UK model and cultural icon Twiggy, real name Lesley Lawson, whose career was kick-started in the 1960s.
Through one-on-one interviews with a handful of notable celebrities, including Paul McCartney, Brooke Shields, Tommy Tune, and Dustin Hoffman, “Twiggy” tells the story of the pop phenomenon who unexpectedly took the modeling industry by storm in 1966 with her androgynous hairstyle, lanky figure, and unmistakable eyes. Relatively short at 5’ 6” and weighing barely 90 pounds, she changed the rules for fashion models that persist to this day.
Twiggy’s legendary moniker derives from a childhood nickname, “Twigs,” which her boyfriend and manager Nigel Davies – who later changed his own name to Justin de Villenueva – encouraged her to use. The two remained a couple for seven years. She appeared on the cover of Vogue in one edition or another 14 times, as well as countless other fashion and news magazines.
Shortly after her discovery in Britain, Twiggy arrived in New York City with much fanfare. Some fashion correspondents, however, disparaged her boyish looks and thin figure – criticism that now would be, or should be, completely out of place. It’s worthwhile noting that more than a few prominent photographers rejected opportunities for shooting sessions because they were not the ones who had discovered her – just one indication of how male-dominated the industry was then.
Along similar lines, Brooke Shields ridicules Woody Allen about an interview he conducted with Twiggy that included being asked who her favorite philosophers were – a rather patronizing question for a 17-year-old. Her response, however, also put Allen on the defensive. After admitting that she didn’t know of any, she asked Allen who his favorite philosophers were, to which he fumbled a vague answer, first saying that he liked them all, then babbled something about the Germans without producing a single name. Touché, Twigs.
To her credit, after four years of modeling, Twiggy branched out into film and stage acting, collaborating with Tommy Tune and earning two Golden Globe Awards. Working with Tune again in 1983, she garnered a Tony nomination. She also recorded several successful studio albums.
After the untimely death of her first husband, Michael Witney, she was left alone with their only child, Carly. She remarried in 1988 to Leigh Lawson and lives in Kensington, London. Twiggy is also active in several UK-based charities.
In many ways, this is Twiggy’s story in her own words. She appears on camera frequently throughout the film, having weathered the spotlight in fine form. Her fellow celebrities – McCartney, Hoffman, Tune, Shields – have nothing but good things to say about Twigs. She remains, by all accounts, one of those people who is as nice in real life as she appears in front of adoring crowds.
Directed by Sadie Frost and produced by Nick Hamson and Simon Jones, “Twiggy” explores fresh territory in the life of the iconic model who broke the mold in so many ways. Happily, the documentary spends a good chunk of time on Twiggy’s later years, dispelling the notion that her career might have been a flash in the pan. It’s an insightful, fascinating biopic that covers aspects of her life the general public hasn’t always appreciated.
Available on DVD September 22nd
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