John Casablancas

John Casablancas
Born	(1942-12-12) 12 December 1942 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	20 July 2013(2013-07-20) (aged 70) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation(s)	Modeling scout and agent
Known for	Founder of Elite Model Management
Notable work	Casablancas: The Man Who Loved Women (documentary)

John Casablancas (December 12, 1942 – July 20, 2013) was a prominent American modeling scout and agent, best known for founding Elite Model Management. He played a key role in creating the supermodel phenomenon, helping models achieve widespread celebrity recognition. Casablancas was also the father of the Strokes lead singer Julian Casablancas.

Early life

Casablancas was born in Manhattan, New York City, as the youngest among three siblings to Fernando and Antonia Casablancas, who were a banker and former model respectively. His family escaped Spain during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, relocating through Argentina, Mexico, and France before he enrolled at Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland at age eight. He attended multiple universities across Europe but did not complete a degree.

Career

He started his professional journey as a marketing manager at a Coca-Cola plant in Brazil, then moved back to Europe to pursue work in architecture. In 1972, together with a fellow Le Rosey graduate, he established Elite Model Management in Paris, having previously operated Model Agency Elysée 3 since 1969. Elite represented some of the most renowned models such as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Andie MacDowell, and Claudia Schiffer.

Under Casablancas’s direction, Elite generated annual revenues exceeding $100 million from model bookings. He was instrumental in launching the supermodel era by turning fashion models into mainstream media icons. Nevertheless, his career was clouded by controversies including accusations of sexual misconduct involving young models and criticism regarding discriminatory practices within the industry, notably highlighted by Grace Jones concerning racial prejudice.

The agency encountered additional criticism following a BBC investigation that resulted in the resignation of two executives; Casablancas issued an unconditional apology in response. Elite’s yearly Look of the Year competitions (later renamed Elite Model Look), which awarded $150,000 contracts to winners, faced backlash for allowing inappropriate conduct by judges including Casablancas himself and other notable figures such as David Copperfield and Donald Trump. A sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Casablancas in 2003 was dismissed due to jurisdictional complications.

After divesting his shares in Elite in 2000, Casablancas founded Star System management agency along with Illusion 2K, an online modeling agency.

Personal life and death

At age 22, Casablancas married Marie-Christine from France; they resided in Rio de Janeiro and had one daughter, Cécile, born in 1969. The couple separated shortly after her birth.

In 1967, he met Jeanette Christiansen, a Danish model and 1965 Miss Denmark, who became his first represented model. They married in 1979 following the birth of their son Julian in 1978, who later emerged as lead singer of American bands the Strokes and the Voidz. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1983 amid Casablancas’s public relationship with 16-year-old Look of the Year finalist Stephanie Seymour. He was known for openly favoring very young women near legal age.

In 1993, when he was 50 years old, Casablancas wed his third wife, Aline Mendonça de Carvalho Wermelinger, who was 17 at the time and had won Brazil’s Elite Model Look contest in 1992. Wermelinger was close in age to his children then aged 22 and 14. Together they had three children: John Jr., Fernando Augusto, and Nina.

Casablancas lived in Miami, Florida later in life and passed away on July 20, 2013, while undergoing cancer treatment in Rio de Janeiro. He was aged 70.

Media

• Casablancas: The Man Who Loved Women, a 2016 documentary directed by Hubert Woroniecki, running 81 minutes.