Biography of Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell is an English model. Discovered at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world. Her personal life is widely reported, particularly her relationships with prominent menï¿½including boxer Mike Tyson and actor Robert De Niroï¿½and several highly-publicised convictions for assault.

Campbell, who has never met her biological father, regards record producers Quincy Jones and Chris Blackwell as adopted father figures. Former South African president Nelson Mandela has referred to Campbell as his "honorary granddaughter". She first met Mandela in November 1994, after his party, the African National Congress, invited her to travel to South Africa to meet with their leader. She had previously donated the proceeds from a photo shoot in Tanzania to the ANC. Over the years, Campbell has lent support to many of Mandela's political campaigns and humanitarian causes.

Campbell has never married. In the late 1980s, she dated boxer Mike Tyson, who said of her, "She has a great body. And she's scared of nothing." In the early 1990s, she had an on-again-off-again relationship with actor Robert De Niro. In 1993, she became engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton. They met in February of that year, after Clayton, asked in an interview if there was anything in the world he desired but didn't have, responded: "A date with Naomi Campbell". Campbell and Clayton separated the following year. She then dated dancer Joaquï¿½n Cortï¿½s in the mid to late 1990s. In 1998, became engaged to Formula One racing head Flavio Briatore; they were involved in an on-again-off-again relationship until their separation in 2003. Campbell now considers Briatore her "mentor". She dated businessman Badr Jafar in the mid-2000s. Since 2008, Campbell has been in a relationship with Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin.

In 1999, Campbell entered rehab after a five-year addiction to cocaine. Of her choice, in 1994, to first use the drug, Campbell said in 2005, "I was having fun. I was living this life of travelling the world and having people just give you anything. the little glow in your face goes....It's a very nasty drug." In 2002, Campbell successfully claimed a breach of confidence against the Daily Mirror, after the newspaper published a report of her drug addiction, including a photograph of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The High Court ordered ï¿½3,500 in damages from the Daily Mirror. Later that year the ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which ordered Campbell to pay the newspaper's ï¿½350,000 legal costs, but in 2004 the House of Lords reinstated the High Court ruling and damages.

In August 2010, Campbell made a highly-publicised appearance at a war crimes trial against former Liberian president Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam. She was called to give evidence on a "blood diamond" she allegedly received from Taylor during a Nelson Mandela Children's Fund function in 1997. Campbell initially refused to testify, andï¿½after being subpoenaedï¿½told the court that being there was "a big inconvenience" for her. She testified that she was given "dirty-looking" stones late at night by two unidentified men, and claimed she did not know the diamonds had originated from Taylor until being told so the next morning by a fellow attendee, actress Mia Farrow. However, her account was contradicted by testimonies from Farrow, her former agent Carole White, and former Children's Fund director Jeremy Ratcliffe.