Jean Shrimpton's Real Name: Jean Rosemary Shrimpton

Quick answer: Jean Shrimpton's real name is Jean Rosemary Shrimpton. She was born on November 7, 1942, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. One of the first international supermodels, she was nicknamed "The Shrimp."

Jean Shrimpton's real name

Shrimpton was born Jean Rosemary Shrimpton and modeled under her birth name (Britannica). The press nickname "The Shrimp" played on her surname. Her younger sister, Chrissie Shrimpton, was known in the 1960s as Mick Jagger's girlfriend.

Early life

Shrimpton grew up on a farm in Buckinghamshire, where her father was a builder and farmer. She attended a convent school and then the Lucie Clayton secretarial and modeling college in London (Britannica).

David Bailey and the Swinging Sixties

Her career took off after she met photographer David Bailey in 1960. Their collaboration, and their romantic relationship, helped define the look of 1960s London. Bailey's photos of Shrimpton for British Vogue, including a famous 1962 New York shoot, broke with stiff, formal fashion photography in favor of a natural, youthful style (Victoria and Albert Museum).

Through the mid-1960s she was one of the most photographed and highest-paid models in the world, appearing on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle and Newsweek. She is often called one of the first supermodels.

The 1965 Melbourne Cup dress

In October 1965, Shrimpton caused an international sensation at Derby Day before the Melbourne Cup in Australia by wearing a white shift dress that ended well above the knee, with no hat, gloves or stockings. The outfit shocked the conservative crowd and is widely credited with helping popularize the miniskirt (National Museum of Australia).

Film and later life

She starred opposite Paul Jones in Peter Watkins' film Privilege (1967). She was also romantically linked with actor Terence Stamp.

By the mid-1970s she had stepped away from modeling. She moved to Cornwall, married photographer Michael Cox in 1979, and had a son, Thaddeus. For many years the couple ran the Abbey Hotel in Penzance. She published an autobiography, The Truth About Modelling (1964), and later An Autobiography (1990).

Jean Shrimpton: An Autobiography (book) David Bailey: Look Again by David Bailey (memoir)