Legendary model scout Fiona Ellis has been in the business for over 20 years, and is named alongside Kate Moss, Mario Testino and Vivienne Westwood in ‘Elle’s 100 names in fashion’.
Throughout her lengthy career Ellis has fulfilled the role of runner, agent, scout, director, and co – founder of Independent. The times stated that ‘Ellis has an eye for talent and a huge energy’, as well as this and her hard work it has also been her warm, unique character that has been central in allowing her to build such a remarkable career over the past two decades.
Ellis joined Models 1 in 1986 as a ‘girl Friday’, but soon found her niche and set up the first ‘new faces’ division in Europe. She could see that the young girls needed more time and attention, and felt passionate about developing and nurturing the new talent. ‘Eagle eyed Ellis’ as she was referred to in the times is famed for discovering international supermodel Erin O’Connor. Ellis is also responsible for the careers of Karen Elson, (described by Karl Lagerfeld as ‘the resolutely model look of women at the end of this millennium.’) And Alek Wek, Ellis was accountable for her transition from ‘Sudanese refugee to Supermodel’. (Oprah Winfrey told Alek, ‘If you had been on the cover when I was growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was.’) Within a short period Ellis had become a key player in redefining the conventional philosophy of beauty through scouting. The Observer magazine said ‘Ellis is uniquely earnest about scouting in general. She’s another alpha scout, an industry celebrity with a history and reputation for subverting traditional notions of loveliness.’
In 2003 Ellis left models 1 to set up the models subsidiary of Independent (formally ICM). Ellis’ flair for scouting and developing new talent, combined with Tori Edwards expertise in managing the girls allowed Independent to be quickly established as one of the highest profile agencies in the world. They looked after stellar names such as Helena Christensen, Claudia Schiffer, Natalia Vodianova, Carmen Kass, Iman, Lizzy and Georgia Jagger and Erin O’Connor as well as a vast array of Ellis’ young finds who will undoubtedly be the stars of the future.
With a career already spanning 24 years, Harpers Bazaar rightly refer to her as a ‘bona-fide expert on beauty’. Ellis loves to share her expertise, she has such a vivacious character and is undeniably a people person, this has lead her to the beginning of a lucrative tv career. She began on CNN as an industry spokes person. Then appeared in ‘The Model, The Poster & 3000 Women’ as well as ‘The World’s greatest supermodel’, (both produced by shine), and ‘This Model Life’ by award winning director Jane Treays. Ellis has now become a regular on GMTV, recently judging their ‘Top Model’ competition. You can undoubtedly watch many programmes on E! Entertainment and find Ellis commenting on ‘100 sexiest male and female bodies’ or ‘the hottest looks in the business’. She supplied her eye and expertise to Coleen on her new ITV series, ‘Coleen’s real women’. They scoured the streets looking for a ‘real woman’ for a spread in New Woman magazine and Ellis’ find was the lucky winner!
Ellis’ latest project is ‘The Agent’, which is a six part series based around Ellis finding young hopefuls. Previously inspired by one of her great discoveries Erin O’Connor, it was always a dream of Ellis’ to find another Irish Supermodel. With her creative finesse Ellis played a key part in the production of the programme as well as being ‘The Agent’. She scoured the lengths and breadth of Ireland searching for new talent and then with Erin by her side focused on giving the girls some outstanding industry tools and challenging tasks. The series shows Ellis’ spirited personality and her sharp confidence as well as proving the compassionate attitude she is renowned for. She has a great relationship with all of the finalists, as she does with all of the girls she has discovered over the years. Erin O’Connor fittingly stated ‘Ellis is a force to be reckoned with!’
