Scavullo, Francesco

(1921-2004)

   Born on Staten Island, New York, to a wealthy family in the catering business, Scavullo was one of five children. He knew at an early age that he loved all things glamorous and, by the time he was sixteen, he was working as an assistant to Horst B. Horst, a famous Vogue photographer. He moved on to Harper's Bazaar for a short time and then shot a cover for Seventeen magazine (1948), after which he opened his own studio. However, his big break came in 1965 when he met Cosmopolitan magazine's editor-in-chief, Helen Gurley Brown. Together with Brown and stylist Sean Byrnes (who later became his life partner), they revolutionized the magazine's covers by featuring some of the sexiest models in the most sensual poses, known as Cosmo Girls. He directly affected the birth of the supermodel and turned girls like Patti Hansen, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Rene Russo into household names during the 1980s and 1990s. Scavullo shot covers for Cosmopolitan for thirty years. His books include Scavullo on Men (1977), Scavullo on Beauty (1979), Scavullo Women (1982), Scavullo: Francesco Scavullo Photographs, 1948— 1984 (1987), Scavullo Photographs: 50 Years (1997), and Scavullo Nudes (2000).

   See also Fashion photography; Models.