J C Chicago

John Casablancas is the Founder of Elite, the world’s best-known modeling agency group. Mr. Casablancas’ creative approach to a rather stereotyped business, as well as his knack for discovering and launching the Supermodels, catapulted Elite to the top-ranking agency in model management history.

For twenty-five years, as Elite’s chairman, Mr. Casablancas discovered and/or represented many of the most glamorous and stunning women working in the modeling industry (Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen, Elsa Benitez, Heidi Klum, Stephanie Seymour, Iman, Linda Evangelista, Daniela Pestova…). Many of Elite’s models that started with Casablancas became Hollywood movie stars: Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, Inez Sastre, Natasha Henstridge, Jessica Lange, Rachel Ward, Moncia Belluci, Ashley Judd, etc.

After having created the “supermodel” phenomenon, Mr. Casablancas is credited for having brought the first Eastern European models to the international modeling scene, and in the past few years, has been instrumental in the successful careers of the top Latin models; in particular, he discovered and launched Gisele Bundchen, Fernanda Tavares, Isabelli Fontana, Adriana Lima, and many other of the Brazilian stars.

In 1979, he founded the John Casablancas Modeling Centers. These modeling and training Centers became a source of talent throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Italy. Close to 50 John Casablancas Centers are in operation.

In 1983, Casablancas created the Elite Model Look contest, (originally known as “The Look Of the Year) where 300,000 contestants from sixty countries worldwide participate each year.