From Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell to Kate Moss, Alek Wek, and more, these are the original 90s supermodels that ushered in the era of elegance.
Time stops for no one — even supermodels. These women’s faces were everywhere in the ’90s but today, many might not seem so familiar.
Keep reading to find out what the original’90s supermodels look like now
1. Linda Evangelista
Born: May 10, 1965, Canada (age: 58)
Years Active: 1983-1998 _ 2001-present
Then :
Linda Evangelista was one of the fashion industry’s most in-demand models in the ’90s, and regarded as acclaimed photographer Steven Meisel’s muse.
At the height of her fame, Linda Evangelista, The Canadian beauty, who was best known for saying she didn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000, has graced the covers of more than 700 magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, W, Allure, Marie Claire and Rolling Stone.
Now :
Linda now says she is done with hiding herself away following a botched cosmetic fat-freezing procedure, that left her living in seclusion for almost five years.
In 2021, she made headlines when she filed a $50 million lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, after she was diagnosed with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), and was left “permanently deformed” and “brutally disfigured” following a series of seven sessions of CoolSculpting “fat-freezing” procedure she underwent in 2015 and 2016.
Now, she says she is “tired” of hiding and wants to be able to walk around with “her head held high”.
In February 2022, she sat down with People magazine to talk about the cosmetic procedure gone wrong — and to reveal her body for the first time since her fat-freezing nightmare.
After settling the case in July 2022 , She made a triumphant return to the catwalk later that year, walking in the Fendi show during New York Fashion Week in September.
2. Naomi Campbell
Born : 22 May 1970, London, England (age 52)
Years active : 1978- present
Then :
The ultimate supermodel, Naomi Campbell began her career as a teen on the catwalk and decades later, she’s still one of the most sought-after names in fashion.
Naomi’s career took off shortly before her 16th birthday when a talent scout spotted the 5-foot-9 British beauty out shopping.
Her career soon skyrocketed and Naomi went on to grace the covers of multiple high-profile magazines (including being the the first Black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue) , walk countless runways and star in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” video with fellow supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
Now
Now, Naomi Campbell is still very involved in the fashion world, as well as being a coveted guest on the global party and charity circuit, almost four decades after she first broke onto the modelling scene.
The 52-year-old model still regularly appears on the catwalk and in 2018, she was handed the Fashion Icon award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
These days, she spends her time imparting gems of wisdom gained from her high profiled successful career, lending her voice to causes she cares about and most importantly, being a mom to her daughter, who she welcomed in May 2021.
In 2022, she posed with her baby girl on the cover of British Vogue’s March issue, telling the magazine, “She wasn’t adopted, she’s my [biological] child.”
3. Cindy Crawford
Born : February 20, 1966, Illinois, U.S (age 57)
Years active : 1985–present
Then:
Cindy Crawford kicked off her career at age 17, when she placed second in Elite Model Management’s Look of the Year contest. Between the flawless hair, almond-shaped eyes and that signature mole, it’s not hard to see why Cindy Crawford became the face of everything from Pepsi to Revlon during the ’90s.
now:
She still does plenty of modelling now, she recently returned to the original Halfway House from her famous Pepsi commercial in 1992, in a bid to raise funds for the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin where her brother was treated for leukaemia.
the 57-year-old has passed those All-American good looks to the next generation: Her kids – Kaia Gerber and Presley Gerber – are also keen models
her daughter, Kaia Gerber, has worked with Alexander Wang, Celine and featured in a Beats by Dre campaign. Crawford also shares son Preston with husband Rande Gerber.
4. Christy Turlington
Born : January 2, 1969, California, U.S. (age 54)
Years active : 1983–present
Then :
A member of “The Trinity” alongside Campbell and Evangelista, Christy Turlington rose to fame in the ’90s after appearing in Calvin Klein’s Eternity campaign.
Throughout the decade, the American supermodel was featured in several noteworthy campaigns for brands including Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Versace.
In 1987 at just 17, Christy was featured in Duran Duran’s “Notorious” music video. she was also featured alongside fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz and Cindy Crawford in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” clip in 1990.
Now:
Today, christy’s beauty still mainstays on major campaigns and international magazines. The 54-year-old recently served as one of the covergirls for W Magazine’s 50th Anniversary issue, and was a model for Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Yayoi Kusama.
Off the catwalk, Christy works on a lot of charity campaigns and she serves on the Harvard Medical School Global Health Council, campaigns against smoking, as an ex-smoker herself and having sadly lost her dad to lung cancer.
she also runs the organization Every Mother Counts, which strives to improve maternal care worldwide, and is mom to kids Grace and Finn with husband Ed Burns.
5. Tatjana Patitz
Born : May25, 1966, Germany.
Died : january 11, 2023 (age 56).
Years active : 1983- present.
Then:
Like Crawford, Campbell, Evangelista and Turlington, Tatjana Patitz rose to prominence in the late ’80s and early ’90s as one of the original supermodels, making her big splash with her 1990 black-and-white cover for British Vogue.
