Suzanne Mizzi

Suzanne Mizzi (1 December 1967 – 22 May 2011)[2] was a glamour model, singer, interior designer, and artist. She made regular appearances as a Page 3 girl in the British newspaper The Sun during the 1980s and 1990s, before going on to have a career as a catwalk model, as well as being involved in film and music. In her later years, she developed a career as an interior designer and abstract artist.

Suzanne Mizzi
Born(1967-12-01)1 December 1967
Malta
Died22 May 2011(2011-05-22) (aged 43)
Hackney, London, United Kingdom
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1]
Spouse(s)Frank Camilleri (1985-2011, her death); 2 children

Career

Mizzi was born on the Mediterranean island of Malta and grew up in London.

After leaving school at 15, Mizzi opened a clothes shop in Bethnal Green, London, where she was discovered by a photographer while working.[3] She made her Page 3 debut in 1984 aged 17 and immediately endeared herself to the public, although it took her parents a while to become comfortable with her career choice. In the first six months of her modelling career, Mizzi shot 26 calendars and was in high demand for personal appearances.[3] Her success was helped by Page 3 photographer Beverley Goodway, whose pictures helped to establish her career.[4] She could command fees of over £1,000 for a personal appearance.[4]

In 1988, she quit glamour modelling and began catwalk modelling.[5] She signed with the Storm Model Agency and began doing fashion shoots, something which would eventually lead to her working with Vivienne Westwood.[3] At the age of 21, she signed a £400,000 contract to front her own lingerie range for high street chain Dorothy Perkins. A lingerie company once insured her face and body for £11 million.[3]

Mizzi had an interest in music and was a founding member of the group Wildflowers, but her attempts to launch a musical career faltered, something she blamed on her record company: "We had a record deal, but the label wanted me to sing a pop track. I wanted to be an 'artist', not a pop star."[3] According to a BBC report, she was one of a number of celebrities who took out insurance on the assets for which they were famous.[6] She did this in 1989, when she insured her body with Lloyd's of London for $16 million.[7]

In the 2000s she became an artist and interior designer and was known as Mizzy.[8] She exhibited her work at London's Rainbird Fine Art Gallery and ran an interior and building design consultancy business, which she started after friends saw work she had done on her house and asked her to design rooms for them.[8] She began painting after having difficulty sourcing works of art for her clients.[3] Her abstract paintings sold for up to £10,000 each. An exhibition of her work titled "Timeless" was held at the Artbank Gallery, also in London.[8]

Personal life

Mizzi was married to her childhood sweetheart Frank Camilleri, a property developer, with whom she had a son and a daughter. Camilleri, who was her manager, is a Maltese Briton.[1] The family divided their time between homes in London, Spain and Malta.[9]

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2010; she died at St Joseph's Hospice, Hackney, East London, on 22 May 2011, aged 43.

References
  1. Leith, William (27 December 1992). "This model business is not all smiles". The Independent. London: Independent Print Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  2. "Birthday greetings". The Sun. London: News International. 1 December 2003.
  3. "Suzanne Mizzi". Citytrading.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  4. "Tributes for Maltese 'page 3 legend'". Times of Malta. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  5. Kvist, Else (25 May 2011). "Page-three model Suzanne Mizzi dies in Hackney hospice". East London Advertiser. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  6. "How The Stars Cover Their Assets". BBC News. BBC. 31 July 1998. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  7. "Model puts a premium on her body". Toledo Blade. 1 September 1989. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  8. Pockett, Karen (7 November 2004). "Mizzy Fresh". Sunday Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  9. Grech, Scott (26 May 2011). "Popular Malta-born pin-up girl dies aged 43". Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
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