Sunny Harnett

Annemarie Margot Elfreda "Sunny" Harnett (1924 - May 1987) was an American model, actress,[1] and casting director.[2] She can be found in fashion magazines throughout the 1950s — including frequently on the cover of Vogue — and was often a model of choice by photographer Edgar de Evia. Harper′s Bazaar ranks her as one of the 26 greatest models of all time.[3]

Sunny Harnett
Photograph of Sunny Harnett taken in the 1950s by Edgar de Evia
Born	Annemarie Margot Elfreda Harnett 1924 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	May 1987 (aged 63)
Children	1

After becoming an assistant to Eileen Ford of Ford Models, she soon quit modeling. Harnett allegedly turned down the chance to represent Naomi Sims, who eventually became the first African-American supermodel, because Ford had "too many" black models already.[4]

At some point, Harnett gained weight and underwent a mastectomy.[5] Due to health concerns, she was later placed in a home for long-term care. According to fellow 1950s Ford model Betsy Pickering, Gerald W. ″Jerry″ Ford, founder of Ford Models, hospitalized Harnett for mental illness.[5] Harnett died from injuries sustained in a fire at the home in May 1987 when she was 63.[5]

She was also an actress and appeared in the film Funny Face. An ash blonde, she was a favorite model of photographer Richard Avedon, who served as a thinly veiled model for Fred Astaire′s character of Dick Avery in Funny Face.[3][6] Avedon snapped one of the most famous photos of Harnett, in which, clad in an evening gown by Grès, she peers at a roulette wheel in a casino in Le Touquet, France.[7] That iconic August 1954 photograph fetched $35,000 when Christie's auctioned it in October 2012.[7]