Lily Donaldson

Lily Monica Donaldson is an English model best known for her prominent career in fashion, including appearing on dozens of international Vogue covers and walking in numerous high-profile runway shows.

Donaldson was born on 27 January 1987 in Chelsea, London. She is the daughter of photographer Matthew Donaldson and grew up living in Kentish Town with her parents, alongside a younger sister named Aurelia and a younger half-brother named Jesse. She attended the Camden School for Girls. Her extended family includes her great-uncle Mick Fleetwood, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, and her great-aunt, actress Susan Fleetwood.

Her modeling career began in 2003 at the age of 16 when she was scouted by Select Model Management while shopping in Camden. She made her runway debut during the Fall/Winter 2004 season, walking for major designers including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Moschino, Missoni, and Jil Sander.

Throughout her career, Donaldson has landed major advertising campaigns for fashion houses such as Burberry, Gucci, Versace, Gap, and Monsoon Accessorize. She also shot two campaigns for Mulberry alongside her friend, model Irina Lazareanu. She is also close friends with model Gemma Ward.

Donaldson achieved significant industry recognition early in her career. In May 2007, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue as one of the "World's Next Top Models" alongside several other prominent figures. Later that year, in September 2007, British Vogue named her a "Head Girl." In 2009, Vogue Paris named her among the top 30 models of the 2000s. In total, she has appeared on 30 international covers of Vogue, including the British, American, Italian, Chinese, Australian, Japanese, Turkish, Taiwanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian editions.

In addition to editorial work, Donaldson made her debut in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2010 and subsequently walked in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 editions of the event. Another notable appearance occurred during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, where she wore a gold ball gown by Vivienne Westwood as part of a showcase of British models and bespoke designer fashion.

After residing in New York City for five years, Donaldson relocated back to London in late 2010.