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It sounds like a bizarre story—Naomi Campbell suing a newspaper over a story about elephant polo. Yep, you read right. But the details explain it all.

In November, the supermodel threw a birthday party for  her Russian billionaire boyfriend, Vladislav Doronin, Calling it a lavish bash would be an understatement. “Campbell’s fete included chartered jets flying in A-list guests from all over the world, a 15th-century Indian fort and live music from Diana Ross,” reports the Huffington Post. But, according to a story in London’s Daily Telegraph, Campbell also organized an elephant polo match in India for the birthday celebration. Because of the story, Campbell and Doronin received stern warnings from animal welfare groups, says HuffPo. This understandably made Campbell, who is known to never back down from a fight, mad. This time however she got her lawyers involved.

Now the star of “The Face” is suing the British newspaper for libel. “Campbell first denied the elephant polo match back in November, saying through a spokesperson that the rumors were “completely untrue.”

“On December 5, she and her legal counsel filed a libel claim in London,” says the story. The newspaper has since taken down the story from its website.

We’ve never heard of playing polo on elephants. (Horses, yes.) But elephant polo is a sport that goes way back and is highly controversial. “Animal rights groups like PETA have been long-time critics of elephant polo, calling the sport a “shameful vestige of the British Empire” and denouncing the practice of keeping the animals chained in captivity,” explains Huffington Post.

Sounds like Naomi might actually have a good point on this one.

Photo: TheFashionSpot.com

A new documentary, About Face: Supermodels, Then and Now, explores the lives of some of the modeling industry’s most famous faces. Fancy clothes! The latest makeup trends! Travel around the world! Yes, it’s a glamorous job. But not everything is oh, so great.

“When I was modeling, the career lasted between three and five years. That was your entire career. And it was frightening,” Beverly Johnson tells the New York Post. In fact, most of the former top models interviewed by the newspaper talk about their oversize fears of aging and the impact it has on the industry. Not a surprise, but worth pointing out again in case it’s something you’ve given any thought to.

Instead, perhaps you want to consider a job in fashion editorial? Click here for Mediabistro’s interview with Lucky editor-in-chief Brandon Holley who offers tips for getting your start with the magazine. About Face airs July 30 on HBO. We’ve got the trailer below.

Models from Africa are seizing their moment.

By Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

When the Somali makeup mogul Iman did her first shoot for Vogue in 1976 as a model, she paved the way for the international wave of black girls you see today. From supermodel Louise Vyent in the ’80s to the current Sudanese superstar Alek Wek, these African beauties further laid the foundation for fashion’s current African “moment.” Now, African women are among modeling’s most desired faces. Zandile Blay, editor of AfricaStyleDaily.com and a Huffington Post columnist, likens the recent rise of African girls to the popularity Eastern European models have enjoyed for the last two decades. Yet Blay is cautious. “Make no mistake,” the Ghanaian-American style guru said. “We are by no means fully represented in the rank and file of top models. But from the catwalks of Paris to the lookbooks of New York’s hottest designers, African models are a presence as never before.” Even more encouraging? The many “African” looks being promoted are “a beautiful representation of [our] diversity,” according to Ethiopian model Gelila Bekele. Here are the top 11 African models showing the world how beautiful black truly is.

The Super Woman: Liya Kebede
People toss the word “supermodel” around flippantly, but true “supers” boast an enviable resume that includes covers, contracts, and campaigns—coupled with the honor of opening and closing key runway shows. Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede has done it all from covering Vogue, Essence, Harper’s Bazaar, and i-D to starring in campaigns for Gap, Lord & Taylor, and Ann Taylor, plus nabbing a lucrative Estee Lauder contract. She is now the face of L’Oreal, and in ’08 earned a Forbes shout-out as the 15^th highest-paid model. The former face of Yves Saint Laurent, she has also represented the World Health Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador. Kebede continues to model even as she runs her eponymous foundation and pursues a career in acting. Her onscreen credits include cameos in The Good Shepherd and Lord of War. Most recently she starred in Desert Flower, a biopic based on the memoir of fellow African model, Waris Dirie.