Colleen Corby

Colleen Jane Corby is an American retired model who became one of the most recognizable teen fashion icons of the 1960s. Represented by the Ford Modeling Agency, she dominated American youth culture during the mid-to-late 20th century. Her widespread appearance across print publications, catalog spreads, and television advertising made her a ubiquitous figure for adolescent style and accessible fashion throughout North America.

Early Life and Discovery

Born on August 3, 1947, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Corby was raised in nearby Luzerne before her family relocated to New York City in 1958. Her mother was Peggy Corby, and her father, Robert Corby, worked as a public relations executive. Her entry into modeling began unexpectedly in 1959 at the age of eleven when she visited Eileen Ford’s agency seeking a summer job. Recognized immediately for her dark hair, green eyes, and natural camera presence, she was quickly signed to Ford Models. Her early bookings proved so consistent that her parents enrolled her in Manhattan’s Professional Children’s School to accommodate her busy commercial schedule alongside her academic studies.

Modeling Career and Cultural Impact

Corby’s career rapidly accelerated throughout the 1960s, turning her into a definitive face for American teenager style. She achieved unprecedented visibility in Seventeen magazine, appearing on fifteen covers during the decade, including five covers in 1964 alone. She regularly featured in fashion spreads for publications such as Teen, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Ingenue, Co-Ed, and American Girl. In addition to high-circulation magazines, Corby was featured extensively in pattern books for Simplicity and McCall’s, as well as mail-order catalogs for Sears, JC Penney, and Montgomery Ward. In 1963, she signed a multi-year acting contract with Universal Pictures, though her primary professional successes remained rooted in print modeling and commercial work.

Later Life and Personal Life

As retail trends evolved in the 1970s, Corby transitioned from teenage modeling to commercial print campaigns for major department stores and adult women's magazines. She paused her modeling career in August 1979 upon marrying businessman Peter Kilbreth Bernuth at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. Although she briefly returned to modeling in the early 1980s, she permanently retired from fashion following the birth of her second child. The couple raised two sons, Christopher and Alexander. Corby later settled in Florida, where she subsequently worked in alumni relations and development for the University of Miami School of Business.