Claudia Schiffer Biography

Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Date of Birth: 25 August 1970, Rheinberg, Germany

Height: 5' 10¾" (1.80 m)

Biography:

Claudia is a German model and actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her striking resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers. Forbes estimated her net worth at about $55m (£38m).

Schiffer was born in Rheinberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, which is a small town 15 km northeast of Duisburg. She is the daughter of Gudrun and Heinz Schiffer, a lawyer. She has two brothers, Stefan and Andreas, and one sister, Ann Carolin.

Schiffer said that she was popular in high school, but felt socially overshadowed by the other girls in her class. She has revealed that because she was so tall, she became very shy and did not want to be noticed. She was also subjected to jealousy by others as she came from a wealthy family that was well-known locally. Schiffer became fluent in French and English.

She originally wanted to become a lawyer and work in her father's law firm. She later dropped these aspirations when in October 1987 at seventeen she was spotted in a nightclub in Düsseldorf by Michel Levaton, the boss of Metropolitan Model Agency who signed her up to become a model.

She completed her education and then began to work as a model. She flew out to Paris for a trial photo shoot and soon after she appeared in the cover of French Elle after being well received in Paris. After several other magazine appearances she quickly achieved "supermodel" status when she was selected by Karl Lagerfeld to become the new face of Chanel. Schiffer went on to become world-famous, recognizable with her blue eyes, blond hair and tall figure, standing at 1.80m.

In the early 1990s she starred in highly publicised Guess? jeans adverts in North America which created essential publicity for Schiffer. 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". Soon after appearing in the campaigns, her name was launched worldwide, appearing on five magazine covers in the United States and seven covers around Europe. Her modelling career continued to grow. Schiffer joined Thomas Zeumer's Metropolitan Models and was contracted to model for Revlon. She also became deeply involved in modelling for several catalogues and modelled on high profile catwalk shows. Schiffer has done catwalk modelling for Versace, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and People all saw Schiffer as the first model to make their covers. She has also appeared many times on covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Tank Magazine and Time.

Schiffer has also been the face of Mango, a chain of Spanish clothes stores and Accessorize, where she had her ears pierced especially for her Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign in 2006. Schiffer still holds a contract with L'Oréal and Ebel watches,and her billboard picture for Kenar has also hung over millions of tourists at Times Square. Since 1990, she has created a swimsuit calendar each year which she stars in and designs herself

Schiffer later secured contracts with Pepsi appearing in advertisements promoting the brand, and has also danced with a cartoon version of Mickey Mouse in advertisements promoting Fanta for an estimated $2 million. From her appearances in a 1998 Citroën advertisement, she earned a reputed £3 million. Karl Lagerfeld filmed her for a Dom Perignon campaign, some ten years after her first appearances in Chanel adverts.

She is signed to several agencies, including 1/One Management in New York City, Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment in London for her non modelling interests and her mother agency 'Model Management' in Hamburg.

Schiffer dated magician David Copperfield for about five years from 1994 until 1999. They first met in 1993 at one of Copperfield's stage shows, where he invited her on stage to take part in his 'Flying' illusion, and he then subsequently sawed her in half during a joint appearance on German television. Throughout their relationship, she often joined Copperfield in his stage shows as a "special guest assistant" in a number of illusions, including being levitated, guillotined and sawed in half.[18] Following the end of her relationship with Copperfield, she met and had a relationship with Tim Jefferies.

On 25 May 2002, she married the film producer Matthew Vaughn. Instead of an engagement ring, Vaughn bought her a tortoise. On her wedding day, many journalists and 200 onlookers gathered to see her in her wedding dress. She was married in St. George's church in the village of Shimpling. The wedding reception was held at Schiffer's Elizabethan mansion.

Schiffer and Vaughn have two children: son Caspar Matthew, (born 30 January 2003) and daughter Clementine de Vere Drummond, (born 11 November 2004). They all now live in London. On January 15, 2010, it was announced that the couple is expecting their third child, and that Schiffer is due in May. During her spare time, Schiffer enjoys horse riding, painting, playing tennis and skiing. She didn't get her ears pierced until 2006, at the age of 35, when she had them pierced especially for her Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign.

Schiffer had two significant problems with harassment in the past. In 2002, an Italian kitchen porter was arrested after making nine visits to Schiffer's £5 million Suffolk mansion near Bury St Edmunds, attempting to see her. Charges against him were dropped however, as he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He believed that the Pope had told him to marry Schiffer. In 2004 a Canadian man, was accused of harassing Schiffer, also at her mansion in Suffolk. He called at her mansion in the hope of seeing Schiffer. He also repeatedly left letters at her home.

Spouse:

Matthew Vaughn (25 May 2002 - present) 2 children
David Copperfield (1994 - 1999) (divorced)

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Fun Facts

Trivia:

Owns the chain of Fashion Cafe restaurants with Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Elle Macpherson.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1991]

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world [1990]

Was married to magician David Copperfield (1994 - 1999).

Spokeswoman for breast cancer.

Volunteers for UNICEF.

Engaged to Green Shields Stamp heir and playboy Tim Jeffries. [1999]

Engaged to producer Matthew Vaughn [end 2001]

30 January 2003, Son, Caspar Matthew De Vere Drummond, born weighing 7 pounds.

Measurements: 33 1/4-25-36 (begining model 1990), 35C-24-35 (self-described). 35 1/2C-24 1/2-35 3/4 (1996 model card), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Presented Prince William Windsor with a polo trophy in 2002.

