Victoria Nixon Biography

Victoria Nixon (born 7 June 1948) is a British author and company director. She was previously an international fashion model.

Early life

Nixon was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and educated at Barnsley Girls' High School. Her father owned a car dealership; her mother was a college bursar. She had on elder brother. At the age of 16, she caught the eye of Paul Jones, the lead singer of Manfred Mann, at a gig in Sheffield, and he said that she should go to London to be a model. After completing a secretarial course at the Northern Secretarial College in Leeds, she left for London.

Career

Modelling

At the age of 18, she was spotted in London's Bond Street by top fashion photographer Helmut Newton who stepped out of a taxi and offered her a contract launching a decade-long international modelling career as Vikki Nixon in 1966. Subsequently she appeared in French, English, Italian and American Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Glamour, Nova, 19 and Elle. She was selected as the Daily Mail's 'Face of 68', Jean Rook described her as "the grown up face of '68" and someone who would "set fire to the pages of the glossy magazines in the New Year."

She featured in a number of high profile press advertising campaigns and was the first British model to work with a Milan model agency, Riccardo Gay.

Television

As a result of her modelling career she also appeared on a number of TV programmes, most notably in the 1969 live coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing where she appeared with presenter Cliff Michelmore and journalist Jean Rook during the live studio broadcast wearing a "space-fashion outfit". She was the first "promo star" of the BBC's 'Top of the Pops' described in Disc and Music Echo April 11th issue as an "Angelic looking Hell's Angel", and "girlfriend of promotion ace Bill Fowler." When a music act, such as Andy Williams or Kenny Rogers, was unable to appear live, producer/director Mel Cornish would pre-film a clip of her to broadcast with the song. She was featured in a 1975 version of the hugely successful and long running TV campaign for Cadbury's flake.

In Australia

After modelling, Nixon relocated to Australia and became an advertising copywriter and was the Melbourne editor of POL magazine, an avant-garde fashion and lifestyle glossy, from 1978-85. Whilst still in Australia she formed a film production company and produced 'The Price of Fame' television series for Central Television UK, however the series was never broadcast but it remains "in the can".

Business

In 1992, Nixon opened the One Stop Fresh delicatessen in Fulham, South London which specialised in healthy lunchtime food. One Stop Fresh was the first deli in the UK to use eco-friendly packaging.

In 2006, with Michael Messenger, she co-founded the British company Aircell Structures Ltd which designs and manufactures unique humanitarian aid products for medical charities and aid agencies such as IFRC, British & German Red Cross, Marie Stopes International and Vision Salud.

Author

Whilst running the deli her first book 'Supermodels' Beauty Secrets was published in 2002 with contributions from Jerry Hall, Kate Moss and many others leading models. Reprinted thirteen times, it has also been translated into several languages including Spanish, Hungarian and Latvian. It formed part of Victoria's Celebrity Inspiration in "Beauty Flash", Liz Dwyer (now at Image Magazine)'s weekly column in TV Now.

Nixon's follow-up book Supermodels' Diet Secrets, based on her experience both as a model and latterly as a deli owner, was published in 2004 and the Daily Express bought the rights to serialise it. Tom Parker Bowles described it as "Chic Eating" in his "Food for Thought" column in the Daily Mail's Night&Day magazine

Books