Barbara Goalen

Barbara Goalen (1 January 1921 – 16 June 2002) was a British model who came to international prominence between 1945 and 1954, then gave up her career at the height of her success. Described as "the most photographed woman in Britain" and "arguably the first British supermodel", she epitomised post-war glamour and modelled for both Dior and Balenciaga.

Early life Barbara Bach was born in British Malaya where her father, John Frederick Noel Bach, was a rubber plantation owner. She said: "I didn't have to work for money, but I needed to for myself". While she also remarked – perhaps not entirely seriously – that it was a choice of that or taking in washing, even in austere post-war Britain good models could earn five guineas an hour – equivalent to the weekly wage for many working women of the time. Perks of the job included being treated as members of society, the loan of designer clothes and entrance to any event.

Her elegant wasp-waisted shape was the perfect fit for the post-war 'New Look' fashions and she had what Vogue has described as the "mink and diamonds" look, thanks in part to her gamine short haircut (later more bouffant), arched and elongated eyebrows and high cheekbones.

Later life and work Goalen retired from modelling when she married Lloyd's underwriter Nigel Campbell in 1954, and the couple had two daughters. Such was her fame after her six-year modelling career that the wedding, at Caxton Hall, Westminster, was mobbed by onlookers. Subsequently known as Mrs Nigel Campbell, she organised the Berkeley dress show (a debutante event and fixture of the 'season') during the 1960s – despite her doubts about its relevance to the times. She also dispensed fashion advice in The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror designed children's clothes, modelled by her two young daughters.