Claudia Schiffer

Schiffer in 1993

Schiffer originally aspired to become a lawyer and used to work in her father's law firm.[8][12] In October 1987, at age 17, she was scouted in a nightclub in Düsseldorf[8][13][14] by Michel Levaton, the head of Metropolitan Model Agency, and was later signed to the agency as a model.[15][16] After leaving high school, Schiffer flew to Paris for a trial photo shoot, and subsequently appeared on the cover of Elle.[13][17]

In 1989, she starred in campaigns for Guess?.[12][13][18] Guess? co-founder 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". Early on in her career, Schiffer was said to resemble Brigitte Bardot.[8][19][20] After several other magazine appearances including the cover of British Vogue, shot by Herb Ritts,[21] Schiffer was selected by Karl Lagerfeld to become the new face of Chanel,[14][17][18] where she walked in her first fashion show in January 1990.[16]

Named one of the most beautiful women in the world, her ability to appeal to a global audience assured an internationally successful career spanning over 25 years. In addition to Elle and Vogue, Schiffer has appeared on the covers of numerous other magazines including Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Time, and was the first model to be featured on the covers of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and People.[22] She was one of 10 models on Vogue's 100th anniversary cover in 1992.[18][16] In May 1997, Schiffer was featured on the cover and in the pictorial of Playboy.[23] She has appeared on a total of more than 1,000 magazine covers.[8][14]

Schiffer has walked in fashion shows for various fashion houses, including Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloé, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Fendi, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Balmain, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Valentino. In 1992, she was earning a runway fee of $20,000 per show.[20]

She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Balmain, Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Dom Pérignon,[24] Alberta Ferretti, Bulgari, Chloé, Escada, Blumarine, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, Liz Claiborne, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Guess?, Salvatore Ferragamo, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Dillard's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Revlon, Intergaz and Pepsi. In 1994, she starred in a campaign for Valentino, photographed by Arthur Elgort in Rome, which was inspired by the film La Dolce Vita.[16][25] In 1997, Schiffer signed an exclusive worldwide contract with L'Oréal.[26] Schiffer still holds a contract with L'Oréal and is one of their longest standing ambassadors.

As well as endorsing luxury brands, Schiffer has appeared as the face of high street retailers including Mango and Accessorize, and had her ears pierced for the first time specially for the 2006 Autumn/Winter Accessorize campaign.[27][28][29][30] From her appearances in a 1998 Citroën advertisement she allegedly earned £3 million.

Schiffer was a judge on Fashion Fringe in 2011.[31] In 2012, she posed for Guess? again, marking the brand's 30th anniversary.[32]

Schiffer made her film debut in the children's movie Richie Rich (1994, as the title character's personal fitness trainer). She then starred opposite Dennis Hopper and Matthew Modine in The Blackout (1997). She then went on to appear in Friends & Lovers, Black and White (both 1999), In Pursuit, Life Without Dick (both 2001), and Love Actually (2003) in a semi-cameo role. Films in which Schiffer has made cameo appearances include Ben Stiller's Zoolander (2001).[12]

Schiffer has appeared on several talk shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Jonathan Ross Show, and sitcoms Dharma & Greg and Arrested Development. She made a cameo appearance in the music video for Bon Jovi's "Say It Isn't So" in 2000, and appeared in the music video for Comic Relief's 2001 charity single, Westlife's "Uptown Girl".

Schiffer began her involvement with UNICEF by becoming a member of the Arts & Entertainment Support Committee, and is currently a UK Goodwill Ambassador for the organization. Schiffer was also a spokesman for Make Poverty History, and appeared in their "Click" campaign. In July 2005, she appeared as a presenter at both the Berlin and Edinburgh Live 8 concerts.

Schiffer has released four exercise videos, entitled Claudia Schiffer's Perfectly Fit, which reached the best seller list. Starting in 1992, Schiffer was the star of her own line of annual calendars. Her initial 1992 calendar sold more than 300,000 copies.[20] Schiffer has hosted the French Fashion Awards, and also the 1995 World Music Awards in Monaco.[33]

Along with fellow models Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Elle Macpherson, Schiffer was joint owner of a chain of restaurants called the Fashion Café in 1995.[12] Schiffer helped present and carry the trophy with Pelé during the opening ceremonies at the 2006 World Cup. She also presented Prince William with a polo trophy in 2002.[9]

Schiffer launched her eponymous cashmere collection during Paris Fashion Week in March 2011.[34] The Autumn–Winter 2011 season saw her fashion design debut and was followed by a Spring–Summer 2012 collection.[35]