Mrs. Ford’s agency defined and shaped what it meant to be an all-American beauty — and turned it into a worldwide standard. Ford “girls,” known for being fresh-faced, clean-cut and wholesome, were marketed as impeccable, but not unapproachable. Refined, but not standoffish.
As the New York Times described the typical Ford model: “the girl next door who never actually lives next door.”
Eileen Ford, modeling-agency pioneer, dies at 92
What set a million-dollar super model apart from the average pretty face? “Fire in the eye,” she once said. “Mesmerizing energy, intelligence, an I-know-who-I am look. It’s an elusive quality best described by the words charisma, excitement, magnetism. It’s a star quality I pray for.”
Mrs. Ford, who died July 9 at 92, co-founded Ford Models, which became one of the most prestigious modeling agencies in the industry. She helped launch the careers of cover girls and future actresses including Jane Fonda, Suzy Parker, Jean Patchett, Lauren Hutton, Christie Brinkley, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Elle Macpherson.
Her family confirmed her death and said the cause was complications from meningioma, a type of brain tumor, and osteoporosis. Mrs. Ford who had lived in Califon, N.J., died at a hospital in Morristown, N.J.
Working with her husband and business partner, Gerald “Jerry” Ford, Mrs. Ford became a modeling doyenne who helped transform the industry into a global, multi billion-dollar enterprise.
Mrs. Ford’s agency defined and shaped what it meant to be an all-American beauty — and turned it into a worldwide standard. Ford “girls,” known for being fresh-faced, clean-cut and wholesome, were marketed as impeccable, but not unapproachable. Refined, but not standoffish.
As the New York Times described the typical Ford model: “the girl next door who never actually lives next door.”
Mrs. Ford once told People, “I create a look and I create a style. American women mean a great deal to me. . . . I help them understand how they can look better, how to do this, do that, get a job. And they’re very trusting. Like little lost kids.”
When she started her business in the late-1940s — after a brief stint as a model herself — models were generally unrepresented and expected to negotiate their wages. With rare exception, models were poorly paid, if at all. Most worked part time and were vulnerable to exploitation by advertisers and photographers.
“There were model agencies, but one of the owners would go to jail, and I thought a different kind of agency was needed — one you could trust,” she told an interviewer in 1988.
Along with her husband, she set out to build an agency that would champion young models and command professionalism. Their New York-based company — which began in a Second Avenue walk-up — became known in the industry as fair and ethical.
Ford Models was the first agency to create a voucher system that ensured standardized pay and work hours for models. To protect their clients, the firm developed a strict system to make sure the models were paid for their time, including during preliminary fittings and photo shoots that were canceled or spoiled by bad weather.
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