It’s almost impossible to think of Lucille as anyone other than the ditzy and lovable Lucy from “I Love Lucy,” but as a teen, this famous actress worked in New York as an in-house model for fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie. She got Lucille to bleach her brown hair blonde.
Lucille once said that “Hattie taught me how to slouch properly in a $1,000 hand-sewn sequin dress and how to wear a $40,000 sable coat as casually as rabbit.” How much would such a coat be worth now? Approximately $634,000! Assuming the coat was originally made in 1930, at least. It could be worth even more.
Tyra Banks
This one is only really going to be a surprise if you know nothing about Tyra Banks. Banks' incredible career began when she signed with Elite Model Management, and she is often said to be the first black woman to appear on the covers of publications like “GQ” and “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.”
She now runs the incredibly successful show “America's Next Top Model,” and she's even written a novel. Tyra has been attacking barriers since she was back in her teens, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Keep after it, Banks.
Cara Delevingne
Her first big break, “Suicide Squad,” might have been dead on arrival, but Delevingne wasn't going to let a single bad project stop her. She started modeling for Vogue Italia at the age of ten and went on to appear on the catwalk for Burberry, Jason Wu, and Dolce & Gabbana. She won Model of the Year during the 2012 and 2014 British Fashion Awards.
It's been said that she quit modeling because she had forgotten what it was like to be happy. After starring in “Paper Towns,” Cara has demonstrated she has what it takes to make it big as an actress, and she's focused on her Hollywood career with all her intensity.
Rene Russo
Russo became a leading fashion model at the age of eighteen when a scout discovered her at...a Rolling Stones concert. She was a leading model from 1972, the year of the concert, until the early eighties. She decided to take up acting, starting with small roles in Los Angeles.
Her feature film debut came in 1989 with the comedy “Major League.” From goofy action flicks like “Lethal Weapon 4” to thrillers like “Ransom” and “Nightcrawler,” Russo has demonstrated an incredible ability to be much more than just a pretty face. If you've watched some of the movies from the MCU you've seen her playing Frigga, Thor's mother.
Cybill Shepherd
As the winner of the 1966 Miss Teenage Memphis contest, Shepard had been modeling for several years before director Peter Bogdanovich spotted her on the cover of “Glamour” magazine. He called her up and cast her in his 1971 film “The Last Picture Show,” and the rest is history.
She appeared in plenty of famous flicks, including “Taxi Driver” and was the lead role on “Moonlighting.” She's spent plenty of time on the small screen apart from that, with roles on shows like “The L Word,” “Eastwick,” “Cybill,” and “Psych.” She's still acting, appearing in movies and shows.