The matriarch of modeling, Eileen Ford, co-founder of Ford Models, passed away last week. As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, I heard stories about the strict disciplinarian from a leggy girl on my synchronized swim team. Ford signed her when she was a junior in high school and off she went to live in the Ford’s apartment on the Upper East Side. I was so envious and couldn’t believe it when the teen returned to Rochester several months later, homesick. She couldn’t stick it out. Eileen’s home was no fun house; the girls were there to work, behave and learn manners and good posture.

Eileen and Jerry Ford at the Ford Agency

Anecdotes from Katie Ford, Lauren Hutton, and Half a Century of Supermodels

Katie Ford, Eileen’s daughter, who later ran the agency, told me how there was a shuffle at the table when Eileen sat down—a gaggle of girls all scurrying to sit up as tall as they could. Lauren Hutton told me about Eileen insisting the gap-tooth beauty fix her teeth and her nose. She didn’t mince words. (Lauren, just as strong-willed as the agency icon, never did.)

The anecdotes about Eileen Ford go on and on. Don’t miss these fascinating articles about this modeling industry trailblazer:

Eileen Ford’s Legacy

Eileen Ford, Grande Dame of the Modeling Industry

Eileen Ford: Through the Years

Eileen Ford: Promoter of World’s Supermodels

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