Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, US. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. Founded in 1967 by Wilhelmina Cooper,[1] it provides representation and management to models, entertainers, artists, musicians, and athletes. In 2009, the company became the first and only publicly traded modeling and talent agency after its acquisition by New Century Equity Holdings Corp.[2]
History
Wilhelmina International Inc. was founded in 1967 by Dutch-American model Wilhelmina Cooper and husband Victor Bruce Cooper, as well as minority partners Bill Weinberg and Fran Rothchild. As of 1997, the company is one of the oldest and largest full-service model management companies in the world.[3] After Wilhelmina Cooper died in 1980 at age 40, the agency was transferred to her business partners,[3] and was then bought in 1989 for around 4 million dollars by Horst-Dieter Esch, a German businessman with interests in the construction industry.