She left show business at the age of 22, without becoming a prominent actress, singer, or even a professional model. However, Twiggy’s name became synonymous with everything that was fashionable in the 1960s.
Jude Law’s ex-wife, Sadie Frost, directed a documentary for Twiggy’s 75th birthday, in which the style icon is celebrated by Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, and Brooke Shields. We join in the celebration: without Twiggy, the world would be a little less bright.
School uniform
Her real name is Lesley Hornby, and she grew up in the small town of Neasden, just half an hour outside of London. An ordinary life, an ordinary family — her father was a master carpenter, and her mother a homemaker. Like all the other girls, Lesley wore a school uniform: a white shirt, a pleated blue skirt, and an ugly hat. Lesley was obsessed with fashionable clothes — the only problem was, where could she get them?
Doll-like eyelashes
Even though Lesley’s room was plastered with photos of actress Jean Shrimpton — chunky beads, polka-dot mini dresses — she herself preferred a boyish style. Wide trousers from the boys’ section, jeans, and her dad’s jacket. The only “feminine” touch°— and the very thing that would make Twiggy famous — were her oversized fluffy eyelashes, inspired by her rag doll.
Short haircut
At 14, Lesley had shoulder-length hair. A hairstylist she knew, Leonard Lewis, suggested experimenting with a short haircut. Lesley, to her own surprise, agreed — and by chance, the trendy photographer Barry Lategan happened to be at the salon at the time. He took a photo that, just a few weeks later, was published in the Daily Express with the caption: “The Cockney Kid with the face to launch a thousand shapes.” The legendary Diana Vreeland of American Vogue declared that this face was definitely It — and in an instant, the high school girl from Neasden became the most fashionable model in the world.
Diamond with a bodyguard
Lesley changed her name to Twiggy — meaning “a little twig.” She was photographed for magazine covers by Richard Avedon and David Bailey, and lent clothes by none other than Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin. But the working-class girl was smart enough to realize it wouldn’t last — and that it wasn’t entirely real. A telling moment came during a photo shoot where she was “adorned” with a 69-carat diamond from Harry Winston. The diamond came with a bodyguard, who was to accompany her everywhere — even into the bathroom stall — just in case she tried to make a run for it.
Secondhand chic
Lesley Hornby vividly remembers the first dress she bought with her own earnings — from the newly opened, ultra-hip concept boutique Biba. It was a fuchsia A-line dress with puffed sleeves and three tiny pearl buttons at the neckline. Twiggy was one of the most devoted fans of Biba — the brand created by Barbara Hulanicki that completely revolutionized the idea of what a fashionable girl could look like. Although the Biba concept store didn’t last long, closing around the same time Twiggy’s modeling career came to an end, it managed to instill a passion for boho chic and a newfound respect for secondhand fashion in an entire generation. Twiggy loved digging through piles of old clothes, fishing out “treasures” like worn-in corduroy trousers or an Afghan coat — the kind you might see Hailey Bieber wearing today.
No abuse
Perhaps Twiggy didn’t stay in show business for long because she wasn’t willing to play by its rules. She was “so proper it was almost boring” — never touched drugs, and didn’t even try alcohol until after she turned 20. “I’m from England. We drink tea here,” she once said.
But Lesley still ended up caught in the net of romance. Her first contract was signed when she was just 15, and her father decided to find her an adult manager to accompany her. That manager was 25-year-old Nigel Davies — a former boxer turned hairdresser who hadn’t even finished school. Apparently, Lesley’s father thought that a guy from a modest background would protect his daughter from temptation. But Nigel saw it as his big chance. He changed his name to Justin de Villeneuve and took complete control of Twiggy’s life, becoming not just her manager but also her boyfriend. It took her six years to break free from him, and the split was anything but smooth.
“You can’t be a clothes hanger for your entire life”
With that motto, Lesley — Twiggy — abruptly ended her modeling career at the age of 22. No, she didn’t spend the following years idle: she performed on stage (as Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion) and in film (winning two Golden Globes for her role in The Boy Friend), recorded several music albums — including one with Bryan Adams — worked as a TV presenter, and launched her own fashion line for women of all ages and sizes. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her unique contribution to British fashion. And 2025 could well be called the year of Twiggy’s comeback: a musical telling the story of her life is touring across the UK, and a new film is hitting cinemas — including in Russia — in which the big-eyed girl with the cropped hair proves once again that the only way to truly rewrite the rules of fashion and show business is by staying true to yourself, not becoming a mannequin for someone else’s seasonal collection.
Photo: Vostock Photo
