15 Models From The '80s And '90s That Are Still Slaying Today
These days there is a new brand of models; models who have a strong social media presence like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, and the world knows everything about their lives. But before these models, there were the original supermodels who changed the fashion industry.
Nineties models like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, and Kate Moss, started working at a young age, they led busy lifestyles, and they were super glamorous. These women were a breed of models like the world had never seen before (and hasn't again); they were fun, they endured fierce competition, and they had camaraderie, actually, some of them are even friends to this day.
Some of the top models from the '80s and '90s are still making headlines for their industry comebacks, their tips on beauty and fitness, and the success of their own businesses, which range from activewear collections to cosmetic and skincare lines. Others have gone on to become ambassadors for charities, and one was even a former First Lady. In addition to all of the above, they also appear to have drunk from the fountain of youth because they've hardly aged.
Below are 15 models of the '80s and '90s, and a look at how their lives and careers have changed from then to now.
15 German Beauty Claudia Schiffer Appears Not To Have Aged
German model Claudia Schiffer rose to fame in the early '90s and fast became one of the most celebrated models of the time. She has appeared on the cover of hundreds of magazines, worked on a high-profile campaign for Guess jeans, and she's been the face of Chanel. In addition to print work and catwalks, Schiffer has also been in a number of movies, including the 1999 film, Black and White, and the 2001 thriller, In Pursuit (although it didn't exactly get rave reviews).
So, what was it like to be one of the most famous models of the '90s?
Schiffer told Dazed that if she had to sum up the spirit of the '90s it would be, “Fun. Camaraderie mixed in with major competition.”
And although there was a lot of competition at this time, she also revealed that the one model she always really admired was Naomi Campbell.
14 Cindy Crawford Graced 'American Vogue' 17 Times
Cindy Crawford was one of the original supermodels, who appeared on American Vogue a whopping 17 times, starting from when she was aged 20.
She has also walked the runway for many brands, but told Vogue her favorite was the 1991 Versace show, which saw her and the other top models of the '90s strut down the runway to George Michael's “Freedom.” Then in 2017, Versace reunited those same models for their Spring 2018 collection. This moment was also the first time that Crawford walked the runway with her daughter. Which brings us to her personal life; she is married to Rande Gerber (and has been since 1998), and the pair has two children, a son, and a daughter. Unsurprisingly, her daughter, Kaia Gerber, is already making a name for herself in the modeling world and looks exactly like her famous mom.
13 Kate Moss Is Still Slaying In The Industry
British model Kate Moss was the "it girl" of the '90s and remains one of the most recognizable faces from the modeling industry.
She was discovered when she was just 14, and it was not long before she was appearing in ads, including Calvin Klein's Obsession ad campaign in 1993.
According to Biography, Moss has been on the cover of more than 300 magazines, worked with high-profile brands including Dior and Burberry, and in 2006 she even created a collection with TopShop. Plus, she's launched two fragrances.
Work aside, Moss also appears to have found the answer to eternal youth, because there is very little difference between what she looked like in the '90s, and what she looks like now. As for the secret? Well, it's mostly thanks to good genes, but she also told The Guardian, “My skincare routine is really simple. I couldn't be bothered with loads of products and I'd get them all mixed up and not know what I was doing.”
12 Naomi Campbell's Modeling Record Speaks For Itself
British supermodel Naomi Campbell's modeling record speaks for itself; she was discovered when she was just 15, and her career quickly took off. She's walked multiple runway shows for high-profile brands (in 2017 she even stepped onto the catwalk in lingerie for La Perla) and has landed covers of prestigious magazines, with one of the most notable being her cover of French Vogue when she was just 18. She was also the first black model to be on the cover.
More recently, Campbell has appeared as a coach on modeling reality show, The Face, and in 2015, she appeared in hit TV series, Empire. She has also acted in American Horror Story: Hotel. So, to sum it all up, there is basically nothing she can't do.
Unfortunately, Campbell has also made headlines for less pleasant reasons over the years because of her alleged treatment of her employees.
