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The 80s and 90s produced some of the most well-known supermodels the world has ever seen. They dominated the runway — and the world! — with their gorgeous looks and fierce catwalk skills.
Some of the supermodels on this list were lucky to be discovered before they even had to worry about an income. A few were already in college with different plans for life before modeling was even a thought in their heads. A handful had to try to break into the industry a few times before finding success. But most of them, as you will see, seemed destined to become the fashion and beauty icons of their era.
Let’s check out some of the most famous supermodels of the 80s and 90s, and discover what they’re up to today!
Birthday: May 31, 1965
Hometown: Manhattan, New York
Her big break: Brooke’s mother, Teri Shields, was an actress and model when she gave birth to her daughter. She decided that Brooke was so beautiful that she, too, should be in the industry. She put Brooke in piano, ballet, and horseback-riding lessons at a young age.
Brooke’s first modeling job was for Ivory Soap when she was hardly a year old. Her big break, however, came when she portrayed a child prostitute in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. Two years later in 1980, Brooke turned 14 and became the youngest model ever to land the cover of Vogue.
Brooke Shields has been married to TV writer Chris Henchy since 2001, and they have two daughters together. She still lives in New York City with her family.
Birthday: December 4, 1973
Hometown: Inglewood, California
Her big break: Tyra Banks began modeling in high school. She was rejected by several agencies before signing with Elite Model Management at the age of 16. She finally got the attention she deserved when she moved to Milan, Italy, and booked 25 shows in Paris Fashion Week at the age of 18.
You wanna be on top? Tyra Banks seems to naturally know how to get there. Her business savvy has kept her a household name for decades now as a model, actress, singer, writer, teacher, and Queen of America’s Next Top Model. At 47 years old, it doesn’t look like her star power will fade anytime soon.
Birthday: August 25, 1970
Hometown: Rheinberg, West Germany
Her big break: At age 17 Schiffer was working at her dad’s law firm in Germany, as she was an aspiring lawyer herself. But in October of 1987, a scout from the Metropolitan Model Agency noticed her at a nightclub in Düsseldorf. One little photoshoot in Paris later, and Schiffer was on the cover of Elle.
Aside from the fact that Schiffer hasn’t aged at all since the 90s (what is your skincare routine, girl?), her career is especially impressive in that she has appeared on over 1,000 magazine covers – that’s a world record!
Claudia has been married to English film producer Matthew Vaughn since 2002, and they have 3 children together.
Birthday: January 16, 1974
Hometown: Croydon, Greater London
Her big break: In 1988, Moss was returning from a vacation in the Bahamas when the founder of Storm Management, Sarah Doukas, spotted her in New York’s JFK airport. Moss was only 14. She then became an “anti-supermodel” of sorts, her extremely thin figure distinguishing her from the more curvaceous models of the era.
Decades later, Moss’s career is still going strong. She has one daughter named Lila Grace Moss-Hack. Kate Moss is one of the richest people in the UK!
Birthday: February 20, 1966
Hometown: DeKalb, Illinois
Her big break: Crawford got her first itch for modeling when she entered Elite Model Management’s Look of the Year contest when she was 17. She won second place.
In 1984, Crawford graduated high school as valedictorian and earned a scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University. Despite her academic prowess, Crawford decided to drop out after her first quarter at Northwestern. She signed with Elite New York Modeling Agency in 1986 and considering the successful career she launched, it’s safe to say she made a solid choice.
Cindy Crawford has been in so many magazines, runway shows, TV spots, film cameos and so much more that it’s impossible to forget her name. She has been married to former model Rande Gerber since 1998. Both their children, Presley and Kaia, have already started to dabble in modeling themselves. With genes like Crawford’s, who wouldn’t?!
