Lenoir was born in Les Ulis, Essonne, France.[4] Her mother is a cleaning lady and comes from the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. She is of African and Indian ethnicity, while her father is a Frenchman from mainland France and an electrician.[4] When she was 17, Lenoir was spotted by the Ford modelling agency and began modelling in New York.
Noémie Lenoir in 2015
Career
Growing up in a banlieue district near Paris, which she describes as a "ghetto", Lenoir was first spotted at the age of 17 in 1997 when she was approached by a Ford booker in a post office.[5] She signed with L'Oréal in 1997, and has since appeared in their advertisements alongside Laetitia Casta and long-term model and actress Andie MacDowell. She has also worked for Victoria's Secret, Gap, Next, and many others.
Lenoir was the face of UK high-street retailer Marks & Spencer, for four years until Christmas 2009[citation needed][6] and was seen in various British TV adverts, magazines and billboards alongside fellow models Erin O'Connor, Twiggy and Laura Bailey. Lenoir returned to Marks & Spencer advertising in 2012 where she is seen "enjoying a selection of quintessentially British pastimes".[7]
In 2007, Lenoir featured in the hit film Rush Hour 3 alongside actors Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. In 2009, Lenoir featured in the music video for Usher's single "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)".[8]
After a relationship with rapper Stomy Bugsy, she lived with international football player Claude Makélélé.[10] They have a son.[10] The couple split in early 2009.[11] Lenoir gave birth to a daughter in August 2015.[12]
Suicide attempt
On 9 May 2010, Lenoir was found unconscious, after a suspected suicide attempt in a park near her Paris home, by a man walking his dog. She was taken to hospital where large quantities of drugs and alcohol were found in her system.[13][14][15] She spoke about the suicide attempt in a February 2011 interview with Britain's Guardian Weekend magazine, admitting she had done "something really, really stupid".[5] Some have referred to the incident as a case in a "series of suicidal tragedies" ongoing in the fashion industry at the time, along with the suicides of Ambrose Olsen, Daul Kim, Tom Nicon, Hayley Kohle, and Ruslana Korshunova.[16]
She hosted a show on Trace TV for two years. She appears in all three Marks and Spencer Christmas TV adverts for 2009, broadcast in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.[17]
