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A lot of people have been called supermodels over time, but what does it really mean and who were the real supermodels?

The term supermodel entered popular culture in the 1980s and 1990s. Even though, back in 1960s and 70s, some top models of the time were on occasion referred to as supermodels, the term didn’t reach widespread use until later. While the very first supermodel is generally considered to have been Lisa Fonssagrives, who appeared on the cover of hundreds of magazines in the 1930s to 50s, the true supermodel era did not start until half a century later.

The supermodels of the 80s and 90s were the elite of the modelling industry - they had multi-million dollar contracts, worked for the top fashion designers and had instant name (and face) recognition that went way beyond the fashion industry. Not only were they models, they were also spokespersons, celebrities and stars in their own right... each of them was truly a brand by herself.

Some people believe that this level of fame also caused the decline in the supermodel era – the supermodels became too famous and too difficult for the designers to conveniently deal with. A popular conspiracy theory suggests that top designers started to act together to reduce the impact any single model could have in the industry. Statements such as "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day" by Linda Evangelista (sometimes quoted as "I don't get out of bed for less than...") and “We don’t ‘vogue’; we are vogue” probably contributed to this theory.

A much more prosaic, and probably more plausible explanation was that with the globalization, the availability of new talent increased manifold – with new models from Eastern Europe and Latin America hitting the scene, but lacking the background to win the hearts and imagination of the mainly English speaking fashion consumers. In any case, since then, the pop singers, actresses and celebrities have been taking over the magazine covers.

Many models were referred to as supermodels during the supermodel era, but only the "Big Six" were officially recognized by the fashion world as true supermodels: Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington. Some others include Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks – and in more recent time, Gisele Bündchen, the world’s highest earning supermodel.

Christy Turlington
Born: January 2, 1969
Origin: United States
Height: 5 ft 10 in
Was discovered in Miami, Florida and started modelling after school at age 14. She then moved to New York City to model full-time, after graduating from high school. Some of her famous campaigns include Calvin Klein fragrances, Maybelline and Giorgio Armani. Even though considered one of the official supermodels, Christy often distanced herself from that label.

Cindy Crawford
Born: February 20, 1966
Origin: United States
Height: 5 ft 9 in
Got interested in modelling at age 15 and as the story goes, was discovered at age 16 by a newspaper photographer, who too ka few photos of her while she was at work during her summer job of pollinating corn. Those photos and the positive feedback was enough to get her interested in modelling. After graduating from high school with a 4.0 GPA, she entered Northwestern University, but soon dropped out to pursue a full time career in modelling. She was married to the actor Richard Gere between 1991 and 1995.

Claudia Schiffer
Born: August 25, 1970
Origin: Germany
Height: 5 ft 11 in
At age 17, she was spotted in a nightclub in Düsseldorf by Michel Levaton, the boss of Metropolitan Model Agency who signed her up to become a model. She has appeared on over 500 magazine covers and her net worth has been estimated to £38 million in 2002 by Forbes Magazine. She was engaged to the magician David Copperfield for about six years before a break-up in 1999.

Gisele Bündchen
Born: July 20, 1980
Origin: Brazil
Height: 5 ft 10.5 in
Gisel was born in a family with strong German roots. At age 13, she joined a modelling course and one year later was discovered in a shopping mall in São Paulo. She has since then gone on to become the world’s richest supermodel (according to Guiness Book of records) with a wealth in hundreds of millions of dollars. Currently the face of more than 20 brands all across the world she is sometimes considered as the only “real” supermodel succeeding the official six.

Heidi Klum
Born: June 1, 1973
Origin: Germany
Height: 5 ft 9.5 in
At age 18, entered and won a Germany wide modelling contest in 1992 and subsequently went on to become one of the top models worldwide. She is known for her modelling for Victoria’s Secret and is currently hosting the “Germany’s Next Top Model” alongside her modelling work. She’s married to the singer Seal.

Kate Moss
Born: 16 January 1974
Origin: United Kingdom
Height: 5 ft 5.75 in
Kate Moss was discovered at the age of 14 by the founder of Storm Model Management in 1988, at JFK Airport in New York City. She immediately created a huge media wave, as her waifish figure was seen as unhealthily thin, especially in contrast to the other supermodels of the time. While having remained a fashion icon for the past two decades, Kate Moss is also constantly mentioned in the tabloids for her partying lifestyle and alleged cocaine use.

Linda Evangelista
Born: May 10, 1965
Origin: Canada
Height: 5 ft 9.5 in
Linda was discovered by a talent agent at the 1978 Miss Teen Niagara Contest. She later moved to New York City, signing with Elite Model Management and then to Paris, to further her career. Linda was sometimes considered as one of the key figures in a sort of unofficial “models union”, pushing for better wages and projects for the models. Her trademark characteristic was the frequent changes in hairstyle - her famous short cut (which shocked the fashion industry) immediately copied by women worldwide.

Naomi Campbell
Born: May 22, 1970
Origin: United Kingdom
Height: 5 ft 9.5 in
Born in the family of a ballet dancer, Naomi studied ballet in school. She was spotted at age 15 while window-shopping in Covent Gardens. Initially starting out with catwalk, she then followed up with several high profile advertising campaigns, finally reaching the status of one of the six official supermodels. In the past several years, her personal life has been characterized by many scandals and lawsuits, where she has been accused of excessive verbal and physical violence against others.

Tyra Banks
Born: December 4, 1973
Origin: United States
Height: 5 ft 10 in
Starting her career in modelling in 1988, she created quite a stir in Paris – getting an unprecedented number of shows as a newcomer for her first season. Her career quickly took off, with shows all over the world – Paris, Milan, London, New York, Tokyo. Tyra also made appearances in TV, including Fresh Prince in Bel Air, which contributed to her popularity. She had her own talk show and in the past several years, she has been producing and hosting “Americas Next Top Model”.

Christy Turlington	Cindy Crawford	Claudia Schiffer
Gisele Bündchen	Heidi Klum	Kate Moss
Linda Evangelista	Naomi Campbell	Tyra Banks