Elite Model Management is a large modeling agency based in New York and Paris. It is a subsidiary of Elite World S.A.
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Founded in France in 1972 by John Casablancas and Alain Kittler,[1] it was rebought in 1990 by Nicholas Farrae. Elite World S.A. is the parent company of Elite Model Management.
Elite today manages over 800 models from five continents. It offers international coverage with 40 agencies in its network. It holds the annual talent scouting contest, the Elite Model Look, which launched in 1983. With about 400,000 annual contestants in more than 60 countries, Elite Model Look has "discovered" many notable models, including Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bündchen, Stephanie Seymour, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Tatjana Patitz, and Lara Stone.
Elite represents, or has represented such models as Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, Huggy Ragnarsson, Adriana Lima, Naomi Campbell, Karen Elson, Carol Alt, Özge Ulusoy, Liya Kibede, Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum, Eva Herzigova, Tatiana Sorokko, Angelika Kallio, Paulina Porizkova, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jennifer Flavin, Coco Rocha, Veronica Webb and Stephanie Seymour.[2]
Since 2007, the company are the official license holders to select the representative for the United States at the Miss World pageant.
In 1999, a film was broadcast by the BBC showing the President of Elite Model Management, Gerald Marie, offering an undercover reporter sex for money.[3] It was later proven that some images had been manipulated and the BBC admitted that its portrayal was unfair and had to make a substantial payout to the model agency [4]
In 2003, an employee was awarded $5.2 million in a suit concerning passive smoking in the US office of Elite.[5].
In 2004, Elite Model Management filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In 2009, the president of Elite World (the parent company of Elite Model Management), Bertrand Hennet, was arrested on drug charges.[3]
Other controversies concerning the company have included charges of sexual impropriety against agency founder John Casablancas.[6]
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