Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been one woman who has commanded the attention of the general public due to her impeccable taste, stunning good looks (which were frequently accompanied by sensationalized headlines), and illustrious ancestry. As they say, she's "It." And long before Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner had millions of fans screenshotting their every Snap, these women led the vanguard, serving as muses of style and fame in their time. They were the vanguard. Today's "it girls" aren't all that different from the "it girls" of the past. They were at the epicenter of the international jet set at the time, and their activities included, among other things, posing for photographs taken by famous photographers and amassing an impressive collection of diamonds. Because of this, we have compiled a list of the best "It girls" from each decade.
Evelyn Nesbit (1884-1967)
The 1900s "It girl"
The 15-year-old Evelyn Nesbit arrived in New York City as an artist's model to help support her impoverished family back home in Philadelphia. Nesbit rose quickly through the ranks of New York society as a model for artists like John Singer Sargent and Charles Dana Gibson, as well as for Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar magazine covers. At the time, she was one of the first models to appear in live fashion photography. But scandal soon followed.
With Stanford White, Nesbit had an affair of ill-repute before her marriage to millionaire Harry K. Thaw. White paid for her apartment and clothing, among other things, before she married Thaw. But it wasn't until Nesbitt married that her jealous husband shot him dead at Madison Square Garden with a single gunshot. Nesbit testified in a tabloid trial. The first time, the judge sequestered the jury.
Daisy Fellowes (1890-1962)
The 1920s-1930s "It girl"
Daisy Fellowes became good friends with Suzanne Belperron, a well-known jeweler, as well as fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli after she learned that she was the heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Daisy Fellowes found out that she was the heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune in the 1920s. It has been suggested that she served as the impetus for these designers to create the work that they did.
Cecil Beaton regarded her as his favorite socialite of her period because she was a huge fan of jewelry and wore quite a bit of it. Her legendary collection of Van Cleef & Arpels, Belperron, and, of course, Cartier pieces has mesmerized jewelry historians for a significant amount of time. Belperron is another one of her illustrious collections. There is also the name Belperron, which is frequently mentioned.
Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-present)
"It girl" from the 1940s to the 1960s
Gloria Vanderbilt was born in the spotlight as the sole heir to the Vanderbilt fortune. She made national headlines for the first time at the age of ten, when she was at the center of a custody battle between her mother and her aunt. Vanderbilt was a regular in the papers as a teen, as a social swan on the New York and Los Angeles party circuit.
She quickly transitioned into modeling. "When I was 15, Louise Dahl-Wolfe started photographing me for Harper's Bazaar, and I just loved it, you know, I felt like a movie star," she told her son, Anderson Cooper, in his 2016 HBO documentary, Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper. "I felt girly and lovely. It was the first time they applied makeup to me, and I loved it." Vanderbilt posed for Horst, Gordon Parks, and Richard Avedon. 92-year-old artist in NYC.
Nan Kempner (1930-2005)
"It girl" from the 1960s to the 1980s
Her credo was, "The best part of a party is getting ready to go," and she endeavored to live her life by this credo. The self-described "clotheshorse" from San Francisco who lived in New York City for most of her life and went to at least 62 of Yves Saint Laurent's shows during her lifetime was a devoted fan of the designer throughout her entire life.
She experienced the most memorable Saint Laurent moment of her life when she was wearing a smoking tuxedo to the La Côte Basque event. As soon as the maître d' told her that she couldn't enter the restaurant with her pants on, she took them off in plain sight and wore only her jacket when she went into the dining room. It didn't make a difference to Nan because she was already famous for having skinny legs.
Lee Radziwill (1933-present)
"It girl" from the 1950s to the 1960s
Lee Radziwill, a socialite who was born in Southampton to a Bouvier family, wed three times and became a princess through one of her marriages. Although Lee Radziwill is best known as the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the socialite was well-known long before Jackie Onassis married John F. Kennedy.
She is now known by the surname of her second husband, the European aristocrat Stanislaw "Stas" Radziwill, following the conclusion of her divorce from her third husband. Lee is regarded as a fashion icon in New York City, where she has resided ever since relocating from London to Manhattan. Her delicate beauty and an exceptional sense of fashion have helped her achieve this status. She was frequently accompanied to these invitation-only events by the author Truman Capote, who was known for his work as a socialite fixer.
Edie Sedgwick, (1943–1971)
The era of the "It girl"
Edith Minturn Sedgwick, a Santa Barbara native who could trace her ancestry back to the Pilgrims, eschewed her well-to-do ancestors for a New York City party girl lifestyle and a coveted spot in Andy Warhol's Factory. She first met Warhol in 1965, when she was a young model, dancer, and performer with a blonde pixie cut.
Before the two had a falling out, she had quickly become one of the artist's most beloved muses, appearing in 18 of his films. But the constant partying and drug use at the Chelsea Hotel, where she lived, may have contributed to her death in the long run. At the age of 28, Sedgwick was found dead in her bed, having suffocated to death while sleeping. Fashion continues to draw inspiration from her edgy style, such as a minidress with tights.
