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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Lorraine Kelly pays tribute to Hilary Alexander as inventor of term 'supermodel' dies

Lorraine Kelly paid tribute to Hilary Alexander after she died over the weekend.

The fashion journalist - who worked as a writer and broadcaster for the BBC, CNN and Hello Magazine - passed away on her 77th birthday.

Hilary is understood to have coined the term 'supermodel'.

She was the fashion editor of The Daily Telegraph in 1982 and remained there for 26 years.

Upon hearing the news, Lorraine took to her Twitter to pay tribute to the journalist.

"This is desperately sad news," she wrote.

"I loved having #hilaryalexander on the show - wise, kind and always on top of her game."

Hilary Alexander died over the weekend (Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock)

Hilary appeared frequently on ITV's Lorraine over the years.

The fashion journalist was a presenter at Clothes Show Like and also worked with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, British Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer Care.

She was also twice named Journalist of the Year in the British Fashion Awards in 1997 and 2003.

Following her death, British Vogue's editor-in-chief Edward Enninful paid tribute to her and called her 'one of the original, old-school fashion journalists'.

He said: "I remember she was really kind to me when I was first starting out in the industry. Everybody wanted to read what she had to say about fashion, but also she was hilarious, you could always feel her energy. She was so alive."

Karen Millen took to Instagram to share a snap of her and Hilary.

Lorraine Kelly paid tribute to her (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Hilary is said to have coined the term 'supermodel' (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

"Seems we are saying goodbye all too often of late . Now the prolific fashion journalist @hilaryalexanderobe," she wrote.

"I first met Hilary back in the early 90’s when she interviewed me on our shop opening in Kensington, I was young, nervous and in experienced as she was one of the top fashion journalists that I’d come across and I felt honoured.

"Such an amazing career that she lived and breathed and no doubt her presence will be sadly missed."

Blue singer Duncan James shared: "So sad to hear about to passing of Hilary Alexander. I had the pleasure to be interviewed by her many years ago for the @Telegraph when I did a clothing campaign. She was so lovely - may she RIP."

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