Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels

Cindy Crawford became internationally known as a supermodel.Cindy Crawford.Cindy Crawford studied academics. She did not detassel corn at a farm near her Chicago suburb. Crawford graduated valedictorian from DeKalb High School. She earned a chemical engineering degree from Northwestern on a scholarship before modeling full time.

WhenNPR Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me hostsPeter Sagal asked Crawford if she always knew she wanted to be a model. She answered:

Crawford:No. I did not know I wanted to dream that. But I knew at a young age. I wanted something different. I thought, I want to be the first woman president or a nuclear physicist. Those are big jobs.

Sagal:Now, tell this story again in your book [Becoming]—because I know the people at Northwestern are proud you went there briefly.BecomingBecause the people at Northwestern are proud you went there for a short time, right?

Crawford:I did. But my children will never forget. They say, “But you dropped out, Mom.”

Sagal:You planned to major in chemical engineering.

Crawford:That is good party trivia. I pull it out at dinner parties.

Before she died, Princess Diana arranged for a then-preteen Prince William to meet many models after school, according to the Toronto Sun.Toronto SunThe heir to England's throne retold the story in the documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy:

Diana organized for Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell to wait at the top of the stairs after I came home from school. I was a 12- or 13-year-old boy with their posters on my wall. I turned bright red, couldn't find words, fumbled, and fell down the stairs on the way out.

That was a funny memory I have kept forever.

Christy Turlington shared that while the event happened, the surprise excitement might have mixed with William's main memory.

I remember it well. It was Claudia Schiffer, not Cindy Crawford. Diana liked those boys [sons William and Harry].

WhileKate MossKate Moss does not share much about her personal life. She once spoke about how modeling became her career in an unusual way. She said she was at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when Simon Chambers, the brother of Storm Management modeling agency founder Sarah Doukas, spotted her.

I smoked. I was fourteen. I lost my virginity. I thought I was the bee's knees. I was in the airport puffing. Sarah [Doukas's] brother approached me. He asked, "Have you ever thought about being a model?"

[I] never considered the career… I was short, had bow legs and crooked teeth, and nobody thought I was the prettiest girl in school… I wasn't confident at the start of my career, not until much later… I wouldn’t let my daughter do it that young. I was just thrown into the adult world…

I don't know how I'm good at it yet. But it takes years and years of training.

News broke that retired NFL star Tom Brady and supermodelGisele Bündchen.Many speculated how the massive fortune from the parting of Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen would be split. Celebrity Net Worth reports on this.Gisele Bündchen was a Victoria's Secret model.This model earns more than Brady, and more than any other professional athlete.

After working for brands like Valentino, Zara, Bvlgari, Tommy Hilfiger, Chloe, Celine, Versace, Christian Dior, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret, and Dolce & Gabbana, Gisele reportedly earns $400 million. Brady, with his Super Bowl rings and his career as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, reportedly earns only $250 million.

Now tall at 6 feet,Kimora Lee Simmons.Kimora Lee Simmons reached 5'10" by age 10. Peers in St. Louis, MO, teased her about her race and height, but Simmons's mother saw the potential in her physique and put her in modeling classes. She soon found her career in Paris. Simmons shared her experience:

[Modeling] changed everything for me. Karl Lagerfeld said what people found weird about me was okay. He is a major fashion name, so it gave me validity and showed me a new world.

After her husband suggested clearing out her closet,Claudia Schiffer.She turned a helicopter hangar near her home into her closet. Insured for millions, she separated her clothes into distinct wardrobes by designer. The massive space stays climate-controlled so her couture pieces remain perfect for her daughter. Schiffer responded about the renovation:

The heli-hangar was Matthew's idea… I have so many Chanel closets in there; it is like a Chanel boutique.

Fans debate if Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” is about Elle MacPherson (Joel dated her when writing the song) or Christie Brinkley (Joel's wife, who was in the music video). Billie Joel told Howard Stern the hit was written forBilly Joel's “Uptown Girl”.Billie Joel told Howard Stern the hit song was written for Elle Macpherson, whom Joel dated when he began writing the song, or for Christie Brinkley, Joel's wife who appeared in the music video.bothhis model exes.

Joel said the song started on a random night playing piano with his then-girlfriend MacPherson, Whitney Houston, and future-girlfriend Brinkley:

I started writing a song called “Uptown Girls” because it was an amazing time. The situation I faced was unbelievable.

I dated Elle for months, on and off. She went to Europe, so I thought that was the end. Then I started dating Christie after Elle and I stopped dating. Instead of the song being about many girls, she [Brinkley] became the uptown girl. I wrote it about one person. They got the story wrong.Elle Macpherson is in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.about Christie.

