She is a former supermodel who is famous for being the ‘face of the 1980s’ and recently divorcing Thomas Helmig.

 

Where have I seen her face?

 

In the 1980s, she was everywhere, from the cover of Vogue to the album sleeve of Roxy Music album ‘Atlantic Years’.  Aged just 16, she came second in Ekstra Bladet’s ‘Face of the 80s’ contest, and then one year later in 1982, she won the international ‘Supermodel of the world’ competition. After that, you couldn’t avoid her, from the streets of New York and Paris to every other teenage boy’s bedroom wall. 

 

I wasn’t even born in the ‘80s – what about now?

 

You might know her as a columnist for the erotic magazine Tidens Kvinder where she was heavily involved in a contest to find a new word for the vagina. The winner, ‘gina’, she explained, was “sweet and sexy at once” and will no doubt bring extra sparkle to her relaxed views on intimate shaving. In a completely different style, hopefully, she’s also written a children’s book, ‘Karlas kabale’ (Karla’s solitaire), which was made into a movie. And she also gained a lot of attention when she got engaged to a talented pop-rock musician.

 

Thomas Helmig?

 

No, obviously not: John Taylor, the bassist of Duran Duran. But that didn’t last long, and neither did the next, freeing her up in 2000 to marry Helmig, the singer with the permanent curly hair-style famous for the tune ‘Stupid Man’, which recently took on a new ironic meaning.

 

So what’s going on now?

 

Even if her modelling days are over, Simonsen continues to make the front pages. This week it was announced that her and Helmig are getting divorced. Tabloids all over the nation were of course shocked to see one of their favourite celebrity couples splitting up. Why Helmig would leave the supermodel, or vice-versa, remains a mystery. But now the yummy mummy is available again, are we about to see if the face of the ‘80s can still rock the singles market at 48?