Throwback: Top Supermodels of the 90’s

 

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Naomi Campbell

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Naomi Campbell is a 49 year old English model, actress and businesswoman from London. Campbell has been in show business since she was 7 years old, when she acted in Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” music video. As an early teenager she attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts for Ballet. While she was there she was scouted by the head of Synchro Model Agency, Beth Boldt. By the time Naomi was 16 she appeared on the cover of British Elle. When she was 19 she appeared on the cover of British Vogue, as the first Black woman since 1966. The next year she was the first ever Black woman to appear on the cover of French Vogue. Naomi established herself as one of the best models of her time. Her signature look of her towering physique, pyramid cheekbones, and almond-shaped eyes set her apart from the rest. She was one of the members of what’s known as the “the trinity,” with fellow models Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista. The trio were the most famous and in demand models of their day. 


 

Linda Evangelista

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Linda Evangelista is a 54 year old Canadian former supermodel who is considered by many experts in the field to have been one of the greatest supermodels of all time. Linda is from Ontario and started modeling locally at a young age. She almost quit modeling altogether after she traveled to Japan for a photoshoot when she was 16 and became uncomfortable doing a nude shoot. Two years later she decided to give it another go and moved to New York and signed with Elite Models. They sent her to Paris and it only took her a year to become an international star in the field. She was popular at that time but she wasn’t a supermodel just yet. In 1988, she cut her hair short and it launched her into super stardom. Other models started to copy her haircut, which was nicknamed “the Linda” and it started a cultural trend. Her haircut took her career to the next level.  By 1998, Linda had appeared on over 700 magazine covers. She is famous for saying the line “We don’t wake up for anything less than $10,000 a day.” Linda is also famous for being the longtime muse of the insanely successful fashion photographer, Steven Meisel. In 1998, after a decade of being one of the best she decided to retire and live in the French Riviera. But 2 years later she returned to modeling and still works today. 


 

Stephanie Seymour

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Stephanie Seymour is a 51 year old American model and actress. She began modeling when she was 16 years old for local newspapers and department stores in San Diego where she was born. In 1983 she entered the Elite Model Look competition and finished as a finalist. By the late 80’s - early 90’s Stephanie had appeared on the cover of multiple issues of Vogue and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. During that time she was mostly a lingerie model for a relatively new company called Victoria’s Secret. Into the 90’s Stephanie had become a top name in the modeling world, being featured on many fashion magazine covers and fashion brand campaigns. She dated the rockstar Axl Rose who is the lead singer for the band Guns N Roses and appeared in 3 of their music videos. Stephanie also acted in the Ed Harris film, Pollock and on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2017, Stephanie launched her own vintage lingerie line called Raven & Sparrow, which is exclusively sold at Barney’s New York. 


 

Helena Christensen

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Helena Christensen is a 50 year old model and photographer from Denmark. She is also a former beauty pageant queen and one of the original Victoria’s Secret Angels. In 1986 Helena won the Miss Universe Denmark crown, then represented Denmark in the Miss Universe competition. The next year she placed as a finalist in the Look of the Year 1987 competition, put on every year by Elite Models. Shortly after, Helena moved to Paris to model. In the 1990’s, Helena became a prominent face in the industry and was one of the most popular models of her time. In 1992 she became the spokesperson for Revlon cosmetics. She also became one of the original Angels for Victoria’s Secret, alongside Tyra Banks and Karen Mulder. She starred in the music video for Chris Issak’s Wicked Game, which MTV rated the Sexiest Video of All-Time. In 1999 she was hired to be the creative director of Nylon magazine. Helena is also a photographer having dozens of her photos have been featured in Nylon


 

Claudia Schiffer

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Claudia Schiffer is a 49 year old German supermodel, fashion designer and actress who now lives in the UK. When she was 17 she met a modeling scout at a nightclub in Dusseldorf who convinced her to give modeling a try. Claudia thought about it then moved to Paris to try to make it. Within just a few years she had risen to fame and supermodel status. She starred in ad campaigns for huge brands like Guess? and became the face for Chanel. By 2002 her net worth was estimated at $55 million. During her career so far, Claudia holds the world record for her photo appearing on the most fashion magazine covers, having been on over 1,000. She still models full-time today for ad campaigns like Dolce & Gabanna, YSL, and Chanel. 


