Anne Gunning

Anne Gunning (1929 – January 1990) was a British fashion model. Originally a house model for Sybil Connolly, she gained global recognition after being featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1953. She was one of the top models of the 1950s.

Biography

Born Anne Gunning Parker, possibly in Southern Rhodesia where her father, Arnold Barthrop Parker, was a coffee planter. She was of Irish descent, related to the Gunning sisters Elizabeth and Marie, while her father was of Cuckfield, West Sussex, England. Gunning returned to England from Southern Rhodesia following her parents' separation where she was raised by an aunt. She also worked in Paris, New York City and London.

Anne Gunning and Colin Tennant had a prolonged affair. In London, the two modelled for a feature for the French fashion magazine Au Jardin Des Modes (later featured in Paris Match). On 27 May 1961, Anne Gunning married British diplomat and Conservative Party politician Anthony Nutting in Tiverton, Devon.

Anne Gunning limited herself to photographic modelling, despite requests from designers like Coco Chanel to be a part of their stage shows. She did only one fashion show – for Sybil Connolly – as a favour. She was afraid of falling down on the stage, and remarked, "that sea of faces glaring at me was too daunting." She died in January 1990.