What do you think?
Rate this book
Jean Shrimpton: An Autobiography
She was the looks of the 60s. Her face appeared on the cover of every fashion magazine and her life in every gossip column. Jean Shrimpton tells the story of the partnership between her and the East End photographer David Bailey which brought them both fame and fortune Lovers, as well as photographer and model, his sensitive, yet exciting pictures helped her to become known worldwide as "The Shrimp". Her life since then has not always been happy - and was frequently bizarre. She lived for a period with Heathcote Williams and for some time with a schizophrenic. Her modelling career was abandoned as she struggled to come to terms with the problems that her fame had created. Only recently has she found happiness and contentment with her husband Michael Cox and a quiet life in Cornwall, where they run a small hotel.
254 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 1991
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2013
Jean Shrimpton was one of the first 'supermodels', a haunting beauty whose work with David Bailey was iconic. She is also something of an enigma, having left the fashion world behind in the 1970s. She has managed a small hotel in Cornwall with her husband and son for 30 years. This ghosted autbiography, published in 1990, is a nice momento of her heyday. But her extremely private nature comes across in every page, making it a rather stilted read.
August 11, 2021
I think she lived a very crazy life. Not really sure what I think. Sad story because it took her so many years to feel complete.
April 28, 2024
3.5 stars. I picked up this 1990 memoir on a whim remembering Jean Shrimpton from my young adolescence. She stood out from the rest, and I wondered what happened to her. At about age 12, I embraced the changing styles where you could knock out a mini skirt in a couple of hours with one yard of fabric. Shrimpton was particularly memorable since her beautiful natural looks were unique and part of the 60's/70's British invasion that we all were enamored with. It seems to me her perfect features sold makeup but actually drew attention away from what she was wearing, perhaps not always the marketing intent. I recall she appeared at a west coast downtown department store for a Yardley cosmetics promotion that I went to with friends. I can't remember details of her appearance there or what she had to say in her remarks, but the book mentions she didn't enjoy this national tour that influenced young girls to buy stuff they didn't need. It fed unrealistic expectations in us, but it was fun. I've never understood the coutour designer fashion depicted in Vogue and similar mags that she posed for, making no sense for regular people. But Shrimpton's image seemed to give the illusion of being doable. Of course, trying to imitate her was sadly futile.
The memoir is well written and generally interesting but is mostly about Jean's romantic relationships. She seemed to have had an unfortunate attraction to guys whose personalities had a creepy side. They often treated her with disrespect, and she was mostly a doormat around them. She describes herself as identifying with the hippy movement and embracing some of that attitude and lifestyle. This often involved being taken advantage of by temperamental opportunists who latched onto wealthy people while, of course, spouting their anti-capitalism. She admitted to blowing a lot of her money on them. She expressed indifference toward the quick fame and fortune bestowed upon her and downplayed top model success; a bit eyerolling. But I guess when you look like her, it's easy to take the accolades for granted. I expect the physical hard work, celebrity, and stereotyping that came with top modeling were challenging, but she was very good at the profession even if she got little satisfaction from it. Her many photos could have been taken yesterday. I expected more detail about the demands of modeling work, so the book seemed a little incomplete.
A past good friend of mine attended modeling school from the fifth grade through high school, so I heard more than I otherwise would have about modeling issues. I didn't envy the discipline required--diet, appearance, grooming, posture, etc. In hindsight, her efforts were probably driven more by her mother's ambition. Post high school, she was accepted by the Wilhelmina modeling agency, a big deal, and she went to New York City at age 18. I saw her only a couple of times after that. She said she landed some jobs, although she found the constant criticism hard to take. Six feet tall and 125 lbs then, she was still pressured to lose weight. She had the looks, but since I didn't run across her picture in anything, I'm not clear how well she actually did. She married within a few years and moved back West, where she remained; presumably, modeling in NYC wasn't much fun.
