Poppin' off for Pepsi, crushing it for Calvin, and living of L'Oreal! Sure,
they sizzled back in the day. But you won't believe what these O.G. supermodels are doing now!
"Just being able to point a iPhone and take a selfie doesn't make you a supermodel. Sorry."
Cindy Crawford signed with Elite Model Management
in the '80s. But she became a household name in the '90s for hosting MTV's "House of Style."
Suddenly, she was everywhere. In 1990, she covered British Vogue and starred in George Michael's
"Freedom! '90" music video. Then, in '92, her Super Bowl Pepsi commercial would become one of
the most iconic to date. And her celeb status only grew after she married actor Richard Gere in '91.
"This is not a lifetime dream for you, to be a model."
"It's not something that I grew up wanting to do."
Crawford launched her skincare line, Meaningful Beauty, in 2004. And according to People,
the model extended the line to include hair care products by 2021.
"Take care of yourself. Then it's not aging, you're just living."
Along with her daughter, Kaia Gerber, she covered Vogue Paris in 2016. The pair also
shared the runway for late designer Virgil Abloh's collection for Off-White in 2022.
Kate Moss stood out with her waifish figure and
sultry eyes. But as her hard-partying and drug use became highly publicized,
so did her grunge style and rebel spirit, landing her on a slew of magazines and ads.
Then, in 2005, Moss was involved in a drug scandal
that nearly ruined her career. According to The Telegraph, she was dropped by H&M,
as well as Chanel and Burberry. Moss was later cleared of any charges, and the work returned.
The model's controversial personal life involved dating "bad boys" like Johnny Depp
and Pete Doherty. And the now infamous quote, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," was
also attributed to her, sparking outrage. Still, her reputation made her a legend in the industry.
"You are like perfume. You only need one drop."
Moss has since taken on the role of designer, working with Topshop and Longchamp. She also
founded the London-based Kate Moss Agency in 2016. Of course,
she continues to model and in 2022, she shot for the Marc Jacobs Resort collection.
Christy Turlington's career saw her become
the face of Calvin Klein Eternity in the late '80s — which she later returned to in 2014 with her
husband Ed Burns. She also starred in music videos for Duran Duran and George Michael. And she walked
countless runways for Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, and Chanel and covered Vogue a whopping 74 times.
Turlington later switched things up, focusing on advocating for global maternal health.
After debuting her documentary, "No Woman, No Cry," she launched her non-profit organization,
Every Mother Counts, in 2010. Over a decade later, she published the book "Arrival Stories,"
featuring birthing experiences from women in entertainment. Sharing her own difficult
journey after welcoming her daughter Grace, Turlington shared with Good Morning America,
"My experience really opened my eyes and my first thought was like,
how do we make it better for the next mother?"
She reunited with her model pals, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen,
in December 2022, with Crawford posting to Instagram,
"Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit more than catching up with family and friends!"
Linda Evangelista's
career skyrocketed when fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh suggested she chop off her
hair. Just after she got the pixie cut, Lindbergh recalled to Harper's Bazaar,
"She cried for two hours. The white-shirt picture of her was taken the next day,
and a new woman was born. She was a good model, but she became the model."
Evangelista posed again for Lindbergh for the iconic British Vogue cover. She was also a
muse for Karl Lagerfield, having walked in her first show for Chanel in '85 and again in 2003.
According to People, Evangelista stepped away from the spotlight after suffering injuries
from several body fat freezing sessions in 2015. She filed a lawsuit for $50 million in damages,
with CNN reporting that the suit was settled in June 2022. Evangelista
triumphantly returned to the runway after 15 years to close the Fendi show
in September 2022 and she also posed for British Vogue that same month.
Helena Christensen ruled the runway,
having been one of the first ever Victoria's Secret Angels. She was known for her campaigns
with CoverGirl and Prada, and she famously starred in Chris Isaak's music video for "Wicked Games."
"He falls in love with me and it's
so sad. [Laughs] But that's the way it is sometimes, you know?"
