Jenny Shimizu: From supermodel to lesbian fashion icon

It’s hard to disassociate Jenny Shimizu from superstar actress Angelina Jolie, but the Japanese-American lesbian supermodel is a celebrity in her own right.

In fact, Jenny was in the fashion limelight long before Jolie became a celebrity.

At 49 years old, the model/ actress has considerably mellowed down. But her name still reverberates in the halls of the fashion world and showbiz news.

Jenny Shimizu: Mechanic-turned-supermodel

Born in San Jose, California, Jenny’s discovery as as a supermodel is already a legend of sorts, i.e. how Shimizu was originally a mechanic when she was discovered.

From her down and dirty work, she was tapped to model for Calvin Klein’s CK1 ads.

She’s been photographed by top fashion photographers such as Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, and Michael Comte. She’s also modeled for Donna Karan, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Thierry Muegler.

Later on, she dabbled in movies and TV such as Foxfire (where she met Jolie), a supporting role in the lesbian film Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and was part of the third season of the TV series Dante’s Cove.

She also appeared on Tyra Bank’s America’s Next Top Model and was a judge in Bravo TV’s Make Me a Supermodel.

Half-Japanese and half-American, Jenny was the first Asian to walk the runway of the famous Prada catwalk, not to mention the first Asian to open a show.

Asian, androgynous and only five feet seven, she also broke a lot of traditions in modelling. For example, she’s not your typical American nor European beauty. She was also obviously very lesbian.

Still, she managed to created an opening in the fashion industry for more LGBT models.

Jenny Shimizu: Lesbian icon in the queer community

On the one hand, Jenny was a successful model. On the other hand, she was also famous for her very colorful lesbian love life.

She was once in a relationship with Ione Skye in the mid-1990s. Skye left her then-husband, Adam Horowitz of the Beastie Boys, to be with Shimizu.

Although the relationship didn’t last long, it was very public and they were often photographed together.

She was also Madonna’s “sex slave.”

“I was her secret ‘booty call,’ available any time of the day or night for secret sex sessions,” Jenny said of her relationship with Madonna.

The Material Girl would sometimes fly Shimizu to wherever she was for sexual encounters.

Shimizu has had so many affairs with celebrities, she once announced she would write a tell-all autobiography of her relationships.

Jenny Shimizu and Angelina Jolie’s affair

Her most famous relationship was with Jolie, who fell in love with Shimizu the first time she saw her on the set of Foxfire.

“I was surprised when I suddenly found myself having these feelings I always had for men, but for a woman,” Angelina said in an interview about Jenny.

But that’s all in the past now. From once thinking of relationships as the next adventure, Jenny married socialite Michelle Harper in 2014.