The most iconic supermodel the year you were born, from Twiggy to Tyra Banks (2024)

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Throughout the years, the face of the modeling industry has changed.

Today, more plus-size and diverse models are walking the runway than ever before, signaling how the body-positivity movement has impacted fashion.

We decided to look back at some of the most famous models throughout history and the impact they had on the industry. We also determined the year in which they were arguably at the top of their game.

From Twiggy in the '60s to Gisele Bündchen in the '90s and 2000s, these models have certainly left their mark.

1950: Jean Patchett was a leading model throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

She was said to have defined the era when it came to beauty.

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1951: Mary Jane Russell appeared on the cover of many issues of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

According to The New York Times, she achieved success despite being shorter than other models at only 5 feet 6 inches.

1952: Georgia Hamilton appeared on the cover of Life magazine.

She was a popular fashion model during the 1940s and 1950s.

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1953: Cherry Nelms was one of the favorite muses of photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe.

She was a top model during the 1950s.

1954: Sunny Harnett was a model frequently photographed by Richard Avedon during the height of her modeling career in the mid-1950s.

She was also frequently photographed by Edgar de Evia.

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1955: Dovima was a well-known American model during the 1950s and even appeared as a model in the Audrey Hepburn film, "Funny Face."

A Richard Avedon photograph of Dovima with elephants at a Paris circus in 1955 is one of the most famous fashion photographs of all time, according to Time 100 Photos.

1956: Evelyn Tripp was well known during the 1950s and 1960s.

According to The New York Times, she was known especially for her remarkably high cheekbones.

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1957: Suzy Parker was an American actress and model.

She was reportedly the first model to earn $100,000 per year, which would be $922,000 today, according to Vanity Fair.

1958: Marilyn Monroe is one of the best-known actresses of all time.

However, she also modeled throughout her life.

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1959: Dolores Hawkins was a singer and model who appeared on a number of magazine covers during the late 1950s.

She appeared on Glamour, Vogue, and Mademoiselle.

1960: Sondra Peterson was so popular during her career that she was featured in the May 1960 issue of Seventeen in an article titled, "How to Look Like Sondra Peterson."

She was signed with Ford Models.

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1961: Dorothy McGowan appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and Glamour during the 1960s.

She was also photographed by Richard Avedon.

1962: Brigitte Bardot was an actress and part-time model who gained fame.

According to Biography, Bardot was known for portraying more sexualized characters during the height of the sexual revolution.

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1963: The daughter of a German resistance fighter, Veruschka reportedly used modeling as a way to escape her tumultuous childhood.

Veruschka had "seemingly endless limbs and torso, more willowy than a summer river bank" and "a face that could vacillate between little girl lost and imperious Romanov princess," according to The Rake.

1964: Tania Mallet is an English actress and model known for playing James Bond's love interest in the 1964 film, "Goldfinger."

Mallet appeared in the third "Bond" movie, widely considered one of the best.

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1965: Jean Shrimpton is regarded as one of the most notable supermodels in history.

... and as one of the most defining faces of the decade.

1966: Twiggy gained her famous nickname from her thin frame, and she quickly became a household name during the swinging '60s and mod era in London.

"I had a look — I can see that now — but I don't think I was beautiful," Twiggy told the Guardian in 2009, "Much too thin."

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1967: Pat Booth was an English model.

She stood out for her more "punk" look during the late '60s.

1968: Naomi Sims has been called the first Black supermodel, largely in part to her landing the cover of Ladies Home Journal in 1968.

Sims' appearance on the cover was a "consummate moment of the Black is Beautiful movement," reported The New York Times in her 2009 obituary.

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1969: Cristina Ferrare signed with Eileen Ford when she was 20.

She graced the covers of multiple magazines.

1970: Karen Graham was the exclusive face of Estée Lauder for 15 years.

This made her the first model to win a beauty contract, Estée or otherwise.

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1971: Before she was a musician, Grace Jones walked runways.

She secured a modeling contract aged 18 and made waves after moving to Paris in 1970.

1972: Marisa Berenson appeared on the covers of Vogue and Time magazine.

Yves Saint Laurent even dubbed her the "girl of the '70s," according to the Telegraph.

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1973: Lauren Hutton signed her million-dollar contract with Revlon in 1973.

It was the biggest contract in modeling history, according to Interview Magazine.

1974: Before she was an actress, Rene Russo was a successful model who appeared on the cover of Vogue nine times.

According to the publication, Russo "stood for a sexiness that was both accessible and aspirational."

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1975: Cheryl Tiegs made the cover of Sports Illustrated three times, including in 1975, which made her the "Golden Girl of the '70s."

Her most iconic photoshoot was yet to come, in 1978.

1976: The iconic poster of Farrah Fawcett in her red bathing suit was released in 1976. It sold 20 million copies, making it the best-selling poster of all time.

The swimsuit is now in the Smithsonian, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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1977: Jerry Hall was, and still is, a successful model and tabloid fixture.

At the time, she was dating Mick Jagger and regularly seen at New York City hotspot, Studio 54.

1978: Patti Hansen was called the "successor to Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs," after she landed an 81-by-24-foot billboard in Times Square for Calvin Klein.

Hansen has been married to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards since 1983.

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1979: During her short life, Gia Carangi appeared on many magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan and Vogue in 1979, and was one of the first openly LGBTQ models.

Sadly, she died just a few years later in 1986 at the age of 26 due to AIDS-related complications. Angelina Jolie played Carangi in the 1998 film "Gia."

