The World's Most Supermodels Are Almost Too Beautiful — The Outlet (2024)

Supermodels occupy a very specific place in our media and culture. They have all the markers of conventional beauty, of course—tall, thin, attractive—but they all also have a certain X factor that sees them become household names, cultural reference points, successes beyond the catwalk.

Jill Sobule was onto something back in 1995 when she sang, “I don't care what my teachers say/ I'm gonna be a supermodel/ Everyone is gonna dress like me.../ And my hair will shine like the sea/ Everyone wants to look like me…/ I’m gonna be a supermodel.”

Very few models will be crowned with the supermodel title, but those that do linger in the collective consciousness for decades. Here’s our list of the top thirteen supermodels of all time (in no particular order).

The Big Five

Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Tatjana Patitz are sometimes called the “original supermodels” or “the big five”, as they were the biggest names by the end of the 1980s when supermodels were rivalling film stars for wealth, glamour and tabloid space.

The five women appeared on the era-defining 1990 British Vogue cover as well as the 1990 music video forFreedom! '90by George Michael. Sometimes the “big five” includes Claudia Schiffer in place of Tatjana Patitz.

Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford began modelling in high school, and although she earned an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at university, she dropped out after one semester to pursue her modelling career—one of the most successful in history.

She’s covered all the major fashion mags, walked for countless labels, been the face of several more, appeared in music videos, films and TV, and even created exercise videos. She officially quit modelling in 2000, but her two children, Presley and Kaia Gerber, both carried on the torch.

Christy Turlington

Christy Turlington was once called "the most beautiful woman in the world" and was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2014. She’s modelled for a huge range of luxury fashion and make-up brands and was still walking for Marc Jacobs as late as 2019.

She’s also released a range of skincare, several activewear lines and is an avid humanitarian.

Linda Evangelista

Canadian Linda Evangelista began her career in New York in 1984.

In 1988, she cut her long hair into a pixie style, which started a trend for the cut that became known as “The Evangelista”. She was known as the chameleon of the fashion industry, because of her ability to model for any label, and once famously said of her cohort, "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day."

Naomi Campbell

London-born Naomi Campbell’s first job was at the age of seven, in the music video for Bob Marley'sIs This Love. She had initially intended to be a dancer, but was scouted by an agent and was on the cover ofEllebefore she turned sixteen.

Campbell has walked runways, appeared in campaigns, covered magazines, released fragrances, made (admittedly terrible) music, and appeared in film and TV. She was one of the earliest successful Black models and is still modelling today.

Tatjana Patitz

Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who achieved international superfame in the 1980s and 1990s, walking for major designers and covering major fashion magazines.

Although she doesn’t have the public life of the other big five, she is still an in-demand model today.

Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer is another German model (though she’d aspired to be a lawyer) who, for a time, held the record for the model with the most magazine covers.

Schiffer has appeared in several films playing herself (Richie Rich, Prêt-à-Porter, Chain of Fools, ZoolanderandLove, Actually, where she played a Claudia Schiffer lookalike).

She’s also had stints as a fitness instructor and a fashion designer.

Kate Moss

Kate Moss started modelling in the early 1990s with a series of high-profile and controversial advertising campaigns, and quickly changed the face of fashion.

Following the era of glossy, statuesque supermodels, she had a grungy, waifish aesthetic called "heroin chic". She became almost as well-known for her off-camera antics, including drugs, partying and high-profile dating, and became a cultural icon of the decade.

She’s also launched fashion lines, cosmetics and fragrances, has appeared in music videos and films, and now works behind the camera. Her daughter, Lila Grace, is also a model.

Twiggy

Twiggy is best remembered as one of the first international supermodels and a fashion icon of the swinging sixties. She was known for her twig-like build, cropped hair, and big eyes surrounded by long eyelashes, which all gave her a gamin appearance.

Although she is best known for her modelling, she was only active in the industry for about four years and later had a successful career as an actress.

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks began her career as a model at the age of fifteen and achieved several firsts for models of African-American descent.

Banks was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005, by which time she was one of the world's top-earning models. She had several roles in television and film from the early 1990s, and in 2003, she created and presented the long-running reality television seriesAmerica's Next Top Model.

Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley was signed as a model in 1973, and quickly scored a record-breaking twenty-five-year contract with CoverGirl. She was also the first person to appear on three consecutiveSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues.

Brinkley has also worked as an actress, illustrator, television personality, photographer, writer, designer, and activist.

Elle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson is an Australian model, known for her record-breaking five cover appearances for theSports IllustratedSwimsuit Issue from the 1980s, which sawTimemagazine nickname her "The Body" in 1989.

For a time she put her name on a popular Bendon lingerie line, and she’s now a wellness mogul, with a line of elixirs and powder dietary supplements.

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum is a German-American model and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secret Angel.

She’s appeared in several films and television programs and has been nominated for several Emmys for her work on the reality show,Project Runway. Klum replaced Macpherson as the face of Bendon’s lingerie line in 2014.

Gisele Bündchen

Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen is one of the highest-paid models in the world, regularly appearing in rich lists over the last twenty years. She has been credited with ending the heroin chic era of modelling in 1999 and replacing it with her signature curvy, tanned look.

Bündchen was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2000 until mid-2007 and has appeared on more than 1,200 magazine covers. In 2007, Schiffer called Bündchen the only remaining supermodel.

Hannah Warren

Hannah was born in New Zealand and is based wherever she can set down a laptop. She's been playing with words since she could first pick up a pen, and in her spare time she's a pole dancer, pasta glutton and dog mum.

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