Her name isn’t Rio: Model who inspired Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ cover identified after 42 years

Warner Music

The model who inspired the cover of Duran Duran’s 1982 album, Rio, has been identified, 42 years after the album’s release.

The Instagram account @nagel_angel shared a post revealing that artist and illustrator Patrick Nagel used a 1981 multipage editorial from Vogue Paris featuring model Marcie Hunt for the cover. The info was confirmed by the late Nagel’s assistant, Barry Hahn, who replied to them, “Great Catch!” 

“We suspect the model and maybe the band Duran Duran had no idea Nagel was influenced and used this image to create the cover of their musical masterpiece, ‘Rio,’” the post shares. “He certainly changed many things, most specifically removing her glasses, but he obviously loved her smile. And that smile has been an iconic piece of Duran Duran history for decades.” 

And it appears the suggestion that Duran Duran didn’t know could be right, as they shared the post on Instagram with the comment, “WOW!”

Marcie also commented on the revelation, writing, “This is so cool! I absolutely did not know until now that this photo of me was used for the Rio cover. Very exciting! Love Duran Duran, and danced to their music often in the 80s. And later at my husband, Tom’s and my wedding. Thank you all for your wonderful comments. And yes, I’m still alive!”

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