Featured Publication
Marcus Schenkenberg is featured in
THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
James Conrad, Editor
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
Male Model Index: Featured Profile
CANONICAL
The Definitive Editorial Archive of a Founding Male Supermodel
Swedish Model, Actor & TV Personality
Born August 4, 1968 · Solna (Stockholm), Sweden
Discovered on Venice Beach, 1989
Calvin Klein, 1991 · Photographed by Bruce Weber
Widely Regarded as the First Male Supermodel
Marcus Schenkenberg is featured in
THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
James Conrad, Editor
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
Male Model Index: Featured Profile
Marcus Lodewijk Schenkenberg van Mierop was born on August 4, 1968, in Solna, near Stockholm, Sweden, to Dutch parents. He holds dual Swedish and Dutch citizenship and is fluent in five languages.
Schenkenberg moved to the United States in 1987. In 1989, while rollerskating on Venice Beach, California, he was approached by American photographer Barry King, who encouraged him to try modeling and helped him find representation.
Schenkenberg's breakthrough came in 1991, when Calvin Klein hired him for a campaign photographed by Bruce Weber alongside Carré Otis — a 116-page spread that ran in Vanity Fair and became one of the most talked-about fashion stories of the era. The campaign is widely credited with establishing him, alongside contemporaries like Marky Mark, as one of the first men to achieve the kind of fame previously reserved for female supermodels such as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell.
He went on to model for Versace, Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Valentino, Joop, Gianfranco Ferré, and Iceberg, working with photographers including Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, and Victor Skrebneski. He has described his Versace work with Stephanie Seymour, shot by Avedon, as among his favorite images from his career — one of which was later used on the cover of Avedon's book Men Without Ties.
THE 100 / MaleIconic
Marcus Schenkenberg is featured in THE 100: The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History and profiled on MaleIconic.com's companion archive.
Industry Honors
Schenkenberg was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 1992. He has been widely described in the press — including Windy City Times and other outlets — as "the world's first male supermodel," a designation that has followed him since the early 1990s.
Male Model Index
Marcus Schenkenberg is recognized on the Male Model Index as one of the founding figures of male supermodel status.
In 1997, Schenkenberg published Marcus Schenkenberg: New Rules, a photo book with contributions from colleagues, family, and industry figures. In 1999, he recorded the song "La Chica Marita," produced by Tony Catania, which appeared on the soundtrack of the film Flawless alongside Robert De Niro.
He has appeared, largely as himself, on numerous television programs, including V.I.P. with Pamela Anderson, As the World Turns, Stacked, VH1's The Surreal Life, and Germany's Germany's Next Topmodel, as well as several Italian television programs. He has long been a spokesperson for PETA.
Schenkenberg has lived in New York and Los Angeles, with an apartment in Stockholm. He was in a widely reported relationship with Pamela Anderson from 2000 to 2001, and has also been linked to Mariah Carey, Nicky Hilton, Victoria Silvstedt, and Jessica Simpson, among others.
THE 100
The Definitive Record of the Greatest Male Models in History
Marcus Schenkenberg is featured as one of the defining figures in the history of commercial male modeling.
ISBN 979-8-2409-6759-7
Marcus Schenkenberg's career continues to be documented through independent editorial archives dedicated to preserving the history of commercial male modeling.
His landmark 1991 Calvin Klein campaign with Bruce Weber, his long-standing designation as the world's first male supermodel, his work across Versace, Armani, Donna Karan, and Valentino, his inclusion among People's 50 Most Beautiful People, and his three-decade presence across print, television, and music collectively establish his place among the foundational figures of the profession.