Wilhelmina Cooper

Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Cooper (née Behmenburg; 11 May 1939 – 1 March 1980) was a Dutch-American model who began with Ford Models, and at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967.

Biography Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Behmenburg was born on 11 May 1939 in Culemborg, the daughter of Wilhelm Robert Karl Behmenburg (1901–1977), who was a German butcher, and Klasina van der Straten (1909–1992). Some sources list her name as being Gertrude Wilhelmina Behmenburg or Willy Gertruida Frieda Behmenburg.

She had a younger brother, Walter Günther Behmenburg (1941–1945), who died at three years old after being hit by a car. The family moved to Utrecht in 1942, where they lived until 1944. After World War II, they moved to Oldenburg, Germany.

The family immigrated to Chicago in 1954.

In Paris a colleague introduced Wilhelmina to diet pills. She reflected, I was on continuous diets. I’m not fat as far as real life is concerned, but I certainly was when it came to modeling. I ate twice a week. In between, it was cigarettes and black coffee. On Wednesday, I had a little bowl of soup so I wouldn’t get too sick, or a little piece of cheese on a cracker. On Sunday, I’d have a small filet mignon without salt or any sauce. I was running on nervous energy as well as determination.

She spent a year in Paris and was featured on the cover of the December 1960 issue of L'Officiel before returning to the U.S. and becoming one of the most famous models of the 1960s. During her career, she appeared on the cover of 255 magazines, and also modeled in South America, India, Hong Kong, and Europe. In France, she worked for both Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. She also holds the record for most covers on American Vogue, appearing 27 or 28 times.

In 1967, they founded Wilhelmina Models, which became the other leading model agency alongside Ford Models, years before Elite Model Management and other agencies began.

Death On 1 March 1980, Cooper died of lung cancer at the age of 40 in Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, Connecticut.

In popular culture Cooper was portrayed by Faye Dunaway in the 1998 movie Gia, which tells the story of Gia Carangi, a model who was discovered by Cooper and later died of AIDS.