I started writing it while dating Elle; that was the end. It was not about Elle, especially since it was first called “Uptown Girls.” It was a tribute to Frankie Valli.

As a model, Yasmeen Ghauri appeared in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.Yasmeen Ghauri was featured in Vogue.Yasmeen Ghauri broke the mold with her darker skin tone and features from her South Asian heritage. A talent scout found her in an unlikely spot, recruiting her at age 17 while she worked at McDonald's.

Ghauri opened doors for the industry to accept more diversity on runways. She walked in Milan, Paris, and New York. She became a Victoria's Secret angel and appeared on the cover of Vogue.Yasmeen Ghauri was in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.Yasmeen Ghauri was in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.

Singer Seal ensured his 2004 proposal to Heidi Klum would leave a memory she would keep. His proposal in the Canadian Rockies was one she would not forget.Heidi Klum is in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.As the Heidi Klum in the Canadian Rockies, it was a memory she would not forget.Heidi Klum was on America's Got Talent.the judge remembered:

[Seal] took me by helicopter… He built an igloo there, bringing everything: a bed with sheets inside the igloo, rose petals everywhere, candles. Very romantic!… It was hardcore. I was ecstatic.

The couple loved big gestures, but they split in 2012.Heidi Klum split in 2012.Heidi Klum split after seven years of marriage.

Tyra Banks is in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.Tyra Banks faced serious childhood growth issues and school bullying. The model and TV personality once revealed:

When I was 11, I grew 3 inches and lost 30 pounds in three months. I went from a mean, cute, chubby girl to shooting up, weighing 98 pounds, looking sick and frail… People thought I was sick. They made every joke, every bad thing. I hated my reflection. I tried to stuff food down my throat to gain weight…

Even though I later gained weight and became a supermodel, that girl lived inside me, and I know what that felt like.

However, the bullying did not stop. Modeling agencies first discriminated against her.because of her skin color and, ironically, her size:There was a locked door because I was a young Black model. The first six agencies I approached said no—I think four of the six said, "We already have a Black girl"…

There was a door locked because I was a young Black model. The first six agencies I knocked on said no; I think four of the six said, "We already have a Black girl"…

Once I succeeded, designers said, "You're getting too thick." I figured out a way to change my career around that and said, “Okay, who likes curves? Victoria's Secret, Tyra Banks was on Sports Illustrated.Tyra Banks was on Sports Illustrated.

Before Naomi Campbell.Naomi Campbell is in 'Things We Didn't Know About '90s Supermodels'.Naomi Campbell started dating heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. She faced an uncomfortable situation with him at a party. British philosopher A.J. Ayer saved her.

According toAyer's biographer Ben RogersThe then-77-year-old philosopher heard a disturbance in a bedroom. He knocked on the door to check everything was okay. When the philosopher tried to break things up, Tyson reportedly asked:

I am the heavyweight champion of the world. Do you know who I am?

Ayer responded:

I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both top experts in our field. I suggest we talk about this like rational men.

Naomi Campbell left the situation but later dated the boxer.

Visual artist Maurizio Cattelan knew exactly how he wanted to show model Stephanie Seymour.Stephanie SeymourStephanie Seymour visited the home she shared with her billionaire husband Peter Brant. In an interview withThe TalksThe artist described his inspiration for an unusual piece commissioned by Brant:

The Talks: Peter Brant asked you to portrait his wife Stephanie Seymour. You made a trophy from her. Was that a personal emergency?

Cattelan:I went to Peter’s house because he wanted a commissioned work. Inside, the walls showed hunting trophies of every animal. I knew what I would do. Adding one more, a portrait of his beautiful wife, was important.

The Talks: Was he upset by it?

Cattelan:He was pleased! Rules are just obstacles to jump, higher with every attempt. Never give an artist like me carte blanche.carte blanche, he would think it’s just toilet paper.

You can view the unusual artwork herehere.

Angelina Jolie fell in love with her co-star, Jenny Shimizu.Jenny ShimizuAngelina Jolie and Jenny Shimizu were on the set of their 1996 filmFoxfire.Through interviews, Jolie shared the affection between them despite her relationship with Jonny Lee Miller at the time:

I fell in love with her the first second I saw her. The second week of filming, we kissed. Jonny Lee Miller was around while I figured things out about myself, realizing I was attracted to women too. When I saw Jenny could be a deep love for me, he saw it and took it seriously. He did not treat it like some sexy thing.

[I] probably would have married [her if I had not wed Miller]. I saw [Shimizu] in a way I saw men. It was great; it was a discovery. I never thought I would experiment with or kiss a woman; I was not looking for anything. I just fell for a girl.