Born August 25, 1970 in Rheinberg, Germany, Claudia Schiffer is a German model and occasional actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her resemblance to Bridgitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world’s most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers. In 2002, Forbes estimated her net worth at about $55 million (£38 million).
A daughter of Heinz and Gudrun Schiffer, Claudia grew up in a close-knit and well-to-do family in the Dusseldorf suburbs along with her two brothers and one sister. By her own account, Claudia was a shy and awkward teenager, painfully conscious of her 5-feet 11-inch height, skinny built and status as daughter of a prominent wealthy family. She originally wanted to become a lawyer and used to work in her father’s law firm.
Michel Levaton, boss of the Metropolitan Model Agency, spotted Claudia Schiffer at a Dusseldorf disco when she was 17. She was then introduced to agent Aline Souliers, who quickly secured her an appearance in French Elle, sparking a flurry of interest around Europe. Her management carefully selected jobs to “stimulate demand” for Schiffer’s wholesome looks and, half a dozen magazine covers later, she was chosen by Karl Lagerfeld to be the new Face of Chanel. And a new supermodel was created.
In the early 1990s, she starred in highly publicised Guess? jeans adverts in North America which created essential publicity for Schiffer. She was presented on the November 1999 Millennium cover of American Vogue as one of the “Modern Muses”. Paul Marciano said in E! Forbes Top 15 Supermodel Beauties Who Made Bank, “Guess name became really much more known around the world because [of] Claudia”. Soon after appearing in the campaigns, her name was launched worldwide, appearing on five magazine covers in the United States and seven covers around Europe. Schiffer joined Thomas Zeumer’s Metropolitan Models and was contracted to model for Revlon. She also became involved in modelling for several catalogues. Schiffer has done catwalk modelling for Versace, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. Schiffer was the first model to make the covers of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and People. She has also appeared many times on covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Tank Magazine and Time.
Claudia Schiffer’s commercial clout has landed her lucrative sponsorship deals with Pepsi and has seen her selling her fitness videos and books. In 1998, she famously stripped off for the Citroi«n Xsara “Only Thing to Be Seen In” campaign, which reportedly brought her £3 million even though her voice had to be dubbed by Smack the Pony comedienne Fiona Allen and Claudia hadn’t passed her driving test at the time.
Claudia Schiffer was engaged to TV magician David Copperfield for six years until 1999, when she met Brit playboy Tim Jefferies. Their romance was short-lived, however, and, as she turned 30, Claudia admitted to one magazine: “I actually don’t meet very many men because they are, I guess, afraid to approach me or think that I’m from another planet.” Happily, in autumn 2000, she met Lock, Stock producer Matthew Vaughn. The couple married in May 2002 and has a son, Caspar Matthew, born in February 2003. Their second child is due at the end of 2004.
Claudia Schiffer Photo Gallery
