Evangelista, Linda (1965–)

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Evangelista, Linda (1965–)

Canadian model. Born May 10, 1965, in St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada; dau. of Marisa Evangelista; raised in working-class Italian Catholic family; m. Gerald Marie (head of Elite modeling agency, Paris), 1988 (div. 1993).

Supermodel, signed with Elite Model Agency in New York (1980), but did not experience immediate success; moved to Paris and 3 years later got job with Vogue magazine; rose to stardom, appearing in advertising campaigns for Alberta Ferretti, American Express, Anne Klein, Barney's, Bloomingdales, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Chloë, Donna Karan, Gianni Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Jones New York, among others; retired from modeling (1997); appeared in music videos and Isaac Mizrahi film Unzipped (1995); raised money and awareness for breast cancer research. Received VH1 Fashion Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award (1996).