11 Elle Macpherson Is The Australian Beauty Everyone Envies
Australian model Elle Macpherson was referred to as "The Body," thanks to her stunning athletic body and six-foot height, and decades later she's still making headlines about her skincare and fitness routine.
She is also well-known for appearing multiple times on the cover for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, starting in the early '80s.
Plus, she's a former Victoria's Secret model and has been named lists of the world's most beautiful people, including People's 1995 list, The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
And she hasn't disappeared from the limelight because in addition to her lingerie line, Elle Macpherson Intimates, she's also founded a wellness company called WelleCo. And fans saw her on TV when she became the host of Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model in 2010.
10 Iman Proves She Was Definitely Born With It
Iman is so much more than just a pretty face. She was born in Somalia and discovered by photographer Peter Beard when she was in Nairobi, Kenya, Biography reports. She was of the most popular models in the late '70s and '80s and became the muse of several designers, including Yves. St. Laurent, Versace, and Donna Karan.
In 2004, she created a line of cosmetics called Iman Cosmetics, a brand that is praised for catering to multicultural women with skin tones of many different shades. The brand's website reveals that it “offers skincare and cosmetics, including 16 foundation shades.” She's also involved in many charities and really cares about the world.
As for her personal life; in 1992, Iman married English singer-songwriter, David Bowie, and the pair were married until his passing in 2016. She's also a mom and has two children, Alexandria Zahra Jones and Zulekha Haywood.
9 Niki Taylor Still Has That Same Gorgeous Smile
Niki Taylor has had an impressive modeling career and was the second youngest model to ever appear on the cover of Vogue, which, according to Fashionista, happened when she was just 15. She was also the face of CoverGirl cosmetics, and the first spokesperson under 18 to sign a contract with the brand.
In her later years, Taylor has also become involved in blood donations, after being involved in a near-fatal car crash in 2001.
In 2016, she spoke with Hello! Magazine about the importance of giving blood during National Blood Donor Week, and how she has become a Nexcare Give spokeswoman.
But Taylor has also shared her thoughts on how different the models of the '90s were to the models of today, telling the publication, "Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, they just know their fans and same as Karlie Kloss. They do it very very well. They have that great following and that's where it's all kind of gone to."
8 Beverly Peele Was A Big Star In The '90s
Beverly Peele rose to fame in the late '80s and early '90s. In 1989, she landed her first major cover on Mademoiselle, and later that year she also covered Seventeen. Peele has worked with some of the most prestigious fashion brands including Versace, Chanel, and Commes des Garçons, and she's been featured in multiple fashion magazines.
She's appeared in music videos and made appearances in TV series, Girlfriends and Sweet Friggin' Daisies. Now, she's mostly retired (but is still impossibly beautiful) but she did appear in 2017 episode of the TV series, Growing Up Supermodel.
Plus, she's a mother of a daughter named Cairo, who she had when she was 17, and the pair are very close. In an Instagram post, Peele described her daughter as being “a role model, a best friend, a pain in my butt!!!”
7 Tyra Banks Is Now Dominating Our TVs
Of all the models on this list, Tyra Banks is probably the one that is most in the limelight now and that's because she has managed to successfully transition from catwalks to television, thanks to America's Next Top Model and her Emmy winning daytime talk-show, The Tyra Banks Show. She has also appeared on many popular TV series, including Gossip Girl (she was a minor character named Ursula), and Glee in 2013.
She started modeling when she was aged 15, and at the peak of her modeling career, she graced the covers of many prestigious magazines, including, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
She was the first African-American model to feature on the cover, Entertainment Tonight reports.
Banks also made history when she became the first black woman to become the face of CoverGirl Cosmetics.
6 Christy Turlington Is Still A Fashion Icon
Christy Turlington represented Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign in 1989, and continued to work with the brand for decades, plus, she has covered British Vogue many times and is well-known for her work with Maybelline.
