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 famousVoguephotographer. He moved on toHarper's Bazaarfor a short time and then shot a cover forSeventeenmagazine (1948), after which he opened his own studio. However, his big break came in 1965 when he metCosmopolitanmagazine'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 thesupermodeland 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 forCosmopolitanfor thirty years. His books includeScavullo on Men(1977),Scavullo on Beauty(1979),Scavullo Women(1982),Scavullo:Francesco Scavullo Photographs, 1948— 1984 (1987),Scavullo Photographs:50 Years(1997), andScavullo Nudes(2000).

See alsoFashion photography; Models.