We can discuss whether or not Cindy Crawford Botoxes. We can discuss whether or not she and Rande ever swap partners with George Clooney and Stacy Keibler. We can discuss whether or not Cindy Crawford is still relevant today. But one thing I cannot question is that Cindy still has PRESENCE. You look at her and you still see one of the first supermodels, a rule-breaker and modeling/branding iconoclast. While I’m not flat-out in love with Cindy’s editorial in this week’s net-a-porter.com online magazine, The Edit, she still looks interesting. Even when Cindy takes a boring photo, it’s boringly interesting. You can read the full piece here at The Edit, and here are some highlights:
Choosing to mix it up early in her career: “I trusted that I understood what was right for my brand. It felt more authentic to not be super-exclusive and highbrow. That didn’t feel like who I am. And I was willing to do things that weren’t necessarily the next thing you should do, like MTV or Playboy, things that even my agency wasn’t sure about me doing. I was like, ‘Why not? Let’s try it’. I never had a grand design. I am very professional, so I think that got me far. It’s kind of underrated in the fashion world to be on time, for example. Sometimes I would be annoyed
that certain models – we shall not name names – could show up five hours late to a shoot and there was no consequence.”The women’s rights model? “I thought, ‘I am going to take advantage of this moment, do my own thing’. I think some of the young girls saw me as someone who used the business back, not just getting eaten up by it. It’s like women’s rights or everything else – you break the glass ceiling a little each time.”
Was she fearless? “I wouldn’t consider myself fearless at all, I wish I was. At that age, it was probably an ignorance-is-bliss kind of thing. I remember when I was about 21, I got in a car with someone in Paris. I thought it was a guy from my agency there to pick me up because he had a card with my name on it when I got off the plane. But then when I asked him questions, I realized he didn’t know anything. I guess someone had seen me getting on the plane and he turned up there. I waited until a stoplight and then jumped out of the car. When I saw that Liam Neeson movie [Taken] about a kidnap, I thought, ‘God, that could have been me’.”
Photographers: “I loved Herb Ritts and I loved Helmut Newton. A lot of the guys I worked with are gone: those two, [Richard] Avedon and [Irving] Penn. I don’t know if it can get better than that group. Sometimes, when you are working with young photographers and they say, ‘This is so Helmut’, I’m thinking, ‘No, not really. I was there with Helmut, this is not Helmut’.”
Her favorite images of herself: “Herb took more pictures of me super-natural, no makeup – that’s how I wish I looked when I woke up in the morning.”
Photoshoots have changed: “The good thing about back then was that no one had cell phones, so you would actually sit and have lunch together. You’d arrive, you’d listen to [art dealer] Tony [Shafrazi] tell Patrick [Demarchelier] about some Basquiat and you would learn something, get an education. Now everyone’s just doing their email.”
She doesn’t think she’s all that fashionable: “I’m not like Kate Moss or someone who has incredible style,” she insists. But when it comes to the ‘Cindy look’, she knows exactly how to define it. “A ‘supermodel day’ is heels, skinny jeans, those things… I wouldn’t show up for an autograph signing with a chignon, because my fans want Cindy Crawford, they want the hair. For events, I feel most comfortable in Versace, Cavalli, sometimes Pucci, or I like trying a new designer, like Preen, Alexander Wang – those tend to fit me because I have boobs. We had a Victoria Beckham dress on the shoot and I was a little scared that I would only be able to get it over my toe, but actually it fit great and it was beautiful.” Day-to-day, Crawford favors what she calls the ‘Malibu mom’ look, wearing “jeans, a top or something that’s one step above from a T-shirt, like a little silk blouse, then a leather jacket over that.”
Aging: “I’m a normal woman, sometimes I feel pretty good and some days I’m like, ‘Oh my God, nothing fits’. My new resolution is that by the time I am 50, I want to have come to terms with my body. Because for me, being five pounds lighter, what it would cost me… I don’t want to be like, ‘Oh no, no salad dressing, no wine, no fun’.”
Happiness: “My goal in life is not to be happy all the time. It’s asking a lot. How would you even know you were happy if you were always happy? I just want to be present so I can experience whatever emotion is there. Sometimes it’s joy, sometimes it’s not joy and I’m fine with that. I just want to be real.”
Cindy reminds me a little of Cameron Diaz, in that Camy sounds a lot like this in interviews. In interviews, I LOVE Camy. She seems grounded and real, interesting, smart and “together”. And then in life, she ends up dating douche after douche and you hear stories about her being not-so-grounded. Like, I love what Cindy’s selling. I want to buy it. I want to believe she’s mostly at peace with her life and all of that. But I don’t know. Eh. Maybe she just gives good interviews.
