Κate Moss
Marie Claire Australia|February 2024
She's the world's most unlikely supermodel, one who changed fashion forever. As she turns 50, we look at how the style icon has shed her infamous partying for a more grounded existence
By Alexandra English
Κate Moss

In 1993, 19-year-old Kate Moss told an interviewer, “I don’t want to carry on modelling as long as Lauren Hutton.” Hutton was 50 – the same age that Moss turns on January 16. Moss is still modelling (and, for the record, so is Hutton), walking Bottega Veneta’s spring/summer 2023 runway in Milan and fronting Kim Kardashian’s latest Skims underwear campaign. “Kate is the fashion icon,” said Kardashian. “She has a timeless influence that continues to define whole generations of culture and style.”

There’s no denying Moss has incredible staying power. For 35 years, the famously private model’s motto, “Never complain, never explain,” has seen her thrive through intense criticism about her body, doomed relationships with Hollywood stars and musicians, and a drug scandal. She has long been one of the world’s highest-paid and most in-demand models.

Moss was 14 when the founder of the model agency Storm Management, Sarah Doukas, spotted her at JFK airport in New York. The teenager with “God-given bone structure” and newly divorced parents was flying home from a holiday in The Bahamas. Moss and her mother, Linda, were surprised. Moss was barely 170cm tall – short for a model – with a crooked smile, snaggle-tooth and freckled face. “I wasn’t the prettiest girl in class,” Moss said later. “No breasts, short legs, gangly teeth. I didn’t think I was model material, that’s for sure.”

Fashion was a world away from where she lived in Croydon, south London, with Linda, a part-time barmaid, and Moss’ father, Peter, who worked for the Pan Am airline, and little brother, Nick.

Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA MARIE CLAIRE AUSTRALIASe alt
SHANNEN DOHERTY
Marie Claire Australia

SHANNEN DOHERTY

The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2024
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Marie Claire Australia

IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA

Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
Back to EARTH
Marie Claire Australia

Back to EARTH

In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
ODE to LIGHT
Marie Claire Australia

ODE to LIGHT

Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
JEN ATKIN
Marie Claire Australia

JEN ATKIN

The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
A NEW DIRECTION
Marie Claire Australia

A NEW DIRECTION

When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2024
LADY LUCK
Marie Claire Australia

LADY LUCK

Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Marie Claire Australia

Wait... superhero movies are cool now?

Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
CURTAIN CALLING
Marie Claire Australia

CURTAIN CALLING

Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
LEIGH-ANNE
Marie Claire Australia

LEIGH-ANNE

The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024