 

Christy Turlington 

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Christy Turlington is a 50 year old former American supermodel, filmmaker and charity founder. Her dad was a training pilot for Pan Am Airways so they moved to Miami for his job. While she was there she was discovered by the local photographer Dennie Cody while riding on a horse when she was 14 years old. She then started doing professional modeling gigs during the summers between school years. As soon as she turned 18 Christy moved to New York to model full time. She hadn’t even graduated from Highschool yet but would get her diploma in New York. Christy became one of the most recognizable faces in the industry. She was part of the “supermodel trinity” which also included Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. She appeared in international fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Allure and Cosmopolitan. She was featured in ad campaigns for brands like Chanel, Louis Vitton, Marc Jacobs, Versace, Maybelline and many more. Christy was featured on the legendary British Vogue cover with Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Tatjana Patitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art declared Christy the “Face of the 20th Century.” 


 

Tyra Banks

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Tyra Banks is a 45 year old former supermodel, tv personality, producer, actress, author, and businesswoman from Inglewood, California. She became a professional model in Highschool when she was only 15. By 16 she was featured on the cover of Seventeen magazine. Tyra opted out of going to college to go to Paris to become a supermodel, which she certainly did. In her first season as a model overseas she walked the catwalk in 25 major fashion shows. Tyra was the first woman of African-American heritage to be on the covers of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (3 times) and GQ. She was a prominent Victoria’s Secret Angel for 7 years from 1997 to 2005. Starting in the early 90’s, Tyra also acted in small roles in major tv shows and films, like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Love & Basketball. In 2003, she created and hosted America’s Next Top Model which ran for 12 seasons. She also had her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show which aired for 5 seasons.  


 

Cindy Crawford

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Cindy Crawford had her first gigs in high school modeling clothes for local stores in her hometown of DeKalb, Illinois. When she was 17 one of her pictures was featured on the cover of a local publication. Crawford said that the feedback was so positive she decided to pursue a modeling career. She entered the Elite Modeling Management Look of the Year competition and came in second place. Crawford also has some brains on her, she attended college on a scholarship for chemical engineering but left after her first quarter to do model full-time. She eventually moved to New York and signed with the Elite New York Modeling Agency. During the 80’s and 90’s, Crawford became a prominent super model for ad campaigns, runway shows and magazine covers. Her trademark is the mole just above the corner of her upper lip. Crawford also acted in commercials, television roles and films. She was the star of the infamous Pepsi Super Bowl commercial in 1992. From 1989-1995 Crawford was the host of MTV’s House of Style, which was a reality tv show about the lives of super models and the trends of the day. Crawford retired from modeling full-time to focus on other things, such as activism and business. She launched her own furniture line and started a charity to research Child Leukemia. In 2011, Crawford came back to modeling and is still working today.


 

Tatjana Patitz

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Tatjana Patitz is a 53 year German model originally from Hamburg,  who rose to ‘supermodel’ and remained there in the mid-80’s - the early 2000’s. She was a member of what was known as the “big 5,” which was the 5 biggest supermodels in the world all appearing in the legendary “Freedom! ’90” music video by George Michael. Patitz was also featured on the infamous British Vogue cover with the other most famous models of the time, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. When Patitz was 17, she entered the modeling competition, Elite Model Look and place third just based on a Polaroid she took. She then was offered a contract and moved to Paris to begin her career. Throughout the early 80’s she was getting gigs but wasn’t really making a name for herself. It wasn’t until 1985  when she started taking pictures with the fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh when she started to rise to super model status. Patitz and Lindbergh would go on to collaborate for 30 more years. During her career, Patitz appeared on over 200 of the leading fashion magazine covers. She modeled in campaigns for the major fashion brands like Ralph Lauren and Chanel. She now lives on a ranch with her family and occasionally still models.


 

Kate Moss

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Kate Moss was a huge model in the 90’s, but instead of being called a supermodel she was known as an anti-super model. Kate Moss helped bring about a cultural trend known as “Heroin- chic,” where instead of the models being tan and having a healthy body weight they were very skinny and pale. The trend brought about a lot of controversy, even prompting then president Bill Clinton to speak out against it. Kate was discovered when she was just 14 years old by Storm Model Agency’s creator Sarah Doukas, while they were both at JFK Airport. Kate was signed immediately but didn’t become internationally known until her infamous Calvin Klein underwear campaign when she was 18 years old, which pretty much mainstreamed Heroin-chic. Other supermodels at the time called the look “waifish” and accused Kate of having a drug and anorexic problem. In 1999, Kate was voted 9th in the “50 Sexiest Women of 1999” by Maxim magazine. Kate continued to be a very successful model in the 2000’s. She appeared in Forbes magazine in 2012 because it was estimated she made almost $10 million a year from modeling and her other business ventures.