Wilhelmina Models facts for kids

Wilhelmina International Inc. (also known as Wilhelmina Models) is a famous company that helps models and talented people. It's like a special team that finds and manages models, actors, musicians, and even athletes!

Their main office is in New York City, USA. They also have offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. A supermodel named Wilhelmina Cooper started this company way back in 1967. In 2009, Wilhelmina became the first and only modeling and talent agency whose shares could be bought and sold by the public.

How Wilhelmina Started

Wilhelmina International Inc. was founded in 1967. It was started by a Dutch-American model named Wilhelmina Cooper and her husband, Victor Bruce Cooper. They also had two partners, Bill Weinberg and Franz Rothchild. For a long time, it has been one of the oldest and biggest companies helping models around the world.

After Wilhelmina Cooper passed away in 1980, her business partners took over the agency. Later, in 1989, a German businessman named Horst-Dieter Esch bought the company. He paid about 4 million dollars for it.

Growing and Helping More People

In 1998, Wilhelmina teamed up with Atlantic Records. They created a special "Artist Division." This division helped connect music artists with big international brands.

The company continued to grow and open new offices. In January 2015, they opened an office in London, England. Then, in 2016, they opened another office in Chicago.

Also in 2016, Wilhelmina started a new agency called Aperture. Aperture helps models and actors find work in movies, TV shows, and commercials. It has offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

Becoming a Public Company

In February 2009, a company called New Century Equity Holdings Corp. bought Wilhelmina Models. Horst-Dieter Esch sold his part of the agency for 22 million dollars. After this, New Century changed its name to Wilhelmina International, Inc. This made Wilhelmina the first modeling agency whose shares could be traded on the stock market. This means anyone can buy a small piece of the company.

Wilhelmina also lets other agencies in different countries use its famous name. This includes agencies in the United States and Dubai.

Who Wilhelmina Represents

As of 2010, Wilhelmina helps and manages many talented people. They work with about 2,100 models, celebrities, artists, athletes, and content creators. Some famous names they have worked with include Nicki Minaj, Niall Horan, Normani, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Machine Gun Kelly, 5 Seconds of Summer, Leona Lewis, Shawn Mendes, and Billie Eilish.

In September 2014, Wilhelmina started trading its shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market. This is a big stock exchange where many companies are listed.

Recent Years

In 2016, Bill Wackermann became the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Wilhelmina. At the end of 2019, the company had 114 employees. Most of these employees, 70 of them, worked in the New York City office. The company's main office in Dallas shared space with its biggest shareholder, Newcastle Partners.

In April 2020, Wilhelmina received a loan to help small businesses. This loan was part of a special program to help companies during difficult times.

See also

• List of modeling agencies