Claudia Maria Schiffer, Lady Drummond (German: [ˈklaʊdi̯a ˈʃɪfɐ] ; born 25 August 1970), is a German model and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a supermodel.
Born in Rheinberg, she initially aspired to join the legal profession, but her life took a turn when she was discovered at 17 in a Düsseldorf nightclub by Michel Levaton, the CEO of Metropolitan Models. This discovery led her to Paris and onto the cover of Elle, marking the start of her modeling career.
Schiffer's breakthrough came with Guess campaigns in 1989. Notably resembling Brigitte Bardot in her early career, she became Chanel's new face in 1990, walking in Karl Lagerfeld's fashion show. She appeared on the covers of Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Time, among others. Schiffer appeared on over 1,000 magazine covers and walked for fashion houses. She allegedly charged $20,000 per show in 1992. She holds the record for model with the most covers, listed in Guinness World Records. Her endorsements span luxury and high street brands, including Chanel, Versace, and Mango. Beyond modeling, Schiffer ventured into acting, with roles in films like Richie Rich and Love Actually, and engaged in charity work with UNICEF and Make Poverty History. She launched her own cashmere collection in 2011. In 2023, her net worth was estimated at US$70 million.
Schiffer's personal life attracted significant attention, including her engagement to magician David Copperfield, followed by high-profile relationships and her marriage to film director Matthew Vaughn in 2002.
Claudia Maria Schiffer was born in Rheinberg, a small town 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of Duisburg, on 25 August 1970, to mother Gudrun (d. 2020), and father Heinz Schiffer (1937–2007), a lawyer. She has two brothers, Stefan and Andreas, and one sister, Ann Carolin (born 1975). Schiffer is fluent in three languages – German, English and French.
Schiffer originally aspired to become a lawyer and used to work in her father's law firm. In October 1987, at age 17, she was scouted in a nightclub in Düsseldorf by Michel Levaton, the founder and CEO of the French modeling agency Metropolitan Models, and was later signed to the agency as a model. After leaving high school, Schiffer flew to Paris for a trial photo shoot, and subsequently appeared on the cover of Elle.
In 1989, Schiffer starred in campaigns for Guess. Early on in her career, Schiffer was said to resemble Brigitte Bardot. After several other magazine appearances including the cover of British Vogue, shot by Herb Ritts, Schiffer was selected by Karl Lagerfeld to become the new face of Chanel, where she walked in her first fashion show in January 1990.
In 1992, Schiffer signed an exclusive global contract with Revlon, for an estimated $6 million a year for 10 years; this agreement made her the highest-paid model in history.
In addition to Elle and Vogue, Schiffer has appeared on the covers of numerous other magazines including Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Time, and was the first model to be featured on the covers of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and People. She was one of 10 models on Vogue's 100th anniversary cover in 1992. In May 1997, Schiffer was featured on the cover and in the pictorial of Playboy. She has appeared on a total of more than 1,000 magazine covers.
Schiffer has walked in fashion shows for various fashion houses, including Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloé, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Fendi, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Balmain, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Anna Sui, Oscar de la Renta, Jil Sander, Donna Karan, Helmut Lang, Thierry Mugler, Chanel and Valentino. In 1992, she was earning a runway fee of $20,000 per show.
She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Balmain, Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Dom Pérignon, Alberta Ferretti, Bulgari, Chloé, Escada, Blumarine, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, Liz Claiborne, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Guess, Salvatore Ferragamo, Neiman Marcus, Gap, Dillard's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Revlon, Intergaz and Pepsi. In 1994, she starred in a campaign for Valentino, photographed by Arthur Elgort in Rome, which was inspired by the film La Dolce Vita. In 1997, Schiffer signed an exclusive worldwide contract with L'Oréal. Schiffer still holds a contract with L'Oréal and is one of their longest standing ambassadors.
As well as endorsing luxury brands, Schiffer has appeared as the face of high street retailers including Mango and Accessorize, and had her ears pierced for the first time specially for the 2006 Autumn/Winter Accessorize campaign. From her appearances in a 1998 Citroën advertisement, she allegedly earned £3 million.
In 2012, Schiffer posed for Guess again, marking the brand's 30th anniversary. She made her runway return in September 2023, closing out Versace's Spring 2024 show at Milan Fashion Week.
Schiffer made her film debut in the children's movie Richie Rich (1994, as the title character's personal fitness trainer). She then starred opposite Dennis Hopper and Matthew Modine in The Blackout (1997), appeared in Friends & Lovers, Black and White (both 1999), In Pursuit, Life Without Dick (both 2001), and Love Actually (2003) in a semi-cameo role. She also made a cameo in Ben Stiller's Zoolander (2001).
Schiffer has appeared on Dharma & Greg and Arrested Development. In 1996, she briefly interviewed celebrities for German television channel RTL 2. She made appeared in the music video for Bon Jovi's "Say It Isn't So" in 2000, and in the for Comic Relief's 2001 charity single, Westlife's cover of "Uptown Girl", playing Christie Brinkley's role in the 1983 Billy Joel video.
Schiffer hosted the French Fashion Awards, and the 1995 World Music Awards in Monaco. She presented trophies with Pelé during the opening ceremonies at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. She also presented Prince William with a polo trophy in 2002. Schiffer was a judge on Fashion Fringe in 2011.
Credited under her married name, Schiffer has executive produced a number of films including Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Eddie the Eagle (2015), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), Rocketman (2019), Silent Night (2021), The King's Man (2021), Tetris (2023), and Argylle (2024).
In collaboration with Iris von Arnim, Schiffer launched her eponymous cashmere collection during Paris Fashion Week in March 2011. From 2015, she served as creative director for Claudia Schiffer Made by TSE, another women's cashmere collection.