Agneta Frieberg

Agneta Marianne Frieberg (2 June 1945 – 10 May 1971) was a Swedish fashion model and activist. She was known for her extensive pictorial and commercial work throughout the 1960s, resulting in a decade-long career under the Ford Modeling agency.

Agneta Frieberg
Born(1945-06-02)2 June 1945
Sweden
Died10 May 1971(1971-05-10) (aged 25)
Paris, France
Cause of deathInjuries from falling
Citizenship
  • Swedish
  • American
Occupation
Years active1959–71 (model)
1968–71 (activist)
Partner(s)Jack Youngerman
Louis Faurer
Modeling information
Height5 ft 10 in (177.8 cm)[1]
Hair colorBlonde
Eye colorBlue
AgencyFord (international)

In 1960, at the age of 14, Frieberg signed with Ford Models. She appeared on over 100 covers for publications including Vogue, Elle, Mademoiselle and Glamour, among others. Frieberg served as the face of Clairol's Great Body products from 1967 until her death. Frieberg was often characterized by her signature waist-length hair and "girl next door" appeal. By the late-1960s, Frieberg had become less active as a model and focused on activist work, including in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the time.

In 1971, Frieberg fell from the top story of a hotel in Paris, France. She was rushed to the American Hospital of Paris, where she remained for four days before dying of injuries on 10 May. Her death was subject to widespread media coverage due to its odd circumstances, with conspiracies having developed over her cause of death.

In her lifetime, Frieberg was recognized as "one of the first supermodels" by publications including Glamour. Frieberg's success in modeling lead to her receiving the third highest salary of a fashion model in her era, following behind Twiggy and Veruschka. In 2011, The Agneta Frieberg Foundation was established in honor of Frieberg and her life.

Early life

Childhood

Frieberg was born on 2 June 1945 in Sweden. While in her teenage years, Agneta and her family moved from Sweden to Marin County, California, United States. Frieberg's mother, Cecilia Frieberg, was a Montessori school teacher and her father, Bengt O. Frieberg, was a businessman and inventor.[2] Agneta was the oldest of four children.

Discovery
Frieberg in Bridgehampton, NY, summer of 1969

In 1959, Frieberg and her parents along with brother, Magnus, and sister, Marianne, moved to California from their native country Sweden. They took a vacation the following year to New York City. While walking around New York, Frieberg caught the attention of Ford Models owner and modeling agent Eileen Ford. Ford quickly approached Frieberg to discussed signing to the Ford Modeling agency. Frieberg was granted permission from her parents and signed to Ford soon after. Her career started shortly after she went home to Marin County.

Modeling career

Breakthrough

Frieberg worked out of California in the early-1960s, modeling for publications like Good Housekeeping and Mademoiselle during this time. By 1963, Frieberg relocated to New York City. There she began her professional expansion by taking on runway and commercial work. Frieberg appeared on the cover of over 100 magazines, including Glamour (July 1964, March and June 1965, and December 1967), Mademoiselle (April, May, July, September, and December 1964, May and February 1967, May 1968, and October 1969), McCall's (January 1963), Good Housekeeping (April and September 1965 and February 1967), HairDo (May 1965), Ingenue (August 1965), RedBook (February 1966), and Elle (April 1966).

Established career

In February 1966, in an issue of the magazine Glamour, the editors described Frieberg along with nineteen other models as a "supermodel", also adding that Frieberg was "innocent, tall, and fresh."[3][4][5] That same year, Frieberg was the cover model for Glamour's Beauty Book. Later in 1966, she appeared in the famous Ormond Gigli photo of the sixties' top Ford models.[6][7] In 1968, Frieberg was featured in her agent and Ford Models founder Eileen Ford's first book, Eileen Ford's Book of Model Beauty.

Great Body campaign

In the mid-1960s, Frieberg appeared on the bottle of Clairol's hair product "Great Body". Frieberg also appeared in several advertisements, commercials, and merchandise for the Great Body conditioner.

Other ventures

Frieberg briefly appeared in her long-time boyfriend Louis Faurer's documentary Time Capsule, which captured Time Square and other parts of New York City over a span of several years. The film was recently rediscovered after being lost in Faurer's archives. The film was aired in a show at Milwaukee Museum in New York City.[8]

In 1966, she appeared on an episode of the television show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. alongside Kathy McCallum.

Death
The American Hospital of Paris

In 1971, at the young age of twenty-five, Frieberg died in Paris, France. She was staying in a hotel on the top floor, when she fell out of the window. She lingered in a coma at the American Hospital of Paris for ten days until eventually dying on 10 May 1971, which happened to be Mother's Day.[9] There was speculation that Frieberg had been pushed instead of falling. The autopsy showed that Frieberg had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of her death. American author Michael Gross wrote false claims about Frieberg in his book Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women, where he referred to her as a German model who died while on drugs.

Models Pat Cleveland and Ulla Andersson recounted stories of Frieberg in their respective memoirs.

Personal life

For the majority of her career, Frieberg commuted between California and New York. She maintained close friendships with fellow Ford model Ulla Jones, actresses Jane Fonda and Delphine Seyrig, and model Cheryl Tiegs. In Frieberg's spare time, she sang and played guitar and piano. She was a frequent reader, reading between shots, her favourite author being Ernest Hemingway.

For over two years, Frieberg dated rock musician and guitarist Jimi Hendrix from the rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience.[10]

Frieberg was commissioned to be the faux girlfriend to pop art artist Andy Warhol. Warhol made her the subject of several of his photographs.[11]

See also

References
  1. Eileen ford (1 August 1968). E Ford/modl Beauty. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-22260-4.
  2. "Bengt O. Frieberg". Balkom.se. 1 September 2003. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  3. BarryPopik.com Supermodel 25 July 2004
  4. Cokal, Susann. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 1999. Michigan: Gale Group.
  5. http://www.minimadmod60s.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=33963&g2_serialNumber=4
  6. "Eileen Ford". Patrik Sandberg. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  7. da Pleasurephoto (24 January 2012). "Ford Modeling Agency, photographed by Ormond Gigli, 1966 | Pleasurephoto". Pleasurephoto.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  8. "Louis Faurer's 'Time Capsule' Catches '60s Times Square". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  9. "The Female Celebrities Webring". Cmtk3.webring.org. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. Por banjomanbold (14 September 2011). "Agneta Freiberg | BanjomanBold". Banjomanbold.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  11. Gerard Malanga (2002). Archiving Warhol: An Illustrated History. Creation. ISBN 978-1-84068-076-8.
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