1980: Brooke Shields made headlines when she appeared in a Calvin Klein campaign at the young age of 15.

Shields is primarily an actress now, and recently starred in the 2021 Netflix holiday rom-com "A Castle for Christmas."

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1981: Iman remains a household name to this day.

She was at the height of her modeling career during the early 1980s.

1982: Renee Simonsen was chosen to represent Denmark in the 1982 Eileen Ford Supermodel contest and won.

Simonson appeared on the cover of Vogue five times.

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1983: Christie Brinkley was well known throughout the '70s and '80s.

She was loved for her sporty, girl-next-door look — and her marriage to rock star Billy Joel.

1984: Carol Alt appeared on over 500 magazine covers throughout the 1980s.

Her covers included Vogue,Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia, Mademoiselle, Elle, and Cosmopolitan.

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1985: By the mid-1980s, Beverly Johnson was a household name after breaking boundaries in the '70s.

In 1974, Beverly Johnson became the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue.

1986: Janice Dickinson has been called the first official supermodel after she coined the phrase during an interview.

New generations may know Dickinson best as one of the original judges on "America's Next Top Model."

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1987: Elle Macpherson solidified her place as an icon after appearing for the second time on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue in 1987.

She's famously known as "The Body."

1988: Paulina Porizkova made headlines after signing what was then the highest-paying modeling contract.

The contract was $6 million per year as the face of Estée Lauder.

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1989: Kathy Ireland's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover remains one of the magazine's most-sold issues to date.

The cover, not pictured, was taken in 1989.

1990: Christy Turlington shot to fame after appearing in Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign the year before.

"Oh gosh, it's so funny. But there's nothing that hasn't happened before, guys. In the '80s we were all doing the '60s. In the '90s, we were doing the '70s," Turlington told Elle, regarding the resurgence of '90s fashion.

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1991: Kate Moss marked a change in the industry with her waifish look.

She remains one of the world's most recognizable models.

1992: Cindy Crawford became one of the most popular models of the '80s and '90s.

Her daughter, Kaia Gerber, is now a popular model as well.

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1993: Fabio Lanzoni was the world's highest-paid male model in 1993. He made millions of dollars per year and is most famous for being on the covers of many romance novels.

His iconic hairstyle is still remembered in 2021.

1994: Claudia Schiffer became a household name after working on a 1994 Chanel campaign.

"The industry has grown a lot. There are more jobs, but fashion changes much faster now. The longevity of a new model's career can be very short," Schiffer told Dazed Digital in 2013.

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1995: Linda Evangelista is one of the most accomplished models of all time, and has appeared on more than 700 magazine covers throughout her career.

Evangelista recently said she had been "left brutally disfigured" by a cosmetic body-sculpting procedure known as CoolSculpting. She's suing CoolSculpting's maker, Zeltiq Aesthetics.

1996: Tyra Banks made history as the first Black model to be on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover alongside Valeria Mazza.

The next year, she would be the first Black model to land a solo cover.

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1997: Karen Mulder appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 1997.

Mulder was on the cover of Vogue nine times.

1998: Naomi Campbell was one of the most in-demand models of the '90s, as well as the highest-paid Black model throughout much of the decade.

"Everything we wore and every restaurant we went to was written about in the papers. It seemed weird to us that people should care. We couldn't walk down the street without people chasing us. I remember we once went shopping in Rome and we couldn't get out of the store because there were so many fans. The police had to come and rescue us," Campbell wrote in her book "Naomi. Updated Edition."

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1999: Heidi Klum cemented her "it girl" status after being featured in the New York Time's "A Night Out With" column in 1999.

You can read the article here.

2000: Gisele Bündchen is known as one of the world's most iconic supermodels.

She was also one of the highest-paid models during the 2000s.

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2001: Adriana Lima was one of the most popular models on the runway by 2001.

She appeared in her first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1999.

2002: Vogue Paris dedicated an entire issue to Liya Kebede.

She returned to the cover of the magazine in 2015.

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2003: Gemma Ward met Miuccia Prada at the designer's request and made her Prada runway debut that season.

She was just 15 or 16 at the time — by 2007, at age 19, she was one of the highest paid models in the world.

2004: Natalia Vodianova appeared on her first American Vogue cover in 2004.

She was alongside Gisele Bündchen and Daria Werbowy, who were all regarded by Anna Wintour as "the future of the business."

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2005: Alessandra Ambrosio wowed the world by walking in the Victoria's Secret Fashion show as an official "Angel."

It was only a year after her debut in the televised program.

2006: Coco Rocha appeared on the February cover of Vogue Italia, a benchmark for any supermodel.

In 2018, Rocha opened the Coco Rocha Model Camp for young models.

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2007: Miranda Kerr became the first Australian Victoria's Secret angel.

Kerr now runs her own skincare brand, KORA Organics.

2008: Male model and actor Boris Kodjoe made his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Kodjoe now stars on the "Grey's Anatomy" firefighter spin-off "Station 19."

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2009: A young Karlie Kloss landed multiple coveted modeling campaigns this year.

She was the face of campaigns for Alexander McQueen, Lacoste, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, and Marc Jacobs' Lola fragrance, according to StyleCaster.

2010: Chanel Iman became a Victoria's Secret Angel after walking the runway for Burberry, Tom Ford, Gucci, Balenciaga, Max Mara, and more.

"Modeling is the only job I've ever had. My very first job was an editorial shoot forTeen magazine when I was 13," Iman told Us Weekly in October 2021.