Shrimpton's story reminded me of the pop culture that occupied my teenage thoughts back then. She left modeling in her early thirties and purchased a hotel in Cornwall with her husband and they have a son. The hotel business is probably a more difficult way to make a living than her former lucrative career, but Shrimpton indicated she found happiness with it. She seemed like a nice person, ego in check, and is now 81.
The memoir is well written and generally interesting but is mostly about Jean's romantic relationships. She seemed to have had an unfortunate attraction to guys whose personalities had a creepy side. They often treated her with disrespect, and she was mostly a doormat around them. She describes herself as identifying with the hippy movement and embracing some of that attitude and lifestyle. This often involved being taken advantage of by temperamental opportunists who latched onto wealthy people while, of course, spouting their anti-capitalism. She admitted to blowing a lot of her money on them. She expressed indifference toward the quick fame and fortune bestowed upon her and downplayed top model success; a bit eyerolling. But I guess when you look like her, it's easy to take the accolades for granted. I expect the physical hard work, celebrity, and stereotyping that came with top modeling were challenging, but she was very good at the profession even if she got little satisfaction from it. Her many photos could have been taken yesterday. I expected more detail about the demands of modeling work, so the book seemed a little incomplete.
A past good friend of mine attended modeling school from the fifth grade through high school, so I heard more than I otherwise would have about modeling issues. I didn't envy the discipline required--diet, appearance, grooming, posture, etc. In hindsight, her efforts were probably driven more by her mother's ambition. Post high school, she was accepted by the Wilhelmina modeling agency, a big deal, and she went to New York City at age 18. I saw her only a couple of times after that. She said she landed some jobs, although she found the constant criticism hard to take. Six feet tall and 125 lbs then, she was still pressured to lose weight. She had the looks, but since I didn't run across her picture in anything, I'm not clear how well she actually did. She married within a few years and moved back West, where she remained; presumably, modeling in NYC wasn't much fun.
Shrimpton's story reminded me of the pop culture that occupied my teenage thoughts back then. She left modeling in her early thirties and purchased a hotel in Cornwall with her husband and they have a son. The hotel business is probably a more difficult way to make a living than her former lucrative career, but Shrimpton indicated she found happiness with it. She seemed like a nice person, ego in check, and is now 81.
November 11, 2022
Takes you right back to London in the early 1960s
When your mum finds Mick Jager in your sister's bed - what's not to like about this memoir?
You've got to be interested in London, fashion and the 1960s, but if you are, this is great - not sure why it's out of print. I enjoyed the recent film, 'We'll take Manhattan.' about Jean and Bailey, and found myself wanting to know more. This book was obviously the source of the story. A candid, matter-of-fact portrayal of a life lived during a fascinating period of social change.
When your mum finds Mick Jager in your sister's bed - what's not to like about this memoir?
You've got to be interested in London, fashion and the 1960s, but if you are, this is great - not sure why it's out of print. I enjoyed the recent film, 'We'll take Manhattan.' about Jean and Bailey, and found myself wanting to know more. This book was obviously the source of the story. A candid, matter-of-fact portrayal of a life lived during a fascinating period of social change.
January 25, 2017
Picked this up at the library. 1960s were my era and Jean Shrimpton was an icon. She always looked so beautifully put together, so I was astounded to read that she was really a fish out of water and disliked being famous. But then the camera can't see into our souls, it can only record what the person behind it has composed.
It was stilted to read, as if Jean had answered a load of questions, but that only added weight to the fish out of water feeling.
It was stilted to read, as if Jean had answered a load of questions, but that only added weight to the fish out of water feeling.
August 6, 2008
If this doesn't convince you that supermodels are as dull and ordinary as the rest of us, nothing will. I'm sure she's a nice person ...
August 3, 2014
not sure why I felt compelled to read this book....maybe because she's an iconic figure from the 60s and 70s. my advice to models who are successful? do NOT turn and bite the hand that fed you...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews