Background
She was half German, half Native American Chippewa, and was born and raised in Minnesota.
She was half German, half Native American Chippewa, and was born and raised in Minnesota.
Dahmen left home at age 17 to live with an uncle in Providence, Rhode Island, artist George Morrison. She was discovered in her late teens by an illustrator for The New York Times, Antonio Lopez, who introduced her to the fashion world in New York City. Cathee Dahmen worked for Ford Models, in New York during her peak years in the late 1960s, where she was one of Eileen Ford"s top earners.
She appeared on the cover of Harper"s Bazaar in 1968, and of Vogue Magazine in 1971.
She was associated with the Youthquake movement in fashion. After marrying British actor Leonard Whiting, she moved to London where she continued modeling for the Models One agency.
Dahmen retired from modeling in 1980 and died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema in 1997.