Inside scandal-hit life of Naomi Campbell…blood diamonds, violent attacks & charity cash spent on ‘gallons of champagne’
SHE is one of the world’s most famous models – yet often it’s her outrageous antics off the catwalk that draws the most attention.
Naomi Campbell, 54, has bounced from scandal to scandal throughout her career, accused of violent attacks, accepting blood diamonds and most recently misspending charity funds.
The runway icon’s charity Fashion for Relief has come under fire after the charity watchdog investigation discovered widespread evidence of financial misconduct.
She had previously claimed that it had raised millions of dollars for good since its inception in 2005.
But now a three-year investigation has found that the poverty relief organisation barely passed on a fraction of the cash it raised from lavish events.
In fact, just 8.5 per cent of all cash was used to fund actual charity work.
A large proportion of the rest went on flights for Naomi’s art pieces, luxury hotel rooms, spas, and even cigarettes for the model.
It was also said to have paid huge sums, in the hundreds of thousands of pounds mark, to another trustee of the charity.
Fashion for Relief raised £4.8m through a series of fundraising events, including fashion shows, over a five-year period from 2016, but only a meagre £389,000 was paid out to partner charities.
And the Charity Commission has banned her from being a charity trustee for five years. Naomi has yet to comment on the verdict.
But even before being investigated, Naomi and Fashion for Relief was raising eyebrows with its lavish parties.
Back in 2022 it was revealed that the charity had splashed out £1.6million on lavish parties, including some that were cancelled due to Covid, and only paid out £205,000 to worthy causes.
One star-studded bash, at the British Museum in London, saw A-listers including Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris attend back in 2019.
Sources told how guests were plied with “gallons of champagne” and Casamigos cocktails for the glitzy bash.
But Naomi Campbell’s outrageous behaviour has been well broadcast before her charity was dragged into the spotlight.
Addiction
In 1999, Naomi headed into rehab for her drug addiction after growing to dislike the person she had become.
She sought help after her cocaine addiction got out of hand, and she collapsed on the set of a modelling shoot.
“The time between 1998 and 2005 was especially bad,” she admitted in an interview with Vogue.
“During that time I avoided looking in the mirror, because I didn’t like the person who was looking back at me. To be honest, there were times I thought I wouldn’t survive.
“I used to have a lot of problems. Amongst others I drank too much so I joined Alcoholics Anonymous to get and stay sober.”
Naomi told how the assassination of her close friend, Versace designer and founder Gianni Versace, left her spiralling and struggling to cope.
In Apple TV+’s docuseries, The Super Models, she said: “I tried to cover that with something. You can’t cover it. I was killing myself. It was very hurtful.”
I don’t miss alcohol in my life. I feel better without it
Naomi Campbell
She later said: “I guess when I started using, that was one of the things I tried to cover up, was grief. Addiction is such a… bulls*** thing, it really is.
“You think, ‘Oh it’s gonna heal that wound.’ It doesn’t. It can cause such huge fear and anxiety. So I got really angry.”
Previously, she told Oprah Winfrey how she had first tried the drug aged 24 and that it was incredibly easy to get on location for shoots – meaning she never needed to find her own dealer.
In 2002, Naomi won a case against Mirror Group Newspapers after they published a photo of her leaving an Narcotics Anonymous meeting, claiming it violated her privacy.
The images were the first time her addiction issues were made public. Naomi claimed she took the matter to court because she wanted to “feel safe getting help in my own country”.
It led to a law change, and it is now illegal to photograph anyone leaving a health-care place.
The model also gave up drinking alcohol in 2012 and claims she doesn’t miss it.
She told Elle UK: “And no, I don’t miss alcohol in my life. I feel better without it.”
Violent assaults
Despite her angelic appearance, Naomi has a vicious temper.
Her violent ways first made headlines in 2000 when she pleaded guilty in court for attacking her assistant with a mobile phone.
The assistant also alleged Naomi had threatened to throw her out of a moving car in Toronto two years earlier.
But instead of the incident serving as a lesson, the model and her phone attacks continued for years.
In 2003, Naomi was sued by a different assistant who accused her of throwing her phone at them during a tantrum. The model did not comment on the case and the result of the civil proceedings are unknown.
In 2005, it was alleged that she smacked another assistant around the head with her BlackBerry. At the time, Naomi’s agent vehemently denied the claims.
And two years later, Naomi was sentenced to two years community service after allegedly beating her housekeeper around the head with a crystal-encrusted phone case.
F*** you, f*** you, captain… f*** off, I have paid £5,000 for this
Naomi Campbell
The offence? Failing to find Naomi a particular pair of jeans when asked. The housekeeper required stitches.
In court, Naomi said: “During the morning of March 30 2006, I threw a cellphone in the apartment. The cellphone hit Ana. That was an accident, because I did not intend to hit her.”
But it’s not just her phone that has allegedly been used to intimidate.
One assistant told how Naomi went “Mike Tyson” after they both arrived at an event in the same dress.
