Twiggy has been a British institution since electrifying the modeling world over 40 years ago with her famously long, fake eyelashes drawn under her bottom lashes and her skinny build. In the 1960s, at just 16 years old, Twiggy became the first prominent teenage model, and she is regarded as one of the most famous models of all time.

Leslie Hornsby was born on September 19, 1949, in Neasden, a working-class suburb of London. In 1965, 15-year-old Leslie met Justin de Villeneuve, a man 10 years her senior, when they worked together in a hair salon. Justin, born Nigel Davis, convinced Leslie to go by the name of Twiggy—her childhood nickname due to her stick-thin frame—and he became Twiggy's manager, as well as her boyfriend. He took her to the Mayfair hairdresser Leonard's, where he gave her that famous radical crop, and then to the salon's photographer, Barry Lategan, to shoot a portfolio.

After sweeping England as "The Face of '66" (as declared by the Daily Express) when her modeling pictures were made public, Twiggy arrived in New York in March 1967. Some thought that the Twiggy craze would die down within a month—no one realized then that she would become one of fashion’s most enduring icons. Known for the high-fashion mod look created by Mary Quant, Twiggy changed the world of fashion forever with her androgynous looks and ultrathin frame.

Her gamine looks and working-class background were entirely in tune with the changing times. The new wave of sixties designers, such as Ossie Clark and Barbara Hulanicki of Biba, were designing clothes for the first generation of free-spending teenagers, and they needed very young models that buyers could relate to. Twiggy was deemed too short for the catwalk and instead became a mainstay of fashion magazines.

The reception in New York would be just the beginning of Twiggymania in America. During her travels throughout the country, she was mobbed by screaming fans and the paparazzi. Legend has it that following her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, she escaped through the garbage shoot in order to evade the mob waiting outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the world’s most famous model. After just four years of modeling, Twiggy retired, claiming, "You can't be a clothes hanger for your entire life." So off she went to launch a successful career as a singer and actress. In 1976, Twiggy signed to Mercury Records and has since released the albums Twiggy and Please Get My Name Right, Midnight Blue, and Heaven in My Eye.

The phenomenon of the MTA (model turned actress) is not one that always results in a satisfying career, as it can be hard to change the public perceptions of a famous face. Not for Twiggy. In 1971, Twiggy starred in the movie The Boy Friend, a musical comedy set in the 1920s. When director Ken Russell first asked Twiggy if she would like the role, she answered, "I can't act, I can't sing, and I can't dance." But audiences and critics disagreed, and the film was a hit. Twiggy won two Golden Globes in 1972, for Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer.  Her next film, the thriller W, was released in 1974, and she had her stage debut in Cinderella in London's West End the same year. Twiggy made her Broadway debut in the musical My One and Only with Tommy Tune, earning a Tony nomination, the highest accolade a Broadway actress can receive.

In 1997, Twiggy acted in the London revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and a year later she starred in the stage musical Noel and Gertie in Long Island. In 1999, she returned to the New York stage in an off-Broadway production, If Love Were All, for which she received glowing reviews from the New York Times.

Between 1987 and 1991, Twiggy had roles in various television shows and made many appearances on chat shows, as well as serving as a guest host numerous times. In 2005, she joined the cast of America’s Next Top Model as one of four judges.

Twiggy and Justin de Villeneuve were briefly engaged in 1968, but the relationship ended around the time she decided to set her sights on an acting career. In June 1977, Twiggy married American actor Michael Witney, and their daughter, Carly, was born in 1978. This marriage ended tragically with his sudden death in 1983 from a heart attack. Twiggy later remarried  in 1988 to actor Leigh Lawson.

"Bestselling author" also can be added to Twiggy's long list of achievements: She has written two autobiographies, Twiggy: An Autobiography and Twiggy in Black and White. She has also written a book on healthy living, called Twiggy’s Guide to Looking Good. She is an ardent supporter of animal welfare through numerous societies and is also known for her support of breast cancer research groups.

Most recently in 2009, Twiggy was named the face of Olay Definity, the brand's anti-aging line. Looks like "The Face" has still got it.