Marisa Berenson (1947–present)
"It girl" from the 1960s to the 1970s
Marisa Berenson's long brown hair and piercing gray eyes made her a natural model thanks to the fact that she was born with them. Diana Vreeland was the one who discovered Yves Saint Laurent and Halston's favorite model, and she quickly rose to the status of the top-earning model in the 1970s. She was known for making frequent appearances at Studio 54 in gowns that revealed very little of her body.
The daughter and granddaughter of Elsa Schiaparelli were not satisfied with their modeling careers after working for Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton. She was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards in 1973, one for her role in Cabaret and the other for her work in the magazine's Vogue and Bazaar. The prickly pear is an essential component of the new skin-care line that she has created.
Grace Jones (1948–present)
"It girl" from the 1970s to the 1990s
Grace Jones may very well be the "It girl" multi-hyphenate who started it all back when the term was first coined. She's a famous singer and actress now, but she got her start in the entertainment industry as a model, just like a lot of other "It" girls. Jones, who was born in Jamaica and raised in Syracuse, New York, had a striking appearance that attracted the attention of fashion's avant-garde, including Yves Saint Laurent and Helmut Newton.
He had cheekbones that looked like they were made of glass and lips that were thick and full. Model Jones went on to release three albums in the late 1970s, but it was her concerts in the style of performance art that got people interested in her music and of our oldest "It girls." because she appeared in movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Walken, and Halle Berry in the 1980s and 1990s.
Iman (1955–present)
"It girl" from the 1970s to the 1980s
When Iman first arrived in New York to model for photographer Peter Beard, most people were surprised by how well-traveled and educated she already was. The media invented stories about the stunning woman who was 5 feet 10 inches tall and spoke five different languages." In the New York Post, Eugenia Sheppard published an article that took up an entire page about me.
She claims that Peter Beard discovered her herding goats "Supermodel said in 2015 92Y talk. Iman defied those who said about her that "She doesn't speak a word of English," by becoming a global superstar and a favorite among designers. She was successful thanks to her use of English, French, Italian, Arabic, and Somali. During the disco era of the 1970s, she rose to prominence. She dated Warren Beatty, Spencer Haywood, and David Bowie. They became the "It couple." after their 1992 marriage.
Tinsley Mortimer (1975-present)
"It girl" rule: 2000s
Early 2000s New York's most photographed women had blonde ringlets. As a Columbia University graduate and Manhattan society mainstay, Mortimer was in demand as a host and committee member. She married Topper Mortimer, heir to the Standard Oil fortune and reputed ancestor of Thomas Jefferson when she was 18 years old.
However, in 2006, a scandal broke out. Mortimer's father was rumored to be a "carpet salesman" (he later denied this, telling the New York Times, "There are rumors that my father was like a carpet salesman, and it's a family-owned carpet-manufacturing company"). Mortimer's late-aughts peak included Samantha Thavasa's bag line, Gossip Girl, a Dior endorsement, and her reality show. Then things fell apart. Tinsley moved to Palm Beach after divorcing sugar scion Nico Fanjul. Since her April arrest, Mortimer has received much media attention.
Olivia Palermo (1986-present)
"It girl" from the 2000s to the 2010s
Palermo's entrance into the New York social scene was both swift and dramatic. At the age of 20, she was featured on the cover of New York magazine competing against socialite queen bee Tinsley Mortimer. From her beginnings in Greenwich, Connecticut as the daughter of an interior decorator and a real estate developer, she has worked her way up to become one of the most successful socialites, models, bloggers, and designers of our time.
She can always count on her 3.8 million Instagram followers and a dish of a husband in the form of model Johannes Huebl, even when she isn't yachting with Valentino or attending couture shows with model Johannes Huebl and posting lots of #OOTDs. She can also count on the fact that she posts a lot of #OOTDs.
Kendall Jenner (1995–present)
The 2010s: Era of "It girl"
It seems like only yesterday that momager Kris launched little Kenny's modeling career on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Sure, she's an Insta-model now, with a contract with Estée Lauder and 64 million Instagram followers, but Kris introduced Kenny to the world of modeling just yesterday. The Calabasas beauty, who is known for being one of the Kardashian-Jenner family's more reserved members, took her career as a model more seriously after Marc Jacobs cast her in his fall 2014 show.
After that point, everything changed. Now the stunning model who stands five feet and ten inches tall is appearing on every important runway, in more advertisement campaigns than we can keep track of, and she is keeping all of us up to date on her app, which costs only $2.99 per month. She was on Vogue's September cover, the fashion industry's highest honor.
Gigi Hadid (1995-present)
2010s: "It girl" era
Just imagine how far Gigi Hadid has come since her first major role as the face of Baby Guess in 1995. For the elder Hadid, it appears that nothing has changed. It appears that Bella Hadid, the younger sister of Gigi Hadid, is also following in her fashion footsteps.
They work hard and prove it, even though their mother Yolanda Hadid, a former model and star of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, may have given them an advantage. Gigi and Bella continue to put in the hours, after recently landing their first American Vogue and Glamour covers. Both dated rock stars, too. Gigi was with Zayn Malik and Bella with Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. the Weeknd).