The model from Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ cover has finally been identified

nme.com:

Duran Duran‘s ‘Rio’ cover has finally been identified.The iconic artwork was originally painted by American artist and illustrator Patrick Nagel, and then designed by Malcolm Garrett to resemble classic ’50s cigar packaging.

However, despite becoming one of the most memorable album covers of all time, the subject has remained a mystery – until now.An Instagram account called @nagel_angel has spent “countless hours” in search of the original reference photo used by Nagel.

They have now identified model Marcie Hunt (now known as Marcie Dinkel) as the subject of the renowned portrait.Though Nagel passed away two years after making the illustration, his assistant Barry Hahn reportedly confirmed that Hunt was the original inspiration.Duran Duran themselves took to social media to repost @nagel_angel’s discovery, upon which Hunt herself commented below. “This is so cool!

I absolutely did not know until now that this photo of me was used for the Rio cover,” she wrote. “Very exciting! Love Duran Duran, and danced to their music often in the ’80s… and later at my wedding.”Take a look at the two photos below:A post shared by Duran Duran (@duranduran)NME caught up with Duran Duran last year, where they spoke about their eagerness to play Glastonbury Festival.