{{Short description|American model}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox model | name = Sara Ziff | image = Sara Ziff 2012 Shankbone.JPG | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | alma_mater = Columbia University, Harvard University | occupation = Model<br />Executive Director, Model Alliance }}
'''Sara Ziff''' is an American fashion model, filmmaker, and labor activist. She is the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a nonprofit organization in New York City.
== Early life and education ==
Sara Ziff was born and raised in New York City. Ziff attended the Bronx High School of Science and the Dalton School. Ziff graduated with a B.A. in Political Sciences, magna cum laude from Columbia University, and she earned her M.P.A. at Harvard Kennedy School.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jothianandan |first=Shakthi |url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/encounter/sara-ziff-2012-2/ |title=134 Minutes With Sara Ziff |work=New York|date=January 27, 2012 |accessdate=November 29, 2012}}</ref><ref name=greenhouse>{{cite news |title=A New Alliance Steps Up to Protect a New Generation of Models |first=Steven|last=Greenhouse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/business/a-new-alliance-steps-up-to-protect-the-next-generation-of-models.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper= The New York Times |date= December 23, 2013|accessdate=February 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/lawmakers-bill-wants-to-stop-anorexia-in-fashion-models-6645423|title=Lawmakers' Bill Wants to Stop Anorexia in Fashion Models|last=Aron|first=Hillel|date=February 26, 2016|work=L.A. Weekly|access-date=January 27, 2018}}</ref>
== Modeling career ==
Ziff has appeared as the face of advertising campaigns for companies including Tommy Hilfiger, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, and Kenneth Cole. She has walked in runway fashion shows for brands such as Prada, Chanel, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga, Chloé and Alexander McQueen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/fashion/models/sziff/saraziff/ |title=Sara Ziff – Fashion Model – Profile on New York Magazine |work=New York |date=April 6, 2009 |accessdate=November 29, 2012}}</ref>
== Filmmaking and writing ==
With her co-director Ole Schell, Ziff chronicled her modeling journey in the award-winning documentary ''Picture Me''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jen|last=Quraishi |url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2009/08/interview-sara-ziff-and-ole-schell |title=Top Model Tells All |work=Mother Jones |date=August 28, 2009 |accessdate=November 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sara Ziff talks to Louise France about the world of teen modelling |date=2009-06-06 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603065113/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/07/sara-ziff-teen-modelling-fashion |archive-date=2023-06-03 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/07/sara-ziff-teen-modelling-fashion}}</ref><ref>[http://verrechiafilms.com/Picture_Me.html Verrechia Films: Picture Me]</ref> The film gives an inside look into the modeling industry, showing the highs and lows of a seemingly glamorous business. After ''Picture Me'', Ziff directed a three-part web mini-series<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/sara-ziff-picture-me-model_n_736416.html |title=Sara Ziff's 'Picture Me' Mini-Series: Models Told To Eat Half A Rice Cake, Cotton Balls (VIDEO) |work=HuffPost |date= September 23, 2010|accessdate=November 29, 2012 |first=Hilary |last=Moss}}</ref> for the modeling blog of ''New York Magazine'', "The Cut".<ref>[http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/09/exclusive_video_sara_ziffs_pic.html Exclusive Video: Sara Ziff’s Picture Me Mini-series, Sept 13, 2010 New York Magazine]</ref> In 2014, Ziff released the preview of "Tangled Thread," a documentary about Bangladesh's garment industry and women organizing for better working conditions across the supply chain.<ref>{{cite web|first=Lauren|last=Milligan |url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/04/24/sara-ziff-film-fashion-revolution-day-bangladesh-rana-plaza |title=Inside Fashion's New Frontier |work=Vogue|location=UK |date=April 24, 2014 |accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref>
She has contributed as an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/13/sweet-16-and-a-runway-model/regardless-of-a-fashion-models-age-its-about-rights|title=Regardless of Age, It's About Rights | work=The New York Times | date=November 12, 2012}}</ref> ''Equal Times'',<ref>{{cite web|first=Sara|last=Ziff |url=http://www.equaltimes.org/opinion/more-than-a-minor-issue-child-labour-during-fashion-week|title=More Than a Minor Issue: Child Labour During Fashion Week|date=September 11, 2013 }}</ref> and ''The Guardian''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sara|last=Ziff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/13/ugly-truth-fashion-model-behavior |title=The ugly truth of fashion's model behaviour – Sara Ziff – Fashion|work=The Guardian |date=February 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 29, 2012 |location=London}}</ref>
