NEW YORK (AP) - Modeling agency founder Eileen Ford, who shaped a generation's standards of beauty as she built an empire and launched the careers of Candice Bergen, Lauren Hutton, Jane Fonda and countless others, has died.

She was 92 and died Wednesday, according to Arielle Baran, a spokeswoman for Derris & Co., which handles public relations for Ford.

Ford was known for her steely manner and great eye for talent. She demanded the highest level of professionalism from her models, putting them on strict diets and firing those with a taste for late-night revelry. Her discipline pushed Ford Model Agency to the top of its field, making multimillionaires of both Ford and her husband, Jerry, who handled the company's business affairs.