Photos courtesy of The Edit.
I am 31. I could easily come to terms with looking like Cindy does now.
ha, +1
Seriously – if SHE has issues, what hope is there for the rest of us? Lol.
That top pic does not look like her but she does give great body.
I know…it’s both comforting and sad to hear. Comforting in the sense that even the most beautiful people still have “off days” but sad that women are socialized to be self-critical.
It’s like Jolie saying some days she thinks she looks like a “muppet”.
It’s a human thing, we all have days of self doubt and, as we age, we all have days when we’re not happy with the mirror. I used to think it was just women but I see it in men too. We’re so used to media images of perfection, we all get sub-consciously programmed to self hate.
OMG for a second I thought she was Lana del Rey
Me too!
I think she’s different from Cameron. The way I read her interview is that she’s more aspirational than anything. She’s not saying she is at peace with her body, for example, she’s saying she wants to be. The things she says about her branding are also very shrewd, while Cameron seems to project spontaneity rather than business savvy. (Spontaneity *is* Cameron’s branding.)
I don’t think she’s like Cameron at all. Cindy has built a life outside of modeling. She’s married (whether or not her husband is a cheater, their marriage is apparently working or they’d split). She has kids, she has non-industry friends and she has businesses (furniture and skincare). While I don’t believe Cindy will ever have to worry that her looks will “go to pot,” there is not the air of desperation I feel around an aging Cameron Diaz.
God, still so gorgeous after all this time. I don’t love the straight-on photos because I think her face has gotten a little too angular for that view (that’s the consequence of losing collagen in the face), but the profile shots are amazing.
She interviews well, for sure. I don’t find her all that interesting of a topic (most models tend to strike me as pretty but fairly vacant/privileged) but this article makes me want to go read the interview.
ETA: I’m sure she’s had work done. She’s way too smooth to be natural. But it looks like it’s good work, at least. Compare her pics with, say, Brandi G in the other thread, who is starting to look like an unfortunate puffy cat face.
sorta obsessed with ‘work” huh?
Excuse me?
Probably because most of them have had it?
Whatever she’s had done, it’s subtle. She’s still quite a striking beauty.
She looks like a budget Eva Mendes and that’s saying something…
That’s funny given Eva Mendes was marketed as the latina Cindy….
Dreadful shoot.
Cindy is full of bore.
Agreed. I don’t get the appeal. She’s so damn boring.
Linda Evangelista is my favorite model from that era.
Oh Linda, yes, and Christy Turlington. Both still stunning. And far more interesting in interviews too.
Me too. Linda E was stunning. Cindy always had the body but her face was always a little big masculine for me. Not saying she’s not gorgeous–in fact she still is. But she just never appealed to me.
I remember how she used to “over act” on MTV’s House of STyle. My girlfriends and I used to watch it and laugh at the way she would “emote.”
I used to LOVE Linda’s eyes, but I could never figure out her nose. Was that a nose job gone wrong or just naturally unique?
I liked Cindy as a kid because she seemed very fun…American spirit, if you will.
Yes thank you. Boring and sorry but who cares. Looking very mannish here. . .
cindy is gorgeous and has a great body. sad that even she has trouble accepting her body.
I just turned 44 and in her defense, I can say it is hard. Areas of the body just start to change. My knees hurt, my skin texture is different. I have cellulite in places I never did, and those few extra pounds are really hard to drop. I haven’t had kids, either. I was talking to a personal trainer and he said once a woman hits 40 the combination of hormonal changes and age really affect the body. To all you women in your 20s – wear sunscreen EVERY day, stop tanning, and don’t smoke! Cut out the heavy booze too by your 30s.
Yes, I am 43 and for my whole life before I turned 40, I was able to eat anything I wanted and not gain any weight. People used to ask me, “Where do you put it?”.
Once I turned 40, though, an extra ten pounds came along and just attached themselves to my body. I eat less nowadays, but I weigh more. I tried losing those ten pounds but it was almost impossible – as CC says, I would not have been able to eat anything even remotely enjoyable! Also, even though I have gained weight, my behind has disappeared. What’s up with that???
So, yeah, after age 40 basically the wheels come off. I hear where she’s coming from.
OMG, love that term “when the wheels come off.” I just weighed myself a few days ago and was shocked to see I gained 10 pounds in the last 6 months. I started doing more cardio. I’m a little depressed!
