The 90s was a time of big hair, big money, and big time supermodels.
Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista were originally known as the Trinity but were joined by Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and eventually Kate Moss.
This septet of supermodels was known as The Big Six. And it’s easy to see why they made such an impact on how we view fashion and modelling. There’s far more to these women than just their looks.
Linda Evangelista
Full name: Linda Evangelista
Height: 177cm (5′ 9″)
Most famous for: her ever-changing hair colour and hair styles
Born on May 10, 1965 (she’s 53) into an Italian catholic family in Canada, Evangelista became one of the most famous supermodels of the 90s and has featured on over 700 magazine covers.
Known for her editorial and runway style, Evangelista cut her hair short in 1989 sparking a trademark look called The Linda that was copied by many women of the time, including Demi Moore in Ghost.
It was Evangelista who coined the now infamous term “We don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000” in the October edition of US Vogue.
In October 2006, Evangelista gave birth to a son, Augustin James Evangelista who was fathered by Salma Hayek’s husband Francois-Henri Pinault. She sued Pinault for unpaid child support, asking for $46,000 per month, but after a short battle, the couple settled out of court.
Naomi Campbell
Full name: Naomi Elaine Campbell
Height: 177cm
Most famous for: throwing a phone at her assistant
There are many remarkable things about Naomi Campbell, and one of them is that she was the first black model to grace at the cover of British Elle, just shy of her 16th birthday.
Having formed a great bond with her Trinity colleagues, Christy Turlington and Lisa Evangelista told Dolce & Gabbana, “If you don’t use Naomi, you don’t get us.”
Yves Saint Laurent was another of Campbell’s fans and told French Vogue he would pull all advertising if they didn’t put her on the cover. Voila, it worked! In August 1988, she became the first black woman to grace their cover.
Despite all her covers she was quoted in 1991 as saying “I may be considered one of the top models in the world, but in no way do I make the same money as any of them.”
Cindy Crawford
Full name: Cynthia Ann Crawford
Height: 175cm
Most famous for: the mole above her lip
Once married to Richard Gere and currently wedded to Rande Gerber, Crawford was the all-American girl with the big hair and big smile who became the face of Revlon and their signature red lipstick.
Crawford was one of the models (alongside Naomi, Christy and Tatjana Patitz) who appeared in George Michael’s Freedom video and has also appeared in Bon Jovi’s Please Come Home For Christmas, Duran Duran’s Girl Panic and Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood.
Her children Presley, 19, and Kaia, 17, have both become well known models.
Christy Turlington
Full name: Christy Nicole Turlington
Height: 178cm
Most famous for: Founding not-for-profit Every Mother Counts
Turlington was one of the co-founders of the Fashion Cafe with fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer. Always one to have her finger on the business pulse, she’s tried her hand at many things other than modelling including an Ayurvedic skincare range, yoga wear and
This woman is not just a pretty face; she currently serves on the Harvard Medical School Global Council and is said to be studying a Masters in Public Health at Columbia University.
A smoker since the age of 13, Turlington was diagnosed with early-stage emphesyma at the age of 31.
She has two children with husband Edward Burns, Grace, 15, and Finn, 12.
Claudia Schiffer
Full name: Claudia Maria Schiffer
Height: 180cm
Most famous for: Being German and (once) married to magician David Copperfield
One of the longest standing L’Oréal ambassadors, Claudia Schiffer has appeared in ad campaigns for everything from Versace to Pepsi to Accessorize (where she got her ears pierced for the first time for their 2006 campaign), to Citroën (for which she was allegedly paid $3million).
She appeared in Richie Rich, Love Actually, Zoolander and has been a guest on The Oprah Show.
Schiffer is apparently listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the model that has appeared on the most magazine covers – with a total of over 1000.
She is married to film director Matthew Vaughn and they have three children; Casper, 15, Clementine, 14, and Cosima 8.
Kate Moss
Full name: Katherine Ann Moss
Height: 170cm
Most Famous for: Being a party girl
Ah, the lovely Kate Moss. Her quirky looks were questioned in the fashion industry when she was discovered at age 14. Not to mention her height. At 5’7″ (170cm) Moss is a bit shorter than most fashion models. But she soon carved her own place becoming a Calvin Klein model and the main face of what became known as ‘heroin chic’.
But it was Moss’s partying lifestyle with then-boyfriend Johnny Depp that made her not just a supermodel but a super celebrity. In 2005, she was dropped from Chanel and H&M fashion campaigns but these were later resumed after the drug allegations were dropped.
Moss’s after-hours habits certainly haven’t hurt her bank balance. In 2012, the British model was estimated to have earned $9.2million.
She supports many charities including the Elton John AIDS Foundation and War Child.
Moss has one daughter, Lila Grace, 16, with ex-partner Jefferson Hack.
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