Turlington was considered to be one of the top supermodels in the '90s, even appearing in George Michael's music video for “Freedom.” Fast forward a few years, and Turlington is focused on her skincare line and developed a line of activewear for Puma. She is also a mom of two children Grace and Finn Burns, who she shares with husband Edward Burns, and maternal health is something that's close to her heart. She has founded a charity dedicated to this, and shed light on the issues pregnant women in poorer, less developed areas have to face, in her 2010 documentary, No Woman No Cry.
5 '80s Mega Model Bridget Hall Still Turns Heads
Bridget Hall landed her first cover with Allure magazine in 1993, and the following year she became the face of Guess. And from then, her career went from strength to strength, because by 1995 she was named by Forbes (via New York magazine) as one of the top ten highest earning models.
Then in 2013, she proved she still has what it takes to be a supermodel and made a comeback with Rag & Bone's campaign.
The managing director of the label told Elle, they decided to use Hall because she embodied an all-American woman. That same year she also secured a Prabal Gurung's campaign, and according to Daily Mail, the designer revealed, "We've grown up with this fantasy about supermodels. I felt personally it was the right moment to celebrate women of that age.”
4 Helena Christensen Was One Of The Original Supermodels
Danish-born Helena Christensen was one of the Magnificent Seven, a brand of original supermodels. In March of 1990, she covered British Vogue (which she would go on to cover again five more times), and from then she continued to work steadily in the industry.
She quit full-time modeling when she was aged 30, after giving birth to her son. But told Viva that she spends around a third of her time doing modeling, and returned to the catwalk with other '90s models (Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, and Cindy Crawford) when they walked in the Versace SS18 show during Milan Fashion Week.
She also told The Telegraph, "I live a very low-key life. I still have the same car I had when I was 19. I just like things to be basically simple. I grew up in Denmark, being in nature, and I'm grateful for that."
3 Janice Dickinson Doesn't Like The New Breed Of Models
Earlier we mentioned that there is a new breed of supermodels, and this is something that Janice Dickinson doesn't care for.
In an interview with The Tomorrow Show, she said that comparing herself to Kendall Jenner was like comparing “apples and oranges.”
Adding, “I don't think she's a supermodel, I don't. Give me a break. You think that's supermodel? That is not supermodel. She can't beat me. She can't.”
So, what is a supermodel? It would appear that Dickinson thinks it's someone like her, who struggled to make a name for herself in the modeling industry when she first started out in the '70s, and there was only really a market for blue-eyed blonde. She eventually moved to France to launch her career, and according to The Famous People, in the '80s she was finally recognized as a supermodel and secured work with prestigious fashion publications and brands.
She has also worked on TV, appearing in America's Next Top Model as well as her own reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.
2 Carla Bruni Is Still CoverGirl Beautiful
Carla Bruni was a top model in the '90s and became well-known for her Guess campaign, which she fronted in 1988, as well as walking the catwalks for Valentino, and Chloe, and becoming the face for multiple brands including Christian Dior and MaxMara.
She was one of the highest paid models in the world, and then she left modeling behind in 1997, only to return a few years later. In 2008, she married former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, which means, in addition to her already lengthy list of titles she could also add France's First Lady into the mix.
In 2009, she secured the cover of French Elle, and in 2017, she returned to the catwalk for Versace's show. Yes, it really appears there is no stopping her!
1 The Hair Is The Only Difference Between Brooke Shields' Then And Now
Brooke Shields was destined for fame from a young age, and according to Biography, when she was just 11 months she appeared in her first advert. She impressed as an actress, with some of her big roles including the 1978 film, Pretty Baby, and then, Blue Lagoon in 1980.
Although she may be better known for her acting work, Shields was also an incredibly talented model, who made waves in the industry for her Calvin Klein jeans campaign.
She also landed her first Vogue cover in 1980, when she was just 14, making her the youngest model to ever appear on the cover.
You can still see Shields on TV, with her recent work including the role of Rita Glossner in The Middle and Sheila Porter in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
