Naomi Campbell and Lisa Vanderpump Were Apparently on the Same ’70s British Kids Show
On Tuesday, WSJ. Magazine published a profile of Naomi Campbell. Naturally, the publication also spoke with several industry heavyweights who know Naomi—or “Omi,” as Linda Evangelista calls her—up-close and personal, including Steven Meisel and Bethann Hardison. “If Naomi wasn’t modeling,” her longtime friend Edward Enninful at one point observes, “she could run a small country.”
But there’s one secondary source that not even the top tier of Naomi’s disciples could have seen coming: Lisa Vanderpump, the Bravo reality empire’s reigning crown jewel. Long before she starred on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Vanderpump Rules, Vanderpump also made a handful of appearances on Kids—the 1979 British TV show, not the infamous 1995 Larry Clark movie, that is. According to IMDb, the 1979 Kids was based on the real-life stories of children taken into care at an assessment center in the U.K. Each episode focused on a different character, though Vanderpump, in the role of Lucille Wyatt, managed to make it into four over the course of the show’s first (and only) season.
Not that Vanderpump’s early filmography really matters here. The important thing is that Campbell made two appearances on Kids, too. She and Vanderpump were cast at the same time, and while they were plenty of years apart—Campbell was just eight, and Vanderpump was around 17—they still got to rub shoulders behind the scenes. “Naomi was always very forthright at a very young age,” Vanderpump recalled. Apparently, she still sees Campbell “occasionally,” and still remembers her first impression of the future super decades later: “She’s a little spitfire.”
Alas, not much survives of Kids, aside from one extremely odd 50-minute video starring actors who are neither Campbell nor Vanderpump. Fortunately, there are still plenty of other traces of Campbell’s early career, which began with a cameo in Bob Marley’s music video for “Is This Love” at age seven, and Culture Club’s music video for “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” at age 12. There’s also a rare gem that dates back to a year before Kids, tellingly starring Campbell as an eight-year-old burgeoning actress.
Related: Brunch With Stassi Schroeder: On Vanderpump Rules, Her New Book, and the Pureness of Being Basic
Revisit Naomi Campbell’s Most Iconic Moments on the Runway Through the Years
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Yves Saint Laurent fall/winter 1987 couture show in Paris, 1987. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway for Perry Ellis in 1989. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Thierry Mugler fall/winter 1989 show during Paris Fashion Week in 1989. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Thierry Mugler spring/summer 1992 show in 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Fendi spring/summer 1992 show by Karl Lagerfeld in Milan, 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Versace fall/winter 1991 show in Los Angeles, 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Alaïa fall/winter 1991 show in Paris in 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of Thierry Mugler’s spring/summer 1992 show in 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Versace spring/summer 1992 show in 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Valentino fall/winter 1992 show during Paris Fashion Week in 1992. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the Chanel spring/summer 1993 couture show—one of Karl Lagerfeld’s most controversial—during Paris Fashion Week in 1993. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell makes fashion history by falling on the runway of the Vivienne Westwood fall/winter 1993 show in 1993. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Chanel spring/summer 1994 show—the theme of which was another controversial choice by Karl Lagerfeld: “rap”—in 1993. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Guy Laroche spring/summer 1994 couture show during Paris Fashion Week in 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Vivienne Westwood fall/winter 1994 show during Paris Fashion Week in 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Prada spring/summer 1995 show during Milan Fashion Week in 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Rifat Ozbek spring/summer 1995 show during Paris Fashion Week in 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Chanel fall/winter 1995 couture show Haute during Paris Fashion Week in 1995. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Versace fall/winter 1996 show by Gianni Versace in 1996. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Givenchy fall/winter 1997 couture show during Paris Fashion Week in 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Givenchy fall/winter 1997 couture show during Paris Fashion Week in 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of one of the early Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows inside the Plaza Hotel in New York City, 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Oscar de la Renta fall/winter 1999 show in New York City, 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Versace fall/winter 1999 couture show during Paris Fashion Week in 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Jean Paul Gaultier spring/summer 2002 couture show in 2001. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Esteban Cortázar spring/summer 2005 couture show during New York Fashion Week in 2004. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2008 show during Paris Fashion Week in 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss reuniting on the runway of the Louis Vuitton fall/winter 2018 men’s show with Kim Jones, in honor of his final collection for the house, during Paris Fashion Week in 2018. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of her crush (and fellow ageless icon) Jennifer Lopez’s fall/winter 2005 show during New York Fashion Week in 2005. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Naomi Campbell walks the runway of the Givenchy spring/summer 2016 men’s show during Paris Fashion Week Men’s in 2015. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
