Iris Palmer

Short Biography

London's The Mirror May 2000: ""POSH supermodel Iris Palmer has turned her back on the catwalk - to join a travelling circus. The daughter of aristocratic rebel Sir Mark Palmer, nicknamed the gypsy baronet, is working as a showgirl in the newly-founded Gifford circus. Pals of the 23-year-old blame her upbringing on a farm in Gloucestershire and family holidays in gypsy caravans for her shock decision. Iris, known as "The Scowl" in modelling circles, insisted she was delighted with her new job, and added: "I smile all the time. I have to - this is showbusiness." Iris' mum Catherine, is a member of Scotland's famous Tennant dynasty. Top models Stella Tennant and Honor Fraser are her cousins, while her uncle is the Scots blue-blood Lord Glenconner. Iris is known as the ultimate bad-girl supermodel. She has brazenly confessed to taking the mind-bending drug LSD at a pop festival, loves wild parties and has a lngstanding passion for wacky clothes. According to pals, Iris, who is still registered to top agency Storm, never buys new outfits and is famed for turning up at celebrity bashes in dresses from charity shops. She has admitted in the past: "All the clothes I buy are second-hand and cost less than a fiver. "I have thousands of clothes and I never wash them. I just chuck them in a pile and I may not see them again." Her habit of pulling faces on the catwalk riled many a designer, while a stylist once claimed she turned up two hours late for a photo-shoot. That headstrong personality was evident from the day Iris waltzed into Storm's London offices. She was wearing a micro-skirt, fishnet tights and spike-heeled, second-hand shoes. One of things Iris hates hearing mentioned is her aristocratic pedigree. A close pal said: "It is so irrelevant to her. The idea of money and privilege has so much stigma in people's minds.""