Lesley (Hornby) Lawson DBE
Privacy Level: Private with Public Biography and Family Tree (Yellow)

Lesley (Hornby) Lawson DBE

Dame Lesley Lawson DBE formerly Hornby aka Witney
Born 1940s.
Ancestors ancestors
Sister of [private sister (1930s - unknown)] and [private sister (1940s - unknown)]
Mother of [private daughter (1970s - unknown)]
Profile last modified | Created 24 Jun 2015
This page has been accessed 2,228 times.
English flag
Lesley (Hornby) Lawson DBE is managed by the England Project.
Join: England Project
Discuss: england

UK's 1960s supermodel and cultural icon - Twiggy

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Lesley (Hornby) Lawson DBE is Notable.

Lesley's birth was registered in the Jul-Aug-Sep quarter of 1949 in the Willesden district.[1] Her parents were William Norman Hornby and Nellie Lydia (Reeman) Hornby ('Lydia' is a name favoured by the Reeman family for over two hundred years). Twiggy's family was making the news over 50 years before she was born, when her great great grandmother, Grace (Gillies) Meadows was trampled to death at a bargain sale in 1897. [2]

Twiggy worked as a 'Saturday girl' for a London hairdresser. Originally nicknamed 'Twigs', because she was naturally thin, her then-boyfriend, himself a hairdresser, changed his name and became her manager for the next seven years.

Her supermodel and iconic career began when she went for a haircut. The cropped look was new, and she stepped in as a model. Several photos were taken, later hung in the salon, were seen by a fashion journalist, and so began a rise to fame which saw Twiggy labelled "The Face of '66". [3] She was only 16. One month after this saw Twiggy posing for Vogue magazine. Her signature look of a stick-thin figure, a cropped haircut, and huge, dark eyes (this last achieved by wearing three layers of false eyelashes) launched her into appearances in fashion magazines. Twiggy herself says that her influences were Jean Shrimpton and Pattie Boyd.

Twiggy became an international sensation, travelling to New York, France, and Japan. She was photographed by some of the most famous photographers of the day, and praised for her boyish figure and generally androgynous looks. Her detractors have maintained that her thin looks were promoting an unhealthy image.

On 10 December 1969, she was chosen as the guest celebrity subject for one of the first episodes of This Is Your Life.

Twiggy retired in 1970 and broke off with her manager/boyfriend. She began to look into film work and singing, and her dress style changed; since the 'hippie look' was beginning to become all the rage, she opted for longer skirts, berets, and flowers. She worked with the Beatles, David Bowie and Leo Sayer, singing their songs and duetting with Sayer. Twiggy appeared on stage and screen - and the small screen (TV and cable). She continues to participate in ad campaigns.

In 1977, Twiggy married the American actor Michael Witney, who was born Whitney Michael Armstrong. The couple had one child together, and remained married until Witney died in 1983 of a heart attack. Twiggy married again in 1984.

In 2019, Twiggy was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for 'services to fashion, the arts, and charity'. [4]

Twiggy and her husband live in London and Southwold, Suffolk, England. She can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Bibliography

  • Twiggy, Twiggy: An Autobiography (1975), ISBN 978-0-246-10895-1
  • Twiggy, Twiggy's Guide to Looking Good (1986), ISBN 978-0-00-636672-0
  • Twiggy, Twiggy in Black and White (1997), ISBN 978-0-671-51645-1
  • Twiggy, Twiggy: Please Get My Name Right (2004), Word Power Books, ISBN 9784939102578
  • Iain R Webb, Bill Gibb: Fashion and Fantasy (2008), foreword by Twiggy, ISBN 978-1-85177-548-4
  • Twiggy, A Guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous Over Forty (2008), ISBN 978-0-7181-5404-2

Filmography

For complete filmography and more, please see freespace page

  • 1971 The Devils, as Woman
  • 1971 The Boy Friend, as Polly
  • 1974 W, as Katie Lewis
  • 1980 The Blues Brothers, as Chic Lady
  • 1980 There Goes the Bride, as Polly Perkins
  • 1985 The Doctor and the Devils, as Jennie Bailey
  • 1986 Club Paradise, as Phillipa Lloyd
  • 1986 The Little Match Girl, as Josie Roberts
  • 1988 Madame Sousatzka, as Jenny
  • 1988 The Diamond Trap, as Det. Sgt. Charlie Lawson
  • 1988 Sun Child, as Fen Harris
  • 1990 Istanbul (Keep Your Eyes Open), as Maud
  • 1993 Body Bags, as Cathy Matthews
  • 1997 Something Borrowed, Something Blue, as Eve Hamel
  • 1998 Brand New World, as Viv

Sources

  1. Birth Registration: "England & Wales Birth Index"
    FreeBMD Entry Information (accessed 22 January 2022)
    Hornby, Lesley (Mother's maiden name: Reeman).
    GRO Reference: 1949 Jul-Aug-Sep in Willesden Volume 5f Page 439.
  2. "Twiggy: everything you need to know", WDYTYA magazine
  3. "The face of '66", BBC News
  4. DBE:London Gazette

See Also:


Only the Trusted List can access the following:
  • Lesley's formal name
  • nicknames
  • exact birthdate
  • birth location
  • images (4)
  • private siblings' names
  • private children's names (1)
  • spouse's name and marriage information
For access to Lesley Lawson's full information you must be on the Trusted List. Please login.


Comments: 7

Leave a message for others who see this profile. If you prefer to keep it private, send a message to a profile manager: private message private message
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Should this profile not have a Nickname on it of "Twiggy"? I wondered who Lesley Lawson was until I read the biography.
posted by Joanna Gariepy
It does! See the line of her name:

Dame Lesley "Twiggy" Lawson DBE formerly Hornby aka Witney

posted by Ros Haywood
Aha! You can see the nickname because you are the profile manager. I cannot see it because the profile will be locked for some time yet. For those outside of the Trusted List, there is no nickname to be seen. Would it show up in Preferred Name, i wonder? Although, maybe that would be unsuitable if it was only her 'model' name.
posted by Joanna Gariepy
Hello Profile Managers!

We are featuring this profile in the Connection Finder this week. Between now and Wednesday is a good time to take a look at the sources and biography to see if there are updates and improvements that need made, especially those that will bring it up to WikiTree Style Guide standards. We know it's short notice, so don't fret too much. Just do what you can.

Thanks!

Abby

posted by Abby (Brown) Glann
Hi Gilbert!

If I had caught this request, I'm sure that I would have quickly granted you Trusted status, as I have had this problem a lot myself, lately. Please send me a request with your email address in it so that I can grant the desired Trusted List status.

Sincerely,

Jill

posted by Jill (Turkington) Lee
I requested trusted list on Dec 2, 2017. Interested in celebrities connected to husband Michael Witney,
posted by Gil Davis
Please add: "Category: Who Do You Think You Are (UK)"

Thanks.

posted by DK Clews

H  >  Hornby  |  L  >  Lawson  >  Lesley (Hornby) Lawson DBE

Categories: Who Do You Think You Are (UK) | Mononymous Notables | Featured Connections Archive 2022 | Notables