Ms. Tripp was widely considered to be among the most versatile of a small group of models that exemplified the postwar American fashion industry's emphasis on glamour. Her dramatic features -- a high round forehead, prominent chin and broad cheekbones -- were recorded by dozens of noted photographers, among them, Horst P. Horst, Richard Avedon, Irwin Blumenfeld, Karen Radkai and Lillian Bassman.
Ms. Tripp was a favorite subject of William Klein. His 1958 photograph of her, blowing cigarette smoke from beneath the veil of a beaded cocktail hat, appears on the cover of "William Klein: In and Out of Fashion" (Random House, 1994). It also serves as the signature image of an exhibition of the photographer's work that is currently at the International Center of Photography.
The daughter of a lead miner, Evelyn Tripp was born in 1927 on a small farm in Flat River, Mo. After being discovered at age 20 -- a clerical worker, she was shopping at a Fifth Avenue department store when spotted by an assistant to Louise Dahl-Wolfe, the celebrated Harper's Bazaar photographer -- Ms. Tripp soon began to appear frequently on magazine covers.
-NY times