Age: 53
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Nadja Auermann (born 19 March 1971) is a German model and actress. Fashion designer Valentino once commented on her physical resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. A New York Times fashion columnist, Guy Trebay, wrote of her "ice maiden visage and pole vaulter's legs". She once held the record for being the model with the longest legs in the world in the Guinness Book of Records.
In 1989, Auermann was discovered in a cafe in Berlin, which led her to sign with Karin Modeling Agency in Paris in the same year. In 1991, she moved from Karin to Elite Model Management. She then had her picture taken for Vogue Paris, in addition to appearing in Benetton clothing advertisements. In September 1994, Auermann appeared on the cover of both Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, which The New York Times called "a triumph akin to winning two legs of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing".
Auermann has modeled for Versace, where she appeared in a classic ad photo shot by Richard Avedon in miniskirts along with Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, and Stephanie Seymour. Apart from Versace, she has also appeared in advertising campaigns for various brands, including Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, and Hermès. She was also the international spokesperson of Shiseido in the late 1990s.
In addition to campaign appearances, Auermann has also graced over 100 covers worldwide, including American, British, French, Italian and German editions of Vogue, W, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar and i-D.
Throughout her career, Auermann has worked with numerous well-renowned photographers. The list includes Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Irving Penn, Herb Ritts, Craig McDean, Steven Klein, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Mario Sorrenti, Paolo Roversi, Juergen Teller and Peter Lindbergh, who reckoned her as his muse.
In 1997, she had her first child with Olaf Björn, a daughter called Cosima. Two years later, she married German actor Wolfram Grandezka. The couple welcomed their first son, Nicolas, the same year and divorced a few years later. Auermann gave birth to her third and fourth children with her partner in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
In recent years, Auermann launched her own perfume ("Nadja Auermann") and has begun acting, having been in two German-language films: Letztes Kapitel (2005) and Dornröschens Leiser Tod (2004).
Auermann enjoys holidaying in the spa town of Heiligendamm, on Germany's Baltic coast. She is a vegetarian.
She was convicted of tax evasion by a German court in 2011.
In an interview with the German Press, Auermann revealed that she was living with her children and partner in Dresden.