And for the next decade, the statuesque blonde continued to front the campaigns of Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Revlon, Cartier, L’Oréal, and more.
she also started in the music video for George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90,” along with Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Linda Evangelista.
Now:
She continued to lend her talents to the likes of Etro, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Chanel throughout the 2010s, before happily stepping back from the spotlight, to spend time at her Malibu ranch with her son, Jonah, and a menagerie of animals including horses, dogs and cats.
In 2019, she returned to the runway during Milan Fashion Week, walking in Etro’s Autumn/Winter 2019-2020 presentation.
On Jan. 11, 2023, Tatjana died at 56 following a battle with breast cancer.
6. Tyra Banks
Born : December 4, 1973, California, U.S. (age 49).
Years active : 1991–present.
Then:
Tyra Banks started modeling at 15, and within a few years ; She conquered her first runway season during Paris Fashion Week in 1991, booked editorial shoots in all the top glossies, signed lucrative contracts with CoverGirl and Victoria’s Secret.
She also broke boundaries when she became the first Black model to cover the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, And the first Black model to appear on the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
Tyra also starred in Michael Jackson’s iconic video for Black or White at the genesis of her career.
Now:
The always multifaceted Tyra Banks has transformed herself from a model-actress into an uber-successful entrepreneur.
She has turned her time on the runway into a lucrative career in TV, from her famous talk show, for which she won two Daytime Emmys in the late aughts to creating, hosting and executive producing America’s Next Top Model, Which run for 24 cycles.
The 49-year-old mom of son York, 8, recently co-hosted Dancing with the Stars for Three Seasons.
7. Kate Moss
Born : January 16, 1974, London, England (age 49).
Years active : 1988–present.
Then:
Her career took off quickly and when she was 16, she landed her first magazine cover for The face.
Best known as one of the 1990s’ wildest party girl going, The English model ushered in the era of the “anti-supermodel” when she started to promote a look that became known as “heroin chic.”
The supermodel lent her signature look to campaigns for all the big fashion houses: Dior, Burberry, Chanel, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, the list goes on.
Now:
Now, the 49-year-old Moss, has long put her party days behind her, and after a highly-publicised addiction to drugs, she is now sober and clean.
Kate Moss might have aged, but She continues to work as a model and remains one of the top-earning models in the world. But these days, She also plays mentor to her daughter Lila Moss, who is following in her heels. Who has already been on several high-profile runways and even recreated her mom’s famous 1992 Calvin Klein campaign.
In 2022, she made headlines when she testified on behalf of ex Johnny Depp during his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, and She rounded out that year posing for a Marc Jacobs campaign.
8. Elle Macpherson
born: March 29, 1964, New South Wales, Australia (age 59).
years active: 1982 –present.
Then:
Elle Macpherson dominated the modeling world when she entered the scene in the early 1980s.
After posing on the cover of Playboy and scoring the nickname “The Body” in 1994, Macpherson went on to grace the cover of not one, but five Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues.
During her modeling career, the Australian native walked in numerous runway shows for brands like Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren and appeared in campaigns for Christian Dior and Escada.
Now:
In addition to being a supermodel and mogul, Macpherson is also a super mom to two sons, Cy, 19, and Flynn, 24 (their father is financier Arpad Busson).
In 2020, she celebrated her 40th anniversary in the modeling industry, headlining the cover of French Elle with her sons.
9. Claudia Schiffer
Born : 25 August 1970, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (age 52).
years active: 1989–present.
Then:
Claudia Schiffer, who’s appeared on more than 1,000 magazine covers, became a household name in the ’90s thanks to her star-making campaigns as the face of Guess and Chanel.
Now:
In 2017, Claudia released a self-titled book to mark her 30th anniversary in the fashion industry.
In August 2022, The blonde bombshell was immortalized as a Barbie in honor of her 50th birthday.
Additionally, she also teamed up with FRAME to commemorate her milestone birthday and designed two pairs of jeans for the brand.
Schiffer and her husband, director Matthew Vaughn, have kids Clementine, Cosima and Caspar.
10. Helena Christensen
Born: December 25, 1968, Copenhagen, Denmark (age 54).
years active: 1992-present.
Then:
Christensen entered the fashion world after winning the Miss Denmark in 1986, appearing in runway shows and campaigns for Valentino, Prada, Chanel, and Revlon, which made her the brand spokesperson in 1992. And even starred in the 1991 music video for Chris Isaak’s song “Wicked Game,” which is deemed one of the sexiest videos of all time.
In 1999, she also co-founded fashion magazine Nylon and served as its original creator director.
Now:
in recent years, she has gone behind the camera, becoming an accomplished photographer, along with becoming an advocate for climate change awareness.
For her 54th birthday on Christmas Day, the supermodel shared clips of herself having fun in the sun to mark the milestone.
Christensen shares son Mingus with ex Norman Reedus.
