Linda Morand

Linda Morand, born on May 26, 1946, in Lindenhurst, Long Island, is an American fashion model, cover girl, and haute couture mannequin who gained prominence during the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout her modeling career, she appeared in national advertisements, magazine covers, television commercials, and national catalogs. Following her time in active modeling, she transitioned into work as a fashion archivist and consultant.

Morand was discovered by Eileen Ford in late 1965 while studying art in New York City. She was groomed into a top model for the Ford Agency and emerged on the international fashion scene around the same time as Twiggy. In her early modeling work in New York, Morand became known for her unusual poses and her participation in futuristic fashion layouts featuring concepts such as light shows, robots, superheroes, computers, and James Bond-style spy parodies. In 1966, Christopher Pluck, a stylist for Vidal Sassoon, created her signature closely cropped asymmetric haircut. That same year, she collaborated with photographer Gösta Peterson to create images for Condé Nast.

Throughout her career, Morand appeared in numerous high-profile international magazines, including Vogue, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Teen, and Elle. She also modeled for American designer Lilly Pulitzer. Morand was widely recognized for her strong physical resemblance to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Columnist Marian Christy wrote about a meeting between the two at P. J. Clarke's in New York in a 1971 Boston Globe article titled "Resemblance to Jackie Pays Off," which helped further publicize her career.

During the 1960s, Morand signed contracts to walk runways in Paris and feature in European magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, and Vogue. Her career took her to major European fashion capitals, including Paris, Milan, Munich, and Barcelona. She served as a muse to designer Pierre Cardin, who contracted her for runway appearances and fashion photos. Through 1969, Morand was based in Rome, where she modeled for fashion houses including Valentino, Pucci, and Roberto Capucci, while also taking small roles in a few Italian movies and television shows.

Morand married French actor Philippe Forquet in 1970, shortly before he starred in the ABC historical mini-series The Young Rebels. By 1974, Morand was walking catwalks for many of Europe's top haute couture designers, including Pierre Cardin, Jean Patou, Karl Lagerfeld, Emanuel Ungaro, Paco Rabanne, Chanel, and Valentino.

One of her most notable features was a ten-page Vogue Paris spread shot by photographer Helmut Newton, in which Morand was styled in a satirical reportage layout resembling Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The resulting photos created a stir, prompting photographer Richard Avedon to send a congratulatory telegram, while media reported that Kennedy Onassis was ready to sue until it was pointed out that Morand was credited by name in the text. This publicity led to further work across Europe, including photo layouts shot by Hans Feurer for Italian Vogue, Marie Claire, and Mode International.