London, England native Lily Donaldson was discovered by a model scout while shopping with friends in Camden Market at age sixteen. Success quickly followed when she became the face of Burberry photographed by Mario Testino. The same year, the famed lensman also shot her first cover and editorial for Vogue UK. Only one year into her career, Donaldson was nominated Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

In addition to the aforementioned, Donaldson has appeared in advertising campaigns for Christian Dior, Lanvin, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, MaxMara, Mulberry, Gap, H&M, Aldo, and Nicole Fahri. She has also fronted promotions for Calvin Klein, Cesare Paciotti, Equipment, and 7 For All Mankind.  

Perhaps most notably, Donaldson was photographed by Steven Meisel for the May 2007 cover of Vogue as one of the world’s top models. She has also sat for Patrick Demarchelier, Craig McDean, Michael Thompson, and Steven Klein for the international editions of Vogue, and Terry Richardson, Solve Sundsbo, Inez and Vinoodh, Emma Summerton, and Camilla Akrans for Numéro, Love, i-D, W, V, Self Service, and The Last Magazine. 

As a testament to her meteoric rise, Donaldson received the Model Icon of the Decade award from Glamour Spain. Select runway appearances include Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Valentino, Lanvin, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, Derek Lam, Zac Posen, J. Mendel, Carolina Herrera, Alexander Wang, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren.