The daughter of Patricia Campbell-Hearst and Bernard Shaw, Lydia is an heiress to the Hearst publishing fortune established by her great-grandfather William Randolph Hearst. Born and raised in Wilton, Connecticut, she is one of the most fascinating American models working today. First discovered by the legendary Eileen Ford of FORD Models fame and ushered into the spotlight by superstar-photographer Steven Meisel, Lydia began her conquest of the international fashion world in earnest. It all started with one of the most coveted photo shoots in the industry, the April 2004 cover for Vogue Italia, a magazine widely regarded as a bible in editorial fashion photography circles. She was only three months into her modeling career when requests started to pour in for her to be featured in advertising campaigns for fashion heavyweights such as Prada, Bottega Venetta, Louis Vuitton, NARS Cosmetics, etc.

Lydia has graced the covers of Deutsch Vogue, L'Officiel, Elle, Nylon, Playboy France, and countless international titles. At the same time her modeling career was taking off, she also began acting and has worked on the CW hit series Gossip Girl and promotional fashion films such as Fame Fatale, directed by Tara Subkoff for the American retailer Bebe; Roberto Cavalli for H&M, directed by Johan Renck; and the independent film, The Last International Playboy, directed by Steve Clark.