After 42 years, Patrick Nagel’s mystery model who inspired Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ album cover has been identified

Her name is Rio and she dances in… Napa? For over 42 years, Duran Duran fans have speculated about the inspiration for the woman on the cover of the band’s 1982 hit album, “Rio.” “The album cover depicting the girl with the “cherry glazed smile” was designed by the late artist Patrick Nagel. Well, that mystery has finally been solved and her name isn’t Rio either, it She’s Marcie Hunt and she owns a winery in Napa, California.

The surprising discovery was made by Nagel expert Mark Walker and art broker Monica Moynihan and they announced the big reveal on Instagram. According to their post, Walker said he came across an editorial featuring Hunt while shopping for vintage fashion magazines and flipping through the pages of the February 1981 issue of Vogue Paris. When he saw his smiling mug (even though Hunt was wearing glasses in the photo), the resemblance was uncanny.

“I saw that smile. I saw these eyes, these eyes that I had looked at hundreds of times at this point in my life, hundreds, maybe thousands of times,” he wrote in the Instagram post. “I’m fascinated by this magical woman for over 40 years I knew it was her He also points out that Barry Kahn, Nagel’s former technical art assistant, confirmed that Hunt was indeed the inspiration for the cover and commented on them. discovery with “Great catch!”

This discovery is also big news for Duran Duran, who clearly had no idea of ​​the identity of the Rio the cover model was all this time. They reacted to the news by sharing Walker’s post on their official Instagram account and commenting with a “WOW!” » simple but ecstatic. The group has not yet commented.

As for Hunt, she responded with a surprise reaction on her own Instagram account, expressing her love for Duran Duran. She even comments on how “Rio” was played at her own wedding three decades ago. She wrote: “I’m amazed that after 42 years, I’m also ‘Rio’ on the famous Duran Duran album cover from the early 80s. I love Duran Duran, and Tom and I asked a DJ to play “Rio” at our wedding, almost 31 years ago. Still so impressed with the tours and the music that Duran Duran has created and continues to create. So incredible ! What’s even more surprising is that she never recognized herself on the cover after all these years.

Duran Duran Rio The album spawned big hits like “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Save a Prayer,” as well as the title track. The Fabe Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in late 2022 and released their sixteenth studio album. Dance of Death in October 2023.

Patrick Nagel, best known for his art deco pop-art illustrations featuring elegant, dark-haired women, rose to fame in the early 1980s. He died on February 4, 1984 at the age of 38, just a few years old after the release of the Duran Duran film. Rio.