And in 2010 she attacked her driver in New York by slapping him so aggressively he was forced to pull over and call the cops – but the model had legged it.
While he didn’t press charges, police reported he was suffering extensive bruising.
Shortly after the report came out, her PR issued a bizarre statement saying: “There shouldn’t be a rush to judgment.”
The supermodels former staff have very few positive things to say about her, with one ex-house keeper claiming Naomi was “a violent super-bigot”.
It’s not Naomi’s staff that have suffered at her hands – even her drugs counsellor was allegedly attacked by the model in 2006.
Naomi's love life
AFTER decades in the spotlight for her modelling prowess, it's no surprise that Naomi has enjoyed a series of high-profile romances.
Unlike many of her fellow celebrities, she has never been married. We look at her romances.
1990s – The supermodel was linked to Robert De Niro. She only confirmed their romance a decade later.
1993 – Naomi started dating U2 bassist Adam Clayton after meeting in February of that year. He had stated in an interview that the only thing he wanted was a relationship with Naomi. The pair split the following year.
1995 – Naomi was linked to Leonardo DiCaprio for a brief fling. The pair have remained close friends since.
1998 to 2003 – Naomi was in a long-term relationship with Formula One racing head Flavio Briatore. The pair got engaged in 1998 but never made it down the aisle.
2008 to 2013 – The model dated Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin. The pair were believed to have got engaged in 2011 but never confirmed the rumour.
2017 – Naomi dated Egyptian tobacco boss Louis C Camilleri. The pair had dates in secret while he was the director of Ferrari and chairman of Philip Morris International.
2018 – The model was linked to One Direction star Liam Payne.
2019 – Naomi was linked to British rapper Skepta.
2024 – She is reported to be dating German DJ Rampa. The pair have been seen kissing at his shows after she flew out
She was arrested by police in London on suspicion of actual bodily harm after the counsellor headed to a police station with red cheeks and appeared “quite shaken up”.
Again, her PR claimed: “We believe there has been a misunderstanding.” It’s unclear if the alleged victim pressed charges.
And in 2008, Naomi lost her temper with British Airways staff over a missing suitcase and had to be removed from the flight by police.
She was alleged to have screamed “I can’t believe you have lost my f***ing bag. Bring me my f***ing bags now.”
The model then accused the staff of be racists before yelling “f*** you, f*** you, captain” and “f*** off, I have paid £5,000 for this. I have a right to be on this plane.”
I get gifts all the time. Sometimes in the middle of the night and without knowing who they are from
Naomi Campbell
Witnesses told how she spat in the face of a police officer who had boarded the flight to remove her.
She was subsequently banned from all BA flights for life and given 200 hours of community service.
In a statement, British Airways said: “Her behaviour last week was absolutely shocking. She physically and verbally abused our staff and police.
“Banning Naomi Campbell will send out a worldwide signal that such behaviour is totally unacceptable. A rethink is very, very unlikely.”
Five years later, she was allowed back on BA services.
‘Dirty stones’
In a very bizarre way, Naomi found herself caught up in a war crimes court after being gifted blood diamonds – gems mined in a war zone and used to fund insurgency – by an African dictator.
The supermodel attended a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997 where she was introduced to Charles Taylor, a politician from Liberia.
While the pair were introduced at dinner, his gift of blood diamonds didn’t arrive until she was in bed that night, when two men knocked on her door.
She told a War Court in 2007: “I saw a few stones in there. Very small, dirty-looking stones.
“There was no explanation, no note.”
Taylor was accused of using diamonds to fund civil war in Sierra Leone.
This is a big inconvenience for me
Naomi Campbell on War Court
Naomi told the court she had no idea who Taylor was or even that Liberia was a country.
When questioned further as to not being surprised by the gift, she said: “I get gifts all the time. Sometimes in the middle of the night and without knowing who they are from. It is quite normal for me to receive gifts.”
The model also said she didn’t realise they would be valuable until speaking with her then-agent the next morning at breakfast.
She claimed she had donated the diamonds to Jeremy Ratcliffe, head of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. The charity refuted her claims.
Naomi had initially refused to give evidence but had no choice when she was subpoenaed.
Prior to her testimony, she had denied receiving the gemstones before openly admitting it had happened.
She said: “This is someone, I read on the internet, killed thousands of people supposedly. And I didn’t want my family in any danger in any way.
“I did not really want to be here. I was made to be here. I want to get this over with and get on with my life. This is a big inconvenience for me.”
Naomi was never charged for handling the diamonds because it was deemed she didn’t have any criminal intent.
Secret children
In 2021, the supermodel surprised the world in 2021 when she announced the birth of her first child, a girl.
She did the same again in 2023 when she welcomed her son.
Naomi has been careful to keep all other details of her children private but did tell The Times in June that she welcome both of them via a surrogate.
She said: “My babies are everything to me. It’s made me fear for the future.”
Later adding: “I did. I hope for a better world for my children. They are 110 per cent my priority. I have to be there for them on their first day at school.”
When asked about their father, she claimed “a single mother of a single mum”