Lena Forsén[1] (Swedish: [leːˈna fʊˈʂeːn]), previously Soderberg[2] (born Sjööblom;[2] born 31 March 1951), is a Swedish model who appeared as a Playmate in the November 1972 issue of Playboy magazine,[3] as Lenna Sjööblom. Her centerfold was photographed by Dwight Hooker. The image would later become a ubiquitous standard test image in the field of digital image processing, where the image is known as Lenna.
| Lena Forsén | |
|---|---|
| Playboy centerfold appearance | |
| November 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Sharon Johansen |
| Succeeded by | Mercy Rooney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 March 1951 Sweden |
Career edit
Modelling edit
Forsén's career began by modelling jewellery and for catalogues in Chicago, Illinois, after moving to the United States from Sweden to be an au pair for a family member. In 1972, she was shot for the centerfold of the November issue of Playboy magazine. After that, she moved to Rochester, New York, and became a "Shirley" – a Kodak model – while moonlighting as a bartender. Thereafter she appeared on a large number of Kodak publications, including in ads for products, in catalogs, and on instruction booklets.[1]
Lenna edit
A cropped version (the head and shoulder section) of her centerfold, known as Lenna, has become a standard test image that is often used to test algorithms in digital image processing.[4] She was a guest at the 50th annual Conference of the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T) in 1997, where she gave a presentation about herself.[2] Because of the ubiquity of her Playboy photo scan, she has been called the "first lady of the internet".[5][6] The title was given to her by Jeff Seideman in a press release he issued announcing her appearance at the 50th annual IS&T Conference.[citation needed] In January 2019 she said that while she wished she had been better compensated, she was "really proud of that picture".[1] However, in a short documentary titled Losing Lena that premiered in North America in November that year, she says, "I retired from modeling a long time ago. It’s time I retired from tech, too."[7]
After modelling edit
In 1997, Forsén worked for a government agency supervising disabled employees, archiving data using computers and scanners.[8][9]
Personal life edit
Forsén has been married twice, has three children, and multiple grandchildren.[1]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d Kinstler, Linda (2019-01-31). "Finding Lena, the Patron Saint of JPEGs". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
- ^ a b c Chuck Rosenberg (1998-11-01). "Imaging Experts Meet Lenna in Person". lenna.org. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Playmate of the Month". Playboy Magazine. November 1972.
- ^ Hutchison, Jamie (May–June 2001). "Culture, Communication, and an Information Age Madonna" (PDF). IEEE Professional Communication Society Newsletter. 45 (3).
- ^ "Playboy photo shrunk to hair size". BBC News. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Playboy Newsdesk - Lena". Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- ^ Kibbe, Kayla (2019-12-03). "How a Nude 'Playboy' Photo Became a Fixture in the Tech World". Inside Hook – via San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Newsdesk - THE SEARCH FOR LENA: Discovering one Playmate's role in the history of the Internet". Playboy. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "THE "LENA IMAGE" COMES TO LIFE". Playboy. May 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-07-04. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
External links edit
- Lenna's centerfold in the Playboy Archive, November 1972, pp 138-140 (subscription required)
- Iozzio, Corinne (9 February 2016). "The Playboy Centerfold That Helped Create the JPEG". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- A Complete Story of Lenna (with one new picture of her)
- The Lenna Story (contains a link to an un-cropped scan of the original Playboy centerfold)
- A video artwork inspired by Lenna's story
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