It gets worse after 50 – menopause really affects your looks in all sorts of subtle ways. Even if you lose the pounds that tend to pile on, the weight tends to be distributed differently.
Well the only alternative is to die young and leave a beautiful corpse. So enjoy whatever time of life you are in!
@ Cazzie-I laughed at your comment about your butt vanishing after 40. I’m 40 and am not any slimmer now than I was at 25 or 30 but my ass has really disappeared. I used to have a small but shapely butt and now it’s just small and kind of flat:(
I felt like as soon as I hit 40 (I’m 43 now), I had to run twice as much for the same results!
(edited because I made myself 45 with just a quick typo!!!)
Yeah I was the same, no weight problems at all until I was in my 40’s. I was the same size from the age of 21 to about 42. Pretty good run. I never worried about food, burned off what I ate, ate what I wanted. Then all of a sudden, I just started packing on the pounds. Gained 20 pounds without really noticing. I have lost the weight but it is super easy to put back on. Don’t get me started on the aches and pains. Sigh, aging ain’t for wimps.
Cindy Crawford is one of my favourite supermodels. She is sooo freaking beautiful. You don’t have to think about whether or not she actually is. I like how she is aging too. If she is Botoxing, it hasnt ruined her look.
That last shot.. she looks like she’s cranking out a fart lol
In the 4th pic she looks horribly cross eyed!
The first one is an awful pose!
IMO she has a weird sneer in all of the pics except the last one.
That’s a pretty good interview. I especially like the part about how business has changed – no one talks anymore.
But I really do not like that top pose for anyone. I feel they look like they have a stomach ache.
According to Tyra, that’s the “hide the boobies” pose. They do it so it’s less of a T&A thing, apparently. Compare it to the poses for men’s mags, where T&A are pushed out front and center.
I guess designers think women prefer stomachaches to boobs, or something?
I really responded to that too so I looked up her birthday, she’s a year older than I am. It’s a sea change in society, these little gadgets that destroy social interactions. I have chastised my husband for distraction with his IPhone and he’s a minor offender. It has changed the way people behave and not for the better.
Aww, poor little gorgeous rich supermodel. How does she get through her day?
Sometimes I would be annoyed
that certain models – we shall not name names – could show up five hours late to a shoot and there was no consequence.”
there were consequences – the industry started importing kids from eastern Europe.
That’s a consequence of the passage of time, models must always be youthful and fresh.
She looks like Lana del Rey in those photos, LOL.
Gorgeous woman. And she sounds really intelligent. I can harzard a guess @ who those constantly late models were..
Naomi, without a doubt.
You are right-I think she was going to college to study chemical engineering then her career took off and the rest is history
She gave the same boring, generic answers that she always gives. Next.
What hope do the rest of us have when someone like Cindy Crawford is yet to come to terms with her body?
This is why I dislike supermodels. They say the most vapid things.
I remember reading an interview (can’t remember by who) and they were explaining the ins and outs of modeling. They stated that take the most insecure person you’ve ever known and multiply that by 100. Models, despite being gorgeous (obviously) are some of the most painfully self-hating human beings on earth.
It was such a wake up call to read that and realize how these women view themselves.
Actors and actresses too are notoriously insecure. People assume that people who put themselves forward have deep wells of self-confidence but it’s rarely so.
Why hasn’t she accepted her body??? That’s crazy. She’s a few years older than me (I’m 42) and I’ve certainly accepted my body, both faults and strengths. Most women I know in their 40s feel the same way.
Besides, most of us have too damn much to do to sit around analyzing how we feel about our bodies like we did in our 20s.
I think it doesn’t even look like her in a couple of pictures. But she looks pretty good for 40 plus. I wonder if she will like George Clooney’s new girlfriend? Stacy Keibler hasn’t gone off to Britain she is staying low and pretending she and George are ok so people don’t notice they have split. LOL Cindy is probably one of the smartest models she very quickly worked out she wasn’t an actress (and for that alone I thank her) but she has worked hard on her brand and it’s paid off. The interview is a good one at least she isn’t moaning about being so pretty and how hard life is like Cameron does.
I think the turkey that was FAIR GAME was convincing proof to everyone including Cindy that acting wasn’t her thing.
Yes Cindy C YASSSS!!!!!! WERK.
Her fitness DVD is still one of my favorites.
Best fitness dvd ever!! Time to start doing it again!!
Odd.. I’m getting Lana Del Rey vibes, she’s 0ver-done something bad, make-up?..
