Biography
Jane Hitchcock was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1953 to Ray and Amelia Hitchcock as their fourth child, growing up with three older brothers. Her father, originally a farmer whose crops were destroyed by beetles, later worked for the local electric company. As a child, Jane studied ballet and was selected as one of two girls nationwide to receive a scholarship to train at Balanchine's school for the prestigious New York City Ballet. This opportunity took her on her first airplane trip to New York City. Soon after arriving, photographers began stopping her on the street to take pictures. Wilhelmina, the iconic Vogue model from the 1960s, signed Jane as the fifth model for her newly established agency, mentoring her to become a top model. Jane's ballet training gave her natural posture and grace, allowing her to bring a performing arts sensibility to her fashion photography work. She frequently appeared in magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Glamour. Her rising fame was highlighted in Look and Life magazines at a young age. At fifteen, she modeled for the French Collections featured in Vogue and Elle, and by sixteen, she published a book on modeling. She also appeared in television commercials. At nineteen, Jane married and had a daughter, Serena. In the early 1970s, Columbia Studios offered her a contract, but she declined, unwilling to act in exploitative films. She continued modeling and became friends with fellow model Cybill Shepherd during a shared assignment. Cybill became a successful actress but faced public scrutiny when director Peter Bogdanovich left his wife for her. Columbia Studios refused to cast Cybill in Bogdanovich’s 1976 film Nickelodeon, despite a role created specifically for her. Though disappointed, Cybill graciously recommended Jane for the role of the silent film actress. Jane accepted and joined a star-studded cast, including popular leading men Burt Reynolds and Ryan O’Neal, who played a love triangle involving her character. Despite a charming performance, Jane received mixed reviews, and the film was a commercial failure. Disheartened, she acted in only one more project before returning to her preferred career in modeling. In the early 1990s, upon turning forty, Jane became a prominent face for cosmetic companies promoting "ageless beauties." In 1993, she modeled alongside her twenty-two-year-old daughter Serena in an international campaign for Ferretti Jeans. She secured modeling jobs with Calvin Klein, Maybelline, and Vichy. In 2016, at sixty-three, Jane relocated to Australia, where she continues to model.