These days, she's still going strong. In 2017, she closed the Versace Spring 2018 show along
with some of her pals. And she appeared in Dolce & Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2019
campaign. More recently, in February 2022 she walked in Off White's Fall 2022 Paris show.
Besides modeling, Forbes reported that in 2014, Christensen became the Creative
Director of the fragrance line, Strangelove NYC. She's also a professional photographer,
having shot Gigi Hadid for Vogue and The Weeknd for Notion Magazine. Since 2019,
the model has also been an ambassador for Goodwill.
Claudia Schiffer was
just about everywhere in the '90s. She became the the face of Guess Jeans in 1989 — which
she celebrated for the brand's 30th anniversary in 2012 — and the first model to cover People,
Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. She's walked countless runways, appeared in ad campaigns,
and has been a L'Oreal ambassador since 1997. When asked about the moment she
knew she was one of the biggest models of the '90s, she told AnOther magazine,
"When the other girls and I were on the cover of every magazine and in every campaign."
"I definitely didn't want to become famous either. That was not one of my goals or
dreams ever. I suddenly had people coming up on the street to me asking for my autograph,
which was a very, very strange feeling."
At one time, Schiffer held the Guinness World Record for most magazine covers,
with more than 1,000 to her name, according to Forbes. Her runway appearance for Yves
Saint Laurent in 2002 was supposed to be her last, but she returned in 2017 for Versace.
Schiffer collaborated with Frame for a '90s-inspired clothing line in 2022.
And two years earlier, she covered Elle France,
shot for Harper's Bazaar UK, and won GQ's Woman of the Year Award.
Tatjana Patitz also appeared
on the iconic January 1990 issue of British Vogue. And of course, she was among the models to appear
in George Michael's "Freedom! '90" music video, as well as over 200 magazine covers across the globe.
Patitz eventually found a new passion as an animal rights activist. She was
first inspired by aiding African wildlife, telling Kendall Conrad,
"I am a proud foster parent of eight elephant babies at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust."
She also raised two horses on her ranch in Malibu and became
an ambassador for the American Wild Horse Sanctuary, according to Vogue. As far as
her decidedly lower-key lifestyle was concerned, she told Prestige,
"I'm a mom; I wear jeans and T-shirts and comfortable dresses. I've always loved Dior,
Chanel, Tom Ford. But when you live in semi-nature like I do, you don't run
around in high heels and fabulous clothes; you just don't. It's more jeans and riding boots."
Patitz died of cancer on January 11, 2023, at 56.
Naomi Campbell is
synonymous with the word "supermodel." She made history as the first black woman to appear on
the cover of French Vogue and she dominated the runways. And even though she made a few headlines
for being tough to work with, that reputation hasn't overshadowed her unstoppable career.
"I've always said that I'm not a saint, that I am a work in progress."
In September 2022, Campbell closed Tod's Spring/Summer 2023 show. And shortly after,
she walked for Hugo Boss, Messika High Jewelry, Burberry and Alexander
McQueen. She also covered British Vogue in March and Vogue Arabia in November 2022.
But Campbell's life changed forever when she became a mom at age 50,
in 2021 — much to the shock of fans around the globe. As she recalled to British Vogue,
"I can count on one hand the number of people who knew that I was having her. But
she is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. It's the best thing I've done."
"I'm so grateful to God that I got to be a mom."
Carla Bruni made a
name for herself in the late '80s, walking for Chanel and nabbing a campaign for Guess. She
then rocked the '90s, working for Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Christian Dior.
Bruni then quit modeling altogether in 1997 to focus on a music career, and she's released six
albums since. She explained her relaxed, off-duty look for her first album cover, telling Vogue,
"I wanted to give another message which was — this is all going to be about the music."
In 2008, Bruni married then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy. And once he left office,
she returned to the runway in 2017 for Versace.
Eva Herzigova was considered the Marilyn Monroe of the '90s. After appearing in the very successful
Wonderbra ad in '94, the model's career took off. She landed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit,
Guess campaigns, Victoria's Secret shows and Vogue covers all over the world.