Have you ever looked at her official twitter page it is all about how great she looked in the past. Deep down I think she will have a problem with not being in the spot light. For some women it is hard for them to think that their life is going to be different entering their 50s rather than that their beauty is over .
I think she’s doing better than most.
No, you don’t keep on the extra five pounds so you can eat some food you enjoy and have a drink. Keep it on for your face. You have an angular or kind of square face. Five pounds off your face in your late forties would make you look older.
Plus,her body is hot. Remember the photo of her walking in jeans and a cute blouse and jacket. But I do understand her. We all have the weight that allows us to fit in everything we have and never stress when we open the closet door to look for an outfit.
Yup. At some point you choose and frankly I think women who don’t choose the weight for their face make a mistake.
I’d choose to save my ass, not my face!
Not everyone ages the same way. Some look better with the extra pounds, some look better lean.
Cindy has always been a smart business woman who knew what she sold and how to brand herself. It took her far as a model and it has kept her relevant even now. I’ve always liked her bc at least I can respect her smarts.
“Come to terms with her body”. Lets look at that for a second~she has one of the best bodies in the world, and this DYSMORPHIC body image she has shows just how sick our society is regarding a mentally healthy body image. This is so wrong, on so many levels~THIS is what we are raising our children to be, to believe that the exterior package is paramount, so much so that the interior aspects such as healthy body image are damaged and warped. Tragic, and a tragedy.
Or it’s natural for people to have on and off days. Being a supermodel doesn’t mean you think of yourself the way everybody else thinks of you. She sees her body more than anyone else, which means she knows better than anyone else what is changing and how. It’s not tragic or a tragedy, and to say it is is to blow the topic and what she said way out of proportion.
Bingo.
To be fair, she spent a good portion of her life in the most brutal and superficial industry there is: the fashion world.
I do agree that the pressure on women to be physically perfect at all times is outrageous though.
Uhh, that’s not what dysmorphia is. If she had that, she would stay as far away from modeling as she could get.
You don’t understand body image dysmorphia if you think Cindy Crawford suffers from it. I will grant you that she is in a superficial industry and I do not agree with elevating physical beauty above other qualities but she seems to be a fairly well adjusted individual. If you want someone who suffered from dysmorphia look no further than the late King of Pop.
I hate how they angled her face. Can’t she look more natural in her poses. She’s still beautiful tho but the poses are horrible.
You know who my favourite supermodel is? Beverly Johnson.
Oh yeah, she’s amazingly beautiful!
Its sad that it should take a woman THAT LONG to like herself. But she probably meant it differently in the full context and in the light of growing older.
I also thought she looked a little masculine.
Well, if Cindy FREAKIN’ Crawford hasn’t come to terms with her body, how the hell am I ever going to? lol
Might as well give up and eat the damn Milky Way bar.
Cindy Crawford is a woman just like you. The fact that she is or was a supermodel shows what other people think of her looks, not what she thinks of her looks, or how she feels about herself from day to day.
How she feels about herself has nothing to do with how you feel about yourself, unless you make a connection between the two that really doesn’t exist.
Look at it this way: people are usually their own worst critics. We see ourselves in ways other people don’t usually see us simply because we are in our bodies and have to deal with them day in and day out. Now, if you can look at Crawford or any other woman and not see the flaws she sees, or not see them as flaws at all, doesn’t it stand to reason that what you don’t like about yourself isn’t actually a problem and may not be seen as flaws by most other people?
This isn’t a reason to give up. This is confirmation that most people have things they don’t like about themselves, no matter how beautiful other people think they are, and there is no sense in being too upset about those supposed flaws. Fix what you can so that you’re more comfortable, and don’t obsess about the rest because your beautiful anyway.
By the time she’s 50? That’s really, really sad, and also a sad commentary on our society. Even a supermodel is at bad terms with her own body, and doesn’t think she can “come to terms” with it before FIFTY.
No one should ever feel they have to “come to terms” with a healthy body, no matter what shape or size it is. Just sad.
This isn’t a society thing. Supermodels are people just like you, me, and everybody else. That means they have doubts about their looks. It’s normal to have those feelings. Heck, being a model can make one more insecure about ones looks, so this really shouldn’t be a surprise.
Crawford being a supermodel says that other people think she’s beautiful. It doesn’t mean that she thinks she’s as beautiful as you or anyone else thinks she is.
I can’t help it. I still love her. She was my favourite model when I was a teenager and I still have a soft spot for her now.
WHAT A LOSER OF A STATEMENT.
I’m not a fan of hers but the photos are well done and tasteful.
This statement is just plain sad.