In the late 1960s, a teenage Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) possessed a look that was entirely unique—striking, aristocratic, and thoroughly modern. Long before she became an Academy Award-winning actress or the definitive Morticia Addams, she was a high-fashion model capturing the eyes of the world’s greatest photographers.
Though she grew up in the secluded Irish countryside at St. Clerans, the estate of her larger-than-life director father, John Huston, Anjelica moved to London as a teenager. By 1968, at just 16 and 17 years old, her distinct look caught the attention of the fashion elite. Unlike the hyper-youthful “dolly bird” look popularized by Twiggy, Anjelica brought something older, more regal, and heavily reminiscent of her mother, the Italian-American prima ballerina Enrica Soma. She possessed a strong, sculptural nose, high cheekbones, and an effortless, statuesque posture.
Her true breakthrough into the upper echelon of modeling came when legendary photographer Richard Avedon encountered her. Recognizing her unconventional beauty, Avedon ran a massive, multi-page spread of a 17-year-old Anjelica in the pages of Vogue in 1968. He took her to the rugged landscapes of Ireland and Scotland, capturing her in dramatic, sweeping capes, heavy furs, and structured woolen garments. The images combined a raw, romantic old-world atmosphere with the sharp, graphic sensibilities of late-1960s editorial photography.
While her modeling career was soaring, her transition to cinema at the end of the decade was fraught with tension. Her father insisted on casting her as the lead in his 1969 medieval romance film, A Walk with Love and Death. Anjelica, just 17 during filming, did not want the role and felt entirely unready. The production strained her relationship with her father, who was notoriously tough on set, and the film was critically panned. The experience temporarily soured her desire to act, prompting her to focus almost entirely on photography and runway modeling as she moved into the 1970s.
“I was 16, and I wanted to be a model in London, to wear miniskirts and have Jean Shrimpton’s hair. My father wanted me to be a medieval princess.” – Anjelica Huston, reflecting on her late-60s transition from modeling to film.
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