9 November 2004, she gave birth to a healthy baby daughter, Clementine, in London. The baby reportedly weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

One of the five supermodels. The others are Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista.

Her children are: Caspar and Clementine.

Is fluent in French.

Loves Prada.

Loves dogs, especially German Shepherds.

Had a craving for curry during her first pregnancy.

Was ranked #5 in Channel 5's "World's greatest supermodel".

Holds the record for the supermodel with the most magazine covers, gracing over 900.

After being discovered in a Düsseldorf night club at the age of 17, she went to Paris and started modeling for Chanel, where she became Karl Lagerfeld's favorite model.

June 1992: At the personal request of Sting, she participated in the "Rhythm Of Life Fashion Charity Gala" at London's Grosvenor Hotel, to raise money for the Rainforest Foundation alongside the world's top models including Kylie Minogue, Yasmin Le Bon and Naomi Campbell.

Has a home near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.

She's the oldest of four children. Claudia has one sister named Ann Carolin and two brothers named Stefan and Andreas.

Daughter of Gudrun Schiffer, a housewife, and Heinz Schiffer, a lawyer. Her father died on July 24th 2007.

When she signed up to front the Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign, her contract included an additional payment to cover her getting her ears pierced for the first time in her life.

She first met magician David Copperfield when he invited her up from the audience at one of his shows to take part in his "Flying" illusion. Shortly afterwards, when they appeared together on German TV, they performed a version of the famous "Sawing a Woman in Half" illusion where she was apparently sawed in half by Copperfield. After she had been "sawed in half" and the two halves of the box separated, Copperfield tickled "her" feet, causing her to laugh and complain (in German) that she was ticklish.

Appeared in a Mario Testino photo shoot for Vanity Fair magazine alongside supermodels Christy Turlington, Stephanie Seymour, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. The pictorial covered pages 182 through 193. [September 2008]

Appeared semi-naked in the September 2008 issue of Vanity Fair magazine alongside supermodels, Stephanie Seymour, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. Photo shoot was conducted by Mario Testino whose career was launched when Evangelista commissioned him to photograph her for the cover of a German issue of Vogue magazine.

While married to magician David Copperfield, she sometimes appeared as a special guest assistant in his stage shows, taking part in a number of illusions including being levitated, made to disappear and reappear, and beheaded by a guillotine. She also took part in an illusion called "Clearly Impossible", in which she was sawed in half inside a glass-sided box which was never covered at any time during the illusion.

Since getting her ears pierced in 2006, her favorite earrings have been a pair of diamond studs given to her by her husband.

Announced that she and her husband Matthew Vaughn are expecting their third child, the baby is due in May 2010.

Expecting her third child February 2010.

Expecting her third child in May, 2010 [January 15, 2010].

Personal Quotes

I know one day I'll be considered too old. I think 40-year-old women actually look more healthy and fit than some girls in their 20s. I've met women who have way better bodies in their 40s because they've been working on them for all these years.

"I actually don't meet very many men because they are, I guess, afraid to approach me or think that I'm from another planet." - on turning 30, to the German magazine Stern

(on turning down appearing in Playboy in the nude): "It's not that I'm against nudity. I'm German, I'm very open, in Germany they lay in the park naked. It's just the principle."

I always wanted to be less tall. When I was at school I was the same height as all of my girlfriends and then suddenly I was turning 12 and almost overnight I got really tall. I became the height I am now from one day to another... and everyone else stayed short. Boys don't want to be seen with a girl that is taller than them. It was totally isolating because I was different from my friends.

I used to work every single day and travel round the world. I worked weekends, I never took one second off. When I met my husband I said, "You know what, this is important. I'm not going to work weekends any more." And when I had kids, I became even more careful. Modelling work is fine because you can do one day here, two days there, you're never long gone.

I love being pregnant. You can do whatever you want. You don't feel guilty, because I used to feel guilty about having a day off. And, you know, something really strange happened to me. Before my pregnancies, I was someone who had to watch their weight.

I love wearing flat shoes, but I am not one of those girls who walks around in sweat pants and sneakers. I think I have something going on with shoes. Flat shoes. I buy them in several colors at once. High heels are for work and they have always been uncomfortable for me. I'm amazed when I see mothers wearing high heels. If your kids run off you can't run after them.

I just love to shock people. Yesterday my friend said, "What a great top, is it Stella?" I said, "No, it's Mango, £25." I'm never head-to-toe in anything. I like to mix things from Prada, things from Marc Jacobs. But, you know, you can spend several thousand pounds on something, wear it for one day and the button falls off. I get really pissed off when you spend so much money.

I love my engagement ring. It is the only thing I wear to bed!

(On finally having her ears pierced) At first, it felt a bit strange to have them done, but I soon got used to it. Now, I really love them and keep wondering why I waited so long to have them done.

I'm not really a big jewelry person - never have been. Normally, all I wear is my wedding ring, a watch, and a small cross on a chain around my neck. Of course, now I've got pierced ears, I'll often wear earrings too, but not always. If I do, its usually a pair of diamond studs my husband gave me, although if I'm feeling especially bold, I've got some big hoops I love to wear too.

The first time David sawed me in half, I did feel quite nervous. But it was a lot of fun to do, and I didn't feel a thing as he sawed through me and pulled me apart. Now, being sawed in half is definitely my favorite part of being in David's shows.