Eileen Ford

Eileen Cecile Ford ( Otte; March 25, 1922 – July 9, 2014) was an American modeling agency executive. Along with her husband Gerard "Jerry" Ford, she co-founded Ford Models in 1946, which emerged as one of the earliest and most successful modeling agencies in the mid and late-20th century.

Early life and education Eileen Cecile Ottensoser was born in Manhattan, New York City, and raised in suburban Great Neck on Long Island, the only daughter of four children of Loretta Marie (née Laine) and Nathaniel Ottensoser. Nathaniel was an "upmarket Jewish debt collector". Eileen took great pains to hide her Jewish heritage and would keep it a secret from her own children.

She attended Barnard College, where she was a model during the summers of her freshman and sophomore years for Harry Conover's modeling agency, one of the first in the United States. She graduated from Barnard in 1943. She had a short-lived marriage with a naval officer, however, marriage ended when he was killed in 1944.

Then, in 1944, she met her future husband, Gerard "Jerry" Ford, at a drugstore near the Columbia University. They eloped, marrying in November 1944 in San Francisco. A pregnant Eileen then began working as a secretary for several models, taking calls at her father's New York City law office, and charging each model $65 to $75 monthly for administrative support. In March 1947, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Jamie.

Within a year, the modeling agency emerged as one of the most successful agencies in the nation, grossing $250,000. The Fords had the capital to instill the voucher system, something that other modeling agencies were not affluent enough to offer. Dorian Leigh described Eileen as "one of the hardest working, most persistent persons I have ever known, two qualities which made her my very good friend for years and later, my unanticipated enemy".

After two years, the Fords were competing seriously with the modeling industry's two leading agencies, those of Huntington Hartford and John Robert Powers. Leigh closed her modeling agency when she was pregnant with her third child in 1948. Leigh called Eileen and told them that her 15-years younger sister, Suzy Parker, was making only $25 per hour working as a model for Huntington Hartford.

The Fords' marriage became tense. Jerry told Eileen to "mend (your) ways or we'll be divorced!" She told author Michael Gross in a 1990s interview, "...so I mended my ways. That's why I'm so docile now." By the late 1950s, Eileen had given birth to four children: Jamie, Billy, Katie, and Lacey.

The same year, in 1993, the Ford's home in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, was almost completely destroyed by fire. Later that year, they rebuilt an exact replica of the house.

Retirement In 1995, Katie Ford took over her parents' agency after their retirement. The 50th anniversary of the agency was highlighted in several publications, including the July–August 1996 issue of American Photo magazine and in January–February 1997's Top Model magazine, whose heading was "Ford at 50!". Katie Ford served as chief executive officer for 12 years, from 1995 to 2007.

Ford's story has been told in Good Housekeeping in 1968, Life in November 1970 and Ladies' Home Journal in 1971 among many others. She appeared in the 1997 film Scratch the Surface about a teen model turned documentary cinematographer, Tara Fitzpatrick's examination of the clothing industry and in Intimate Portrait: Eileen Ford in 1999 and again in Celebrity Profile: Brooke Shields in 2001 and a profile of Christie Brinkley.

Personal life Ford's husband, Jerry Ford, died on August 24, 2008, aged 83. He was survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Death Ford died at a hospital in Morristown, New Jersey, from complications of meningioma and osteoporosis, on July 9, 2014. She was 92 years old.

Publications Eileen Ford's Book of Model Beauty by Eileen Ford. Trident Press: New York, (1968) Eileen Ford's a more beautiful you in 21 days, Simon and Schuster: New York (1972);