The Original Supermodels

Linda Evangelista 

Image via Wikipedia

The term supermodel is generally used to describe a model who has achieved a high level of international fame and fortune. Such models are generally only referred to with his or her first name, as that is all is required to know who the person is on the fashion scene. The term supermodel wasn’t a popular term until what are now known as the original supermodels hit the fashion scene in the early 90s.

So who are the original supermodels? The group of original supermodels consists of Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and the lesser known Tatjana Patitz. These five women gained fame and notoriety when they all appeared in the film clip for the George Michael song Freedom. In the film clip they walked the runway, creating an image surpassing the “top model” image they already had. This, couple with Evangelista’s famous quote, ”we don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day” fuelled the worlds interest in what we now know as the supermodel.

The original five supermodels were quickly joined by several other well-known top models that were as equally beautiful and famous. Claudia Schiffer and Kate moss became just as well known as the original five. As the years went by and the original supermodels started to age gracefully, a new wave of supermodels gradually started to drift in. Faces such as Eva Herzigova, and Helena Christensen progressed the brand of the supermodel forward into the 2000s.

These days the supermodel click consists of names such as Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Giselle Bundchen, and the many beautiful girls of Victoria’s Secret.

 

Christy Turnlington Burns: Not Just Another Pretty Face

Christy Turlington was born in Walnut Creeek, California in 1969. She is of Salvadorean and English descent. She was discovered at age fourteen while riding horses in Miami, Florida. She began modeling part time after school until she graduated, then moved to New York. Christy is best known for her lucrative contract with Calvin Klein from 1987 until 2007. She has also been the face of campaigns by Chanel and Maybelline. Christy is known to be very friendly and professional to work with. She has been featured in videos such as George Micheal’s “Freedom” video which also featured Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz. Christy has been featured on the cover of every major fashion magazine and has also appeared in several photobooks. She posed nude for a PETA anti-fur campaign in 1993. Christy retired from the runway in 1994, but continued to do printwork.

Christy is also a business woman and a works with several charities. In early 2000, she became a partner in a skin care line, and she has partnered to design two clothing lines from Puma, an active wear line, and a yoga line. Christy is an avid supporter of CARE relief agency and Product Red. She is also a anti-smoking activist
due to her father’s death of lung cancer.

Christy has been a practitioner of yoga all her life and has written her own book about it. She went back to school and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion and Eastern Philosophy in 1999 from New York University. In 2009, she went back to school again to work on her master’s degree in public health at Columbia University. In 2003, Christy married actor/director/writer Ed Burns in San Francisco. She currently resides in New York City with her nusbnad and their two children.