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Penelope Tree (born 2 December 1949) is an English fashion model who rose to prominence during the Swinging Sixties in London.[2]
Penelope Tree | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 2, 1949[1] |
| Nationality | British/American[1] |
| Occupation | Fashion model |
| Years active | 1960s onwards |
| Known for | Swinging sixties |
| Notable work | The Rutles (1978 film) |
| Spouse | Ricky Fataar |
| Partner(s) | David Bailey Stuart MacFarlane |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Jeremy Tree (half-brother) Frances FitzGerald (half-sister) |
Penelope Tree is the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a U.S. socialite and political activist, and Ronald, a British journalist, investor and Conservative MP. She is the half-sister of racehorse trainer Jeremy Tree and author Frances FitzGerald, and she is a niece of former Massachusetts governor Endicott Peabody.
Tree's family initially objected to her career as a model,[2] and when she was first photographed at age 13 by Diane Arbus, her father vowed to sue if the pictures were published.[3]
Tree made a striking appearance at the 1966 Black and White Ball thrown by author Truman Capote, wearing a black V-neck tunic with long slashes from the bottom making floating panels, worn over black tights.[4]
The sensation she caused led photographers Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon to work together to make her a supermodel.[5] She was 16 and her father had relented. David Bailey described Penelope as "an Egyptian Jiminy Cricket".[6]
In 1967, Tree moved into Bailey's flat in London's Primrose Hill neighbourhood.[2] It became a social space for hippies during the "Swinging Sixties" who, Bailey recalled, would be "smoking joints I had paid for and calling me a capitalist pig!" In another famous quote, when John Lennon was asked to encapsulate Tree in three words, he replied, "Hot, Hot, Hot, Smart, Smart, Smart!"[7]
Tree has been extensively compared to The Beatles for inspiring the swinging 60's movement and for galvanizing a generation of young American females.[citation needed] Scars from late-onset acne ended her career[2] in the early 1970s: "I went from being sought-after to being shunned because nobody could bear to talk about the way I looked."[8] In 1972, she was arrested for possession of cocaine.[7][8] In 1974, Bailey and Tree split up and she moved to Sydney. She appeared in the British comedy film The Rutles in 1978.[9]
She was married to South African musician Ricky Fataar (a member of The Flames, The Rutles, and the Beach Boys). She has two children: Paloma Fataar, a graduate of Bard College and a student of Tibetan Buddhism and music; and Michael MacFarlane; by her relationship with Australian Jungian analyst Stuart MacFarlane.
Penelope Tree is a patron of Lotus Outreach, a charity which works in Cambodia in partnership with local grassroots women's organisations to give girls from the very poorest families the wherewithal to go to school.[10]
In 1983, English indiepop band Felt released a song called "Penelope Tree", featuring a picture of her on the cover. [11]
In 2011, Tree appeared as an interviewee for a documentary on the life of fashion editor Diana Vreeland.[citation needed]
In 2017, she was interviewed for a documentary about Beaton called Love, Cecil
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