MODELS from United Kingdom

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary British Models of all time. This list of famous British Models is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of British Models.

1. Naomi Campbell (1970 - )

With an HPI of 59.32, Naomi Campbell is the most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 71 different languages on wikipedia.

Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model and media personality. Beginning her career at the age of 8, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was the first black woman to appear as a model on the covers of Time and Vogue France. In addition to her modelling career, Campbell has embarked on other ventures, including an R&B studio album and several acting appearances in film and television. She hosted the modelling-competition reality show The Face and its international offshoots. Campbell is also involved in charity work for various causes.

2. Twiggy (1949 - )

With an HPI of 58.64, Twiggy is the 2nd most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Dame Lesley Lawson (née Hornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known by the mononym nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress, and singer. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. Twiggy was initially known for her thin build and the androgynous appearance considered to result from her big eyes, long eyelashes, and short hair. She was named "The Face of 1966" by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year. By 1967, she had modelled in France, Japan, and the US, and had landed on the covers of Vogue and The Tatler. Her fame had spread worldwide. After modelling, Twiggy enjoyed a successful career as a screen, stage, and television actress. Her role in The Boy Friend (1971) brought her two Golden Globe Awards. In 1983, she made her Broadway debut in the musical My One and Only, for which she earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She later hosted her own series, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities; she also appeared as a judge on the reality show America's Next Top Model. Her 1998 autobiography Twiggy in Black and White entered the best-seller lists. Since 2005, she has modelled for Marks and Spencer, most recently to promote their recent rebranding, appearing in television advertisements and print media, alongside Myleene Klass, Erin O'Connor, Lily Cole, and others. In 2012, she worked alongside Marks & Spencer's designers to launch an exclusive clothing collection for the M&S Woman range.

3. Pattie Boyd (1944 - )

With an HPI of 56.95, Pattie Boyd is the 3rd most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harrison in 1966, experiencing the height of the Beatles' popularity and sharing in their embrace of Indian spirituality. She divorced Harrison in 1977 and married Harrison's friend Eric Clapton in 1979; they divorced in 1989. Boyd inspired Harrison's songs "I Need You", "If I Needed Someone", "Something" and "For You Blue", and Clapton's songs "Layla", "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Wonderful Tonight". In August 2007, Boyd published her autobiography Wonderful Today (titled Wonderful Tonight in the United States). Her photographs of Harrison and Clapton, titled Through the Eye of a Muse, have been widely exhibited.

4. Kate Moss (1974 - )

With an HPI of 55.10, Kate Moss is the 4th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fashion icon status. She is known for her waifish figure, and role in size zero fashion. Moss has had her own clothing range, has been involved in musical projects, and is also a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue. In 2012, she came second on the Forbes top-earning models list, with estimated earnings of $9.2 million in one year. The accolades she has received for modelling include the 2013 British Fashion Awards acknowledging her contribution to fashion over 25 years, while Time named her one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2007. A subject of media scrutiny due to her partying lifestyle, Moss was involved in a drug use scandal in September 2005, which led to her being dropped from fashion campaigns. She was cleared of charges and soon resumed modelling. She has inspired cultural depictions including a £1.5m ($2.8m) 18 carat gold statue of her, sculpted in 2008 for a British Museum exhibition.

5. Kelly Brook (1979 - )

With an HPI of 52.40, Kelly Brook is the 5th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known in the United Kingdom for her modelling work, and in the United States for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom One Big Happy (2015). Brook began her career modelling for a range of advertising campaigns, which led to her discovery by the editorial team of the Daily Star tabloid, where they began featuring her as a Page Three girl. She was crowned FHM's Sexiest Woman in the World in 2005, and as of 2015, had featured in every FHM 100 Sexiest countdown since 1998. Brook has appeared on numerous British television shows, including The Big Breakfast (1999), Strictly Come Dancing (2007), Britain's Got Talent (2009), Celebrity Juice (2012–2015), It's Not Me, It's You (2016), Loose Women (2018), and The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off (2020). As an actress, she has appeared in the films Ripper (2001), House of 9 (2004), Survival Island (2005), Piranha 3D (2010), and Taking Stock (2015). Since 2019, Brook has co-presented Heart London's Drivetime Radio Show with Jason King.

6. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (1987 - )

With an HPI of 50.13, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is the 6th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley (born 18 April 1987) is an English model and actress. She is best known for her work for lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, formerly being one of their brand "Angels", for being the face of Burberry's 2011 brand fragrance Burberry Body, for her work with Marks & Spencer, and, most recently, for her artistic collaboration with denim-focused fashion brand Paige. Moving into acting, she had supporting roles as Carly Spencer in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third installment in the Transformers film series, and as The Splendid Angharad in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road.

7. Cara Delevingne (1992 - )

With an HPI of 49.94, Cara Delevingne is the 7th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 53 different languages.

Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( KAH-rə DEL-ə-VEEN; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and has also received three Teen Choice Awards and nominations for a British Independent Film Award and an MTV Movie & TV Award. Delevingne started her acting career with a minor role in the 2012 film adaptation of Anna Karenina by Joe Wright. Her most notable roles include Margo Roth Spiegelman in the romantic mystery film Paper Towns (2015), the Enchantress in the comic book film Suicide Squad (2016), and Laureline in Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).

8. Jean Shrimpton (1942 - )

With an HPI of 49.37, Jean Shrimpton is the 8th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jean Rosemary Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942) is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels. She appeared on numerous magazine covers including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Elle, Ladies' Home Journal, Newsweek, and Time. In 2009, Harper's Bazaar named Shrimpton one of the 26 best models of all time, and in 2012, Time named her one of the 100 most influential fashion icons of all time. She starred alongside Paul Jones in the film Privilege (1967).

9. Caroline Cossey (1954 - )

With an HPI of 44.23, Caroline Cossey is the 9th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Caroline Cossey (born 31 August 1954) is a British model and actress who often worked under the name Tula, which she also used for two memoirs. She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only as an extra. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as transgender by British tabloid News of the World. In 1991, she became the first trans woman to pose for Playboy. Cossey has since then fought for her right to legally marry and be legally recognised as a woman.

10. Suki Waterhouse (1992 - )

With an HPI of 38.31, Suki Waterhouse is the 10th most famous British Model.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Alice Suki Waterhouse (born 5 January 1992) is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model. She released her debut album I Can't Let Go and the EP Milk Teeth in 2022. Waterhouse began a career in modelling at the age of 16, and she went on to model for several major fashion labels such as Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Laura Mercier and Ferragamo. Her first feature film as an actress was a minor role in Pusher (2012), and she has since appeared in films such as Love, Rosie (2013), The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), The Bad Batch (2016), Assassination Nation (2018), and Detective Pikachu (2019). Waterhouse portrayed Karen Sirko in the musical drama miniseries Daisy Jones & the Six (2023).