Cindy Breakspeare

Cindy Breakspeare was born as Cythia Jean Cameron Breakspeare on October 24, 1954 in Toronto, Canada, to Louis Breakspeare and Marguerite Cochrane. While his father was a Jamaican with a British-Jamaican ancestry, his mother had Canadian-British roots. She has four siblings, three brothers and a sister.

When Breakspeare was merely four years old, the family shifted to Jamaica. There, she attended Immaculate Conception Preparatory School. It was during her teen years that Cindy Breakspeare was bit by the modelling bug. Giving in to the temptation of walking the ramp, she contested in various prestigious beauty pageants and shows. And rest as they say is history. Breakspeare soon walked her way to glory, fame and recognition.

On the romantic front, Breakspeare garnered a lot of eyeballs for her infamous relationship with legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, which resulted in the birth of their son, Damian Marley in 1978. Later in 1981, Breakspeare married senator and attorney Tom Tavares-Finson. Following year, the couple welcomed their son Christian. In 1986, they were blessed with a daughter Leah. However, the marriage did not last long and hit the rocks in 1995.

Cindy Breakspeare’s life turned a 360 degree when she took to modelling. Aspiring to become a model since early days, Breakspeare’s dream was realized when she got herself on the fashion runway in her teen years. Strutting on the ramp with her lean slender frame and drop dead gorgeous looks was Breakspeare’s way of making her mark in the society. Once she got comfortable with the ramp, she contested in several beauty pageants, including Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful and Miss Universe Bikini.

Her impressive looks and confident walk soon helped her outrank her contemporaries. In 1976, the magnum opus of her modelling career came in when she was selected for Miss World 1976. On the Miss World platform, Breakspeare was labelled as an all-encompassing contestant, beauty with brains! She left the spectators as well as the judges amazed with her dazzling persona and incredible looks. She went on to win the title, thus becoming the second Jamaican to achieve the feat.

After the Miss World pageant, Breakspeare lived in London for some time, spending much of it with Bob Marley. She pursued a career as a musician, singer, vocalist and actress. In 1993, she recorded and performed in the Reggae Sunsplash concert. She also made a cameo appearance in the movie ‘Kla$h’. Other film projects that Breakspeare has been a part of include ‘Marley’ and ‘Popcorn’. Currently, Breakspeare pursues a career both as a recording artist and entrepreneur. She founded Ital Craft a Rastafarian Craft store in Kingston.