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John Casablancas (December 12, 1942 – July 20, 2013) was an American modeling agent and scout who founded Elite Model Management. Casablancas is remembered for his development of the supermodel concept. He was the father of the Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas.
Grace Jones, in her autobiography, quotes Casablanca telling her "Trying to sell a black model in Paris, is like trying to sell an old car no one wants to buy." which she describes as industry discrimination.
During the years that Casablancas ran the operations, Elite grossed over $100 million in annual model bookings. It also generated controversy, with investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre making a BBC television exposé which resulted in the resignation of two Elite executives. Casablancas gave an "unconditional apology" for their behaviour. A sales director sued for unfair dismissal and was awarded $4.3 million. The annual Look of the Year events (later Elite Model Look), at which young women could win a $150,000 modeling contract with Elite, were later criticised by The Guardian newspaper for providing an opportunity for Casablancas and other judges such as David Copperfield and Donald Trump to proposition contestants. In 2003, the Los Angeles County Superior Court dismissed a case of sexual abuse brought against Casablancas by a former Look of the Year contestant because he was not a resident of California.
Having sold his shares in Elite in 2000, Casablancas set up the Star System management agency and Illusion 2K, a cyber model agency.
In 1967, he met Jeanette Christiansen, a Danish model and the 1965 Miss Denmark, as well as the first model Casablancas ever represented. They married in 1979 after the birth of their son Julian, in 1978, who would become lead vocalist of the American bands the Strokes and the Voidz. They divorced in 1983, as he was having a public relationship with Look of the Year contest finalist Stephanie Seymour, 16 years old at the time. Casablancas was frank about his preference for girls of barely legal age.
In 1993, the 50-year-old Casablancas married his third wife, 17-year-old Aline Mendonça de Carvalho Wermelinger, winner of Elite Model Look 1992 in Brazil. Wermelinger was close in age to Casablancas's children, who were 22 and 14 at the time. The couple had three children: John Jr., Fernando Augusto, and Nina. Alberto. A família Wermelinger: uma aventura em dois continentes (a imigração suíça de 1819–1820). 2000, self edition, 391p,
A resident of Miami, Florida, Casablancas died on July 20, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer. He was 70 years old.
Personal life and death
At age 22, Casablancas married Marie-Christine from France. The two lived in Rio de Janeiro for much of their marriage. Casablancas had one child with Marie-Christine, Cécile, who was born in 1969 in France. The two split soon after her birth.
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Categories: 1942 Births, 2013 Deaths, American Expatriates In France, American Businesspeople In Fashion, American Company Founders, Businesspeople From Miami, People From Manhattan, Deaths From Cancer In Rio De Janeiro, 20th-century American Businesspeople, American Expatriates In Brazil, Alumni Of Institut Le Rosey, American People Of Catalan Descent, Businesspeople From New York City
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