Breck Girls

Breck shampoo was founded in 1930 by Dr. John H. Breck, Sr. in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Breck company preferred to use real women as their models for advertisements and thus began the legacy of the Breck Girls. Artist Charles Gates Sheldon drew the first Breck girls for ads and was succeeded by Ralph William Williams in 1957. After Williams death in 1976, this style of advertising ceased. Breck is also remembered for sponsorship of the America’s Junior Miss contests.

The first Breck Girl was Roma Whitney Armstrong who was 17 in 1937. Anya Taranda was also a Breck Girl in 1937. It was until 1968 that another Breck Girl was introduced - Cheryl Tiegs. This started a long list of celebrity Breck Girls. Cheryl was followed by Cybill Shepherd, Jaclyn Smith, Kim Basinger and Brooke Shields. The last Breck Girl was Erin Gray in 1976.

In 1990, Breck was sold to the Dial Corporation. The Breck Girl ads are now in the advertising history records of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

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