Wilhelmina Cooper
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Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Cooper (née Behmenburg; 1 May 1939 – 1 March 1980) was a Dutch-American model who began with
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 ...
, and at the peak of her success, founded her own agency,
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 ...
, in New York City in 1967. Retrieved on 6 August 2008.


Biography

Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Behmenburg was born on 1 May 1939 in
Culemborg Culemborg () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city had a population of 29,386 on 1 January 2022 and is situated just south of the Lek river. Direct train lines run from the railway station towards the cities of U ...
, the daughter of Wilhelm Robert Karl Behmenburg (1901–1977), who was a German butcher, and Klasina van der Straten (1909–1992). Some sources list her name as being Gertrude Wilhelmina Behmenburg or Willy Gertruida Frieda Behmenburg. She had a younger brother, Walter Günther Behmenburg (1941–1945), who died at three years old after being hit by a car. The family moved to
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
in 1942, where they lived until 1944. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, they moved to Oldenburg, Germany.How Tough Is It to Become A Top Model
in ''
Tri City Herald The ''Tri-City Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Kennewick, Washington, United States. Owned by The McClatchy Company, the newspaper serves southeastern Washington state, including the three cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland (which ...
'', 1972
The family immigrated to
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, in 1954. There, she became obsessed with fashion magazines, later saying,
I even went to second-hand stores to buy all the old issues … I read them cover to cover, devouring every word and every picture of my new idols, the beautiful models who reached so glamorously from the pages out to me.
In 1956, she borrowed money from her father to go to modeling school. She took on the stage name Winnie Hart, and in 1958, she graduated from high school and joined the Models Bureau. Patricia Stevens, a booker at another agency, approached Wilhelmina at the 1959 International Trade Show in Chicago and instructed her to lose 20 pounds if she wanted to become a successful model, as well as get rid of the stage name Winnie Hart. After losing the weight, she traveled to New York, where
Eileen Ford Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...
of the
Ford Modeling Agency 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 ...
told her that she needed to lose 20 more pounds and then she could go to
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 ...
. In Paris a colleague introduced Wilhelmina to
diet pills Anti-obesity medication or weight loss medications are pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These medications alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absor ...
. She reflected,
I was on continuous diets. I’m not fat as far as real life is concerned, but I certainly was when it came to modeling. I ate twice a week. In between, it was cigarettes and black coffee. On Wednesday, I had a little bowl of soup so I wouldn’t get too sick, or a little piece of cheese on a cracker. On Sunday, I’d have a small filet mignon without salt or any sauce. I was running on nervous energy as well as determination.
She spent a year in Paris and was featured on the cover of the December 1960 issue of ''
L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' () is a French fashion magazine with a USA edition. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of ''L'Officiel'', ' ...
'' before returning to the U.S. and becoming one of the most famous models of the 1960s. During her career, she appeared on the cover of 255 magazines, and also modeled in South America,
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 ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, and Europe. In France, she worked for both
Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
and
Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
. Retrieved on 6 August 2008. She also holds the record for most covers on American ''
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'', ...
'', appearing 27 or 28 times. At the height of her career, Wilhelmina made $100,000 a year. In 1964, in a series called Private Lives of High Fashion Models, the ''
New York Journal American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
'' said that Wilhelmina was a top model out of the 405 other models who were under contract at New York's top five agencies. Her career was also discussed in a ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' article called ''Wilhelmina: From Waller High To Haute Couture''. According to her obituary in ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'':
During her cover-girl days, Wilhelmina boasted that she was "one of the few high-fashion models built like a woman." And she was. With her 5 ft. 11 in., 38-24-36 frame, doe eyes, delicate cheekbones, and mane of high-piled dark hair, she epitomized the classical, aristocratic look that she helped to make the style standard of the 1950s and '60s...
On 5 February 1965, she married Victor Bruce Cooper, former executive producer of ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
''. They had two children together; Melissa Wilhelmina Cooper and Jason S. Cooper. In 1967, they founded Wilhelmina Models, which became the other leading model agency alongside Ford Models, years before
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, ...
and other agencies began.


Death

On 1 March 1980, Cooper died of lung cancer at the age of 40 in Greenwich Hospital,
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
. Retrieved on 6 August 2008."A lovely life taken by smoking", ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', 4 juni 2006
/ref>


In popular culture

Cooper was portrayed by
Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...
in the 1998 movie ''
Gia ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth M ...
'', which tells the story of
Gia Carangi Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960November 18, 1986) was an American model, considered by many to be the first supermodel. She was featured on the cover of many magazines, including multiple editions of ''Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan'', and appea ...
, a model who was discovered by Cooper and later died of AIDS.


References


External links


Wilhelmina Models
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Wilhelmina 1939 births 1980 deaths American fashion businesspeople Female models from Connecticut Deaths from cancer in Connecticut Deaths from lung cancer Dutch emigrants to the United States Dutch female models People from Chicago People from Culemborg Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen