“The Super Models” is causing a stir
Crawford and Co. on marriage, drugs and violence
In the new, four-part documentary “The Super Models” on Apple TV+, the top models of the 90s speak openly about their lives and the dark side of the fashion industry.
©Apple
In the new documentary “The Super Models” Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford speak more openly than ever about their private lives.
They were the top models of the 90s. Everyone knew her, millions of women wanted to be like her. Now a four-part documentary on Apple TV+ reveals many new details about the lives of Linda Evangelista (58), Naomi Campbell (53), Cindy Crawford (57) and Christy Turlington (54). In “The Super Models” they speak openly about the time – including their worst experiences and the dark side of the fashion industry.
Naomi Campbell on drug addiction and racism
Naomi Campbell, for example, struggled with both alcohol and drug addiction between 1998 and 2005. The trigger was her grief over the death of Gianni Versace in 1997. The fashion designer was murdered in front of his home in Miami Beach. “I held the sadness inside and used drugs and alcohol as a balm for my emotional pain,” says Campbell, now 53, in the documentary. “Addiction is so bad…” the mother of two children continued. “You think it heals the wound, but it doesn’t, and it causes huge anxiety.”
The British-born woman of Jamaican descent also talks about the experiences of racism she had during her modeling career. “It was hard as a black woman to be someone who speaks my mind outspokenly. And I took a beating for it for many years.”
When the cosmetics giant Revlon offered her a contract and quoted an outrageously low fee, she said no. The stigma attached to her as a difficult diva comes from this, says Campbell: “I was considered difficult because I opened my mouth.”
Linda Evangelista on violence in her marriage
The now 58-year-old Canadian Linda Evangelista married the then head of the Elite modeling agency, Gérald Marie (73), at the age of 22. The marriage lasted five years – and was marked by violence, says Evangelista in the documentary. “Leaving an abusive relationship is easier said than done.” And further: “He knew he wasn’t allowed to touch my face – not the thing that brings money, you know?” At 27 she managed to get out of the marriage: “I was safe and had my freedom.”
Gérald Marie was accused of rape and sexual abuse by numerous women in 2021, including former models Carré Otis (54) and Karen Mulder (55). However, the investigation was discontinued due to the statute of limitations.
Cindy Crawford on her marriage to Richard Gere
Cindy Crawford was 22 when she met actor Richard Gere (74), who was 15 years her senior. They married in 1991 and divorced three years later. In the documentary, Crawford, now 57, says of Gere: “As a young woman, at the beginning of a relationship, you have the attitude: You like baseball? Ok, I like baseball! Are you really interested in Tibetan Buddhism? Ok, maybe “So do I. I’ll try.” Gere has been known as a practicing Buddhist for decades. Crawford remembers, “At that age, you’re ready to be molded by whoever you’re in love with.”
Her marriage to Gere would have removed her a bit from the fashion world: “He was older, and we just moved in different circles.” After the divorce, Cindy Crawford met her current husband Rande Gerber (61), with whom she has now been married for 25 years. Daughter Kaya (22) is now a successful model herself.