Born in Scotland in 1970, Stella Tennant is the granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and a distant relative of Princess Diana. Stella studied at Winchester School of Art and was set for a career in sculpture when Vogue writer Plum Sykes selected her for a feature entitled, ‘Anglo-Saxon Attitudes’ photographed by Steven Meisel. Stella’s nose and naval piercing, coupled with her unusual beauty caught the photographers attention and she quickly appeared alongside Linda Evangelista in the 1993 Versace campaign, also shot by Meisel. In 1996, she signed an exclusive contract with Chanel and soon became Karl Lagerfeld’s muse. She has graced the covers and spreads of British, French and Italian Vogue, The Face, Harper’s Bazaar, Numéro and many more. Stella is an i-D favourite with five covers to her name, kicking off with The Visionary Issue, October 1994, alongside Brett Anderson, then The Performance Issue, December 1995, The Gallery Issue, October 2001, The Best of British Issue, March 2009 and The Hedonist Issue, 2011. She currently lives in Scotland with her French photographer husband David Lasnet, whom she met on a Mario Testino shoot, with their four perfectly named children, Marcel, Cecily, Jasmine and Iris.
