English model, actress, singer, and author, sleek, tall, chic, one of the reigning queens of jet-set supermodels, the first black female model to make the covers of both the British and French Vogue. She made a TV debut on “New York Undercover” in November 1995; she published her first novel in 1994, “Swan.”
Born to a teenage mom, Naomi never knew her dad. Her mom, Valerie, who later became a model herself, struggled to pay for her daughter’s singing, dancing and drama lessons and was thrilled when an agent discovered 15-year-old Naomi while she was shopping in Covent Garden. In 1987, Casablanca’s bought out the agency that had signed her, and her ascent began.
The camera has followed Campbell on not only the fashion runway, but for a private life that strikes sparks. She’s had altercations at some of the world’s most fashionable clubs, including a punch or two. At a Manhattan restaurant with her mom in 1992, they got into a row and her mom slapped her across her mouth. That was the year she appeared nude in Madonna’s “Sex” book. Her romances have also been tumultuous. After flings with Mike Tyson and Sly Stalone, she moved on to Robert De Niro in 1992. They were still together when she took up with Eric Clapton, then on to an engagement with Adam Clayton that never quite reached the altar.
On 15 June 1997, Campbell was released from a hospital in the Canary Islands after being treated for what was described as a drug overdose, a diagnosis which she denied.
After the British tabloid, the Daily Mirror, ran a photo of her leaving a drug rehab center, Campbell filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against them. While on the stand, she admitted to having a fiery temper. She submitted a statement on 11 February 2002 in which she acknowledged that she had used illegal drugs and had attended Narcotics Anonymous for nearly a year and she stated that during that time, anonymity was crucial in the recovery process. After she pled guilty to assaulting two British police officers at Heathrow airport in April 2008, the supermodel received her sentence on 20 June 2008: spend 200 hours in community service and pay a fine of $4,500.
Link to Wikipedia biography