tom Ford, considered to be a supermodel by some fashion experts and magazine editors. She is cur ...

* Daiane Sodre *

Don Toliver Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver ( ; born June 12, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He released his first major label mixtape, ''Donny Womack'', in August 2018. He is known for his singles " No Idea" and " After Party", from his de ...

* Eliza Cummings * Eva Herzigova * Frankie Rayder * Frida Aasen *

Georgia May Jagger Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger (born 12 January 1992) is a British-American fashion model and designer. Early life Jagger was born at Portland Hospital in West End, London, England, to British Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger and American sup ...

* Gracie Carvalho * Ilfenesh Hadera * Isabeli Fontana * Jamie Bochert *

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round ...

Jasmine Tookes Jasmine Tookes (born February 1, 1991) is an American model and former Victoria's Secret Angel. Early life Tookes was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. She has a younger sister, who is 19 years her junior. She did gymnastics for ...

* Jessica Hart *

Jon Kortajarena Jon Kortajarena Redruello (born 19 May 1985) is a Spanish fashion model and actor. He has landed advertising campaigns for Just Cavalli, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Bally, Etro, Trussardi, Diesel, Mangano, Lagerfeld, Pepe Jeans but notably ...

* Juana Burga *

Kate Upton Katherine Elizabeth Upton (born June 10, 1992) is an American model. She first appeared in the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the cover model for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 issues. In addition, she was the subject of the 1 ...

Kristen McMenamy Kristen McMenamy (born December 13, 1964) is an American supermodel known for her unconventional, androgynous appearance. Originally a long-haired redhead, she reinvented her look in the early 1990s by having her hair cut short and dyed black, an ...

* Kristina Grikaite * Lara Stone * Leomie Anderson * Madison Headrick *

Maryna Linchuk Maryna Linchuk ( be, Марына Лінчук; born 4 September 1987) is a Belarusian model. Modeling career Linchuk was scouted at age of 16 while still at high school. In 2006 Linchuk signed with an agency in New York. Along with Mat Gord ...

Michelle Alves Michelle Kristine da Silva Alves (born September 19, 1978) is a Brazilian model. Biography She was born in Londrina, Paraná (state), Paraná, Brazil, as the daughter of a lawyer (mother) and an engineer (father). Alves was a student in ...

Ming Xi Ming Xi or Xi Mengyao (; born 18 March 1989) is a Chinese model. Her professional modeling career started in 2009 after she attended a TV competition. Her international modeling career began in 2011 when she debuted for the Givenchy Haute Spring ...

Omar Apollo Omar Apolonio Velasco (born May 20, 1997), known professionally as Omar Apollo, is an American singer and songwriter. After signing a record deal with Warner Records, his debut album, ''Ivory'', was released in 2022 to positive reviews for his ...

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

Sara Sampaio Sara Pinto Sampaio (born 21 July 1991) is a Portuguese model best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel. Sampaio is a Giorgio Armani beauty ambassador and works for Calzedonia. She was the first Portuguese model in the ''Sports Illustrated ...

Sasha Luss Alexandra "Sasha" Alexeyevna Luss (russian: Александра "Саша" Алексеевна Лусс; born 6 June 1992) is a Russian model and actress best known for portraying Anna Poliatova in the 2019 film ''Anna''. Early life Luss w ...

* Shanina Shaik *

Sora Choi Sora Choi (Korean: 최소라; born September 5, 1992) is a South Korean fashion model. She won the third cycle of the reality television show '' Korea's Next Top Model''. She currently ranks on models.com's "Industry Icons" list. Early li ...

Stella Maxwell Stella Maynes Maxwell (born 15 May 1990) is a fashion model. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, and is also the face of the cosmetics brand Max Factor. Early life Maxwell was born in Brussels, Belgium, to Northern Irish parents, Stella Ma ...

* Tali Lennox * Toni Garrn *

Valentina Sampaio Valentina Sampaio (born 10 December 1996) is a Brazilian model and actress. She became Victoria's Secret's first openly transgender model in August 2019, and became the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue's first openly transgender model in 2 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lions Modeling agencies 2012 establishments in New York City Companies based in New York City

Company history

Talent

See also

References