Celia Hammond

Celia Hammond (born 1941) is an English former model who has since become known as a campaigner against fur and for neutering of cats to control the feral population.

Early life

Hammond was born to English parents and raised in Australia and Indonesia, where her father was a tea planter.

Modeling career

Hammond began her modeling career at the Lucie Clayton Charm Academy in 1960 and was a graduating classmate of Jean Shrimpton. She began working for Vogue, forming a close working relationship with photographer Terence Donovan.

She was also the favourite model of photographer Norman Parkinson and credited the rise of her career to him. At first happy to model fur, she later became concerned about the cruelty of the fur trade and took a stand against fur. Singer/Songwriter Donovan wrote "Celia Of The Seals" as a tribute to her attitude. She had a long relationship with the guitarist Jeff Beck around 1968~1992.

Celia Hammond Animal Trust

In 1986 she founded the Celia Hammond Animal Trust with the aim of opening a low-cost neutering clinic to control the feral animal population. The first of these clinics opened in Lewisham in 1995, and a second opened in Canning Town in 1999. The Celia Hammond Animal Trust also runs a sanctuary in Brede (Nr Hastings) for animals which need new homes. In addition to neutering animals, the clinics (and sanctuary) also help to rescue and rehome animals - now homing thousands of cats each year.