In late 1935, photographs of 21-year-old Mardee Hoff started appearing in the newspapers. She’d been selected from a pool of 2,600 models by the American Society of Illustrators as the girl with “the most beautiful figure in America.”
The papers said she would compete against Rosemary Andree, “Britain’s Venus,” for the international title in 1936. Many published side-by-side photos of the two women. I can’t find any record of this event actually happening, though.
But one thing that did happen in 1936 was the debut of Mardee in the U.S. baby name data:
- 1942: 7 baby girls named Mardee
- 1941: 19 baby girls named Mardee
- 1940: unlisted
- 1939: 5 baby girls named Mardee
- 1938: unlisted
- 1937: unlisted
- 1936: 9 baby girls named Mardee [debut]
- 1935: unlisted
The similar name Marti debuted in 1936 as well.
The usage spike in 1941, plus the debut of Mardi in 1941, were likely influenced by Mardee Hoff’s appearance on a late 1940 LIFE cover. She’s identified by name inside the magazine: “Mardee Hoff, photographed in one of the new torso-length cardigans on this week’s cover, has for the past three years been one of the most popular models with both photographers and illustrators.”
Interestingly, Mardee Hoff also posed for Norman Rockwell in the 1930s. She was the model for “Hollywood Starlet,” which appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in March of 1936.
(And here’s another model name, Twiggy, that debuted about three decades later…)
Sources:
- “Life’s Cover.” LIFE 21 Oct. 1941: 27.
- Mardee Hoff Model – AP Newsroom
- Duin, Steve. “Norman Rockwell: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg open their vaults.” OregonLive 25 Jul. 2010.
- “Talk of the Town.” New Yorker 11 Jan. 1936: 9.
- “Winners to Model After.” Morning Herald [Johnstown, NY] 20 Apr. 1936: 13.