Herzigova is still very active in the industry today. She starred in
campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Bottega Veneta in 2017 and covered Vogue in 2019
and Elle Spain in 2021. She also appeared in the Dolce & Gabbana
Spring 2019 campaign and walked in the Schiaparelli Fall/Winter 2022 show.
So how has she managed such a successful career over
literal decades? As Herzigova told Elle in 2010,
"I've been doing it for 20 years,
and I would never have expected it. There's the return of the supermodels from the '90s,
and I think that's because they have a story to tell that people can connect to."
Stephanie Seymour made
a splash in Victoria's Secret catalogs, Playboy and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Issue. According to Vogue, she was also one of the very first Victoria's Secret Angels,
and is known as one of the O.G. supermodels of the '90s.
But Seymour also made headlines for her personal life. She dated Elite Model Management founder
John Casablancas, who was 26 years older and also married at the time. She then married and divorced
guitarist Tommy Andrews, dated Charlie Sheen and Warren Beatty, and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl
Rose. She also famously starred in the band's videos for "Don't Cry" and "November Rain."
"Cause I like to just give myself to the process."
Seymour is still hot on the modeling circuit,
posing for the Ferragamo 2007/2008 campaign. She shot for Vogue France in 2018, covered
Vogue Italia in 2019, and closed the Fall 2019 Versace show. When she's not modeling,
Seymour runs her lingerie company, Raven & Sparrow, which she launched in 2017.
Shalom Harlow was discovered at a Cure concert
in 1989 when she was 16 years old. From there, she walked for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and
Valentino, landed the cover of Vogue, and stunned in campaigns for Versace and Christian Dior. In
1996, she hosted MTV's "House of Style," taking over for Cindy Crawford, and she made her acting
debut in 1997's "In & Out." Her most notable role came in 2003 with "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."
"I wasn't a blonde and I was on the cover of 'Vogue.' Significant."
The model took a step back from her career in the 2000s because of her health. Having
been diagnosed with Lyme disease, parasites, and black mold poisoning, she told InStyle,
"I did have complex PTSD from the level of infections in my body. My unhealed physical,
mental, and emotional wounds had finally caught up with me."
Harlow returned to the runway for the Spring 2019 Versace show. And she continued her streak with
the Ralph Lauren Spring 2023 collection. She's also shot for Mugler and Moschino,
and she graced the covers of Vogue Japan and Vogue Poland.
Kristen McMenamy stood
out from the pack thanks to her androgynous look. According to Vogue, she was a natural redhead when
she began her career. But once she chopped off her locks and dyed her hair black, people took notice.
In 1993, she became a muse for Karl Lagerfield, splitting her time with Calvin Klein and Versace.
"Everyone would say, 'Wow, Kristen is really cool.
She doesn't care what she looks like.' And I'm like, well geez."
Having gone grey-hair chic, McMenamy has worked well into the 2000s. In 2010, designers Viktor &
Rolf featured McMenamy for a jaw-dropping runway performance piece. Eight years later, she opened
the Valentino Spring/Summer 2019 show. And in 2021, she opened up the "Fendace" show. In 2022,
the 57-year-old walked for Jean Paul Gaultier but made headlines for taking a tumble on the runway.
Whether it's back in the 90s, or the Valentino show at Paris Fashion Week,
McMenamy always makes a statement.
The '90s runway could
never be complete without Tyra Banks. She signed with Elite Model Management in 1990,
but she hit it big as a model for Victoria's Secret. She then went on to become the
first black woman to cover GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the late '90s.
In 2003, Banks became a fixture on the small screen,
hosting "America's Next Top Model" and later, "The Tyra Banks Show." Banks won
two Daytime Emmy Awards for her efforts. The supermodel has also hosted Seasons
12 and 13 of "America's Got Talent" and "Dancing With the Stars" since Season 29.
"Mogul. Model. Mother. Professor."
Banks' more recent advocacy for body positivity comes from her own
experience in breaking the typical model mold. As she told Sports Illustrated,
"I am telling people that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and ages. I have
to put my money where my mouth is. I have to make sure my message is pure."