Nesbit, Evelyn, 1884-1967

Florence Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American model, Broadway actress, writer, sculptor, and silent film star. She is widely recognized as the world's first supermodel, rising to fame as a teenager in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century. As a model, Nesbit was frequently photographed for mass circulation newspapers, magazine advertisements, souvenir items and calendars. When she was about 14, she had begun working as a model for various artists in Philadelphia. Nesbit continued after her family moved to New York, posing for artists including James Carroll Beckwith, Frederick S. Church and notably Charles Dana Gibson, who idealized her as a "Gibson Girl". She began modeling when both fashion photography (as an advertising medium) and the pin-up (as an art genre) were beginning to expand. Nesbit entered Broadway theatre in 1901, initially as a chorus line dancer before becoming a featured star. A variety of wealthy men vied for her company, including the prominent architect Stanford White, who was more than 30 years her senior. In 1905, Nesbit married Harry Kendall Thaw, a multi-millionaire with a history of mental instability and abusive behavior. The next year, on June 25, 1906, Thaw shot and killed White in the middle of a highly attended musical performance at the rooftop theatre of Madison Square Garden. The press called the resulting court case the "Trial of the Century", coverage of which was sensational. Nesbit testified that White had befriended her and her mother when she was performing as a chorus girl, and that when she was about 16 years old, he had given her wine and drugged and then raped her when she was unconscious. Nesbit and White also had an ongoing romantic relationship after the alleged rape incident. Thaw was said to have killed White in retaliation for his actions with Nesbit, based on his own obsession with her. Thaw was eventually acquitted for murder based on an insanity defense. Nesbit visited Thaw while he was confined to mental asylums. After being poorly treated by Thaw's family, she left and toured Europe with a dance troupe, and her son, Russell Thaw, was born in Germany. Later she divorced Thaw and took the boy with her to Hollywood, where she appeared as an actress in silent films. Nesbit wrote two memoirs about her life, published in 1914 and 1934. She died in Santa Monica, California, in 1967.