== Activism == Ziff is an advocate for better working conditions in the modeling industry, which she has described as "an overlooked frontier of women's rights and workers' rights."<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://nymag.com/thecut/2010/12/sara_ziff_is_forming_an_allia.html|date=December 21, 2010|title=Sara Ziff Is Forming an Alliance to Advocate for Model Rights|first=Amy |last=Odell|journal=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/sara-ziff-models-legal-protections-workplace-rights-access-health-insurance-article-1.473386|newspaper=Daily News|location=New York|title=Sara Ziff says models need legal protections, workplace rights, access to health insurance|first=Lindsay |last=Goldwert|date=December 21, 2010}}</ref> In 2012, she formed the Model Alliance, a non-profit organization that advocates for fair labor standards for models working in the American fashion industry. In 2013, under Ziff's leadership, the Model Alliance championed the Child Model Act in New York State, which reclassified models under 18 as child performers and extended them basic labor protections, including provisions for educational requirements, maximum working hours, and trust accounts.<ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Harris|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2012/feb/01/sara-ziff-models-workers-rights-group |title=Model Sara Ziff to launch workers' rights organisation for fashion industry | guardian.co.uk |work=The Guardian |date=February 1, 2012 |accessdate=November 29, 2012 |location=London}}</ref> New York Magazine declared her "the Norma Rae of the runway" and the AFL–CIO called her "America's next top role model."<ref>{{cite web|first=J. David|last=Goodman |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna46291516 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211201138/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46291516/ns/today-style/t/models-form-rights-group-ahead-fashion-week/#.T0SEa5iXNSU |url-status=live |archive-date=February 11, 2012 |title=Models aren't 'coat hangers,' new rights group says – style|publisher=MSNBC |date=February 8, 2012 |access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Hall |url=http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Sara-Ziff-America-s-Next-Top-Role-Model#comment_thread |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421020206/http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Sara-Ziff-America-s-Next-Top-Role-Model#comment_thread |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2014 |title=Sara Ziff: America's Next Top Role Model |publisher=aflcio.org |date=April 14, 2014 |accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref>
In 2012, Ziff became involved with Save the Children, a non-governmental organization that promotes children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries. At the United Nations, Ziff introduced the organization's global flagship report, "A Life Free From Hunger – Tackling Childhood Malnutrition."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncdchild.org/News/Terrific-Initiative-from-Save-The-Children-Tackling-Child-Malnutrition |title=Terrific Initiative from Save The Children – Tackling Child Malnutrition! |publisher=NCD Group – NCD Childcare |accessdate=November 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510094834/http://www.ncdchild.org/News/Terrific-Initiative-from-Save-The-Children-Tackling-Child-Malnutrition |archivedate=May 10, 2012}}</ref>
In 2012, Ziff began campaigning for better working conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh. In September 2013, she joined other fashion models and labor rights activists at New York Fashion Week to encourage Nautica to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/responsible-govt-purchasing/news/news/fashion-models-join-with-bangladesh|title=Fashion Models Join with Bangladeshi Labor Rights Leader Calling on Nautica to Sign Fire & Building Safety Accord|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021055652/http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/responsible-govt-purchasing/news/news/fashion-models-join-with-bangladesh|archivedate=October 21, 2013}}</ref>
In April 2023, Ziff sued Weinstein, Miramax, Disney and others alleging that she was raped by Fabrizio Lombardo who tricked her while she was working as a model for his company in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cullins |first=Ashley |date=2023-04-07 |title=Model Sara Ziff Sues Disney Over Alleged Rape by Ex-Miramax Executive |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sara-ziff-disney-miramax-lawsuit-1235369065/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Awards == In 2012, Ziff was honored by the blog ''Jezebel'' as one of "The Jezebel 25," a group of "game-changing women" who embody the site's feminist ideals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jezebel.com/5920640/the-jezebel-25-kick-ass-and-amazing-women-we-love/ |title=Jezebel 25 |website=Jezebel|date=June 22, 2012 }}</ref>
In 2013, Ziff was awarded the Susan B. Anthony award by the National Organization for Women for her dedication to improving the lives of young women and girls in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nownyc.org/susan-b-anthony-awards/ |title=Ziff Awarded Susan B. Anthony Award |accessdate=October 19, 2013}}</ref>
In 2014, Ziff was awarded the 1st Inspiration and Visionary award by the Women & Fashion Film Festival for her leadership and work empowering women and girls in the fashion industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.styleite.com/features/activist-sara-ziff-on-her-warrior-fight-for-garment-workers-and-fashion-models/ |title=Activist Ziff on her warrior fight for garment workers and fashion models|date=October 14, 2015 }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == * [http://www.makers.com/sara-ziff Sara Ziff] Video produced by ''Makers: Women Who Make America''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziff, Sara}} Category:Living people Category:1983 births Category:Female models from New York (state) Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:Models from New York City Category:Columbia University School of General Studies alumni Category:Dalton School alumni Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni Category:American workers' rights activists Category:American women's rights activists Category:American women documentary filmmakers Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:People from Greenwich Village Category:21st-century American women Category:American women human rights activists