23 British Beauties Who Put the “It” in It Girl, From Victoria Beckham to Twiggy

Sophie Schulte-Hillen
Updated

23 British Beauties Who Redefined It Girl, From Victoria Beckham to Twiggy

<h1 class="title">Charlotte Rampling</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Helmut Newton, <em>Vogue,</em> January 1974</cite>

Charlotte Rampling

Photographed by Helmut Newton, Vogue, January 1974
<h1 class="title">Elizabeth Hurley with Hugh Grant</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Elizabeth Hurley with Hugh Grant

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Helena Bonham Carter</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Courtesy of © Cinecom International/Everett Collection</cite>

Helena Bonham Carter

Photo: Courtesy of © Cinecom International/Everett Collection
<h1 class="title">Jane Birkin</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Jane Birkin

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Jean Shrimpton</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Jean Shrimpton

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Sienna Miller</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, <em>Vogue</em>, September 2015</cite>

Sienna Miller

Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, September 2015
<h1 class="title">Julie Christie</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Julie Christie

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Karen Elson</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Peter Lindbergh, <em>Vogue,</em> October 2011</cite>

Karen Elson

Photographed by Peter Lindbergh, Vogue, October 2011
<h1 class="title">Kate Moss</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Corinne Day/Trunk Archive</cite>

Kate Moss

Photo: Corinne Day/Trunk Archive
<h1 class="title">Marianne Faithfull</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Marianne Faithfull

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Naomi Campbell</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Naomi Campbell

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Penelope Tree</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Gianni Penati, <em>Vogue,</em> November 1967</cite>

Penelope Tree

Photographed by Gianni Penati, Vogue, November 1967
<h1 class="title">Cara Delevingne</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Karim Sadli, <em>Vogue</em>, October 2013</cite>

Cara Delevingne

Photographed by Karim Sadli, Vogue, October 2013
<h1 class="title">Princess Diana</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Princess Diana

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Sade</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Sade

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Stella Tennant</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Irving Penn, <em>Vogue,</em> March 01, 1996</cite>

Stella Tennant

Photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, March 01, 1996
<h1 class="title">Twiggy</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Twiggy

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Victoria Beckham</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Craig McDean, <em>Vogue,</em> April 2012</cite>

Victoria Beckham

Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, April 2012
<h1 class="title">Vivienne Westwood with Malcolm McLaren</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Rex USA</cite>

Vivienne Westwood with Malcolm McLaren

Photo: Rex USA
<h1 class="title">Adele</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, <em>Vogue</em>, March 2016</cite>

Adele

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, March 2016
<h1 class="title">FKA Twigs</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, <em>Vogue</em>, April 2014</cite>

FKA Twigs

Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, April 2014
<h1 class="title">Amy Winehouse</h1><cite class="credit">Photo: Getty Images</cite>

Amy Winehouse

Photo: Getty Images
<h1 class="title">Adwoa Aboah</h1><cite class="credit">Photographed by Phil Oh</cite>

Adwoa Aboah

Photographed by Phil Oh

It’s safe to say that London Fashion Week, which kicks off today, has secured its reputation as a force to be reckoned with, from its extraordinary roster of talented designers to the boisterous tribe of idiosyncratic English lovelies and social media stars (see Cara Delevingne who seem to spark trends just by getting out of bed.

Not that the Brit girl phenomenon is anything new. Who could forget the original waif, Twiggy, whose coltish frame, boyish pixie, and long-lashed eyes made androgyny cool decades before a young Kate Moss challenged the bodacious beauty ideal of the supermodel ’90s? Or the sight of Elizabeth Hurley’s Versace-clad bombshell body in the safety-pin dress that propelled her from Hugh Grant paramour to pop culture sensation with a single stroll down the red carpet?

But it’s not just models that stoke our Anglophilia. Consider punk’s reigning queen, the eternally Manic Panic–ed Vivienne Westwood, whose anarchic spin on Victorian beauty is impossible to separate from her corseted tartan gowns, or true royal, Princess Diana, whose effortless elegance remains riveting over 20 years after her death.

These days, FKA twigs’s coiled braids and signature septum ring and Adwoa Aboah's chameleonic buzz cut redefine our notion of what it means to be a distinctively English stunner. And we’ve all watched Victoria Beckham evolve from pop-confection pinup to smartly bobbed Marc Jacobs muse to an all-around style icon in her own right. Here, a look at our favorite British beauties of all time.

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