At 57, Cindy Crawford Takes Back Her Throne: From Supermodel to Supermom & Back

Cindy Crawford IS BACK! But the great thing is, the top supermodel has never been out of the limelight.

From catwalks to ads to commercials and beauty empires, the woman who doesn't need a last name, the woman whose mole could launch a thousand ships, is back on her throne – er, cover – in the Vogue September issue. And Cindy Crawford 2023 is just as amazing as Cindy 1993

Joining her are the few other women that also don't need a last name; Naomi, Linda, and Christy. Now all in their 50s, they models talk about the wild fashion world in the 90s, being 'just a mom' now and their feelings on aging.

It's no secret, that nearly all of the top paid models of the 2010s and 2020s are (here comes the buzzword of the year) ✨ nepo babies ✨.

No matter how much you may love Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and Kendall Jenner, the original 90s supermodels were truly a breed of their own. There is no arguing with the science.

They could simply never do what they did:

"The Big 5," ruled the catwalk during the 90s – their faces on every magazine cover, perfume ad, and billboard as far as the eye could see,

Who Were The "Big 5"?

The Big 5 – or the cast ofGeorge Michael's "Freedom"music video, if you prefer–was the moniker for the group of the 5 biggest supermodels of the '90s. These are truly the women that the 'supermodel' moniker was coined for.

The Big 5 were Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and of course, Naomi Campbell. They added one to the party later on with the arrival of Kate Moss and became The Big 6.

So just how big of a deal were these supermodels?

Well, as Linda Evangelista famously said, "I don't get out of bed for less than $10, 000 a day," which feels like a telling gauge.

And it's true that, as someone with a BMI teetering on the danger zone, who has almost exclusively gotten out of bed for less than $10 a day, I don't relate.

But obsessed with her power! 😉

How Cindy Crawford Became One of the 90s Top Supermodels

Cindy Crawford grew up in a small town in Illinois – and I can't stress enough that I'm not exaggerating – shucking corn. So gorgeous and down to earth? Got it.

In her sophomore year at high school, Cindy Crawford received a call from a local clothing store asking her to model their products...only to discover it was a prank by two of her classmates.

But the joke was obviously on them because:

a) What a strange prank to pull on your objectively gorgeous classmate??

b) They were only helping Cindy Crawford ✨ manifest ✨ her destiny.

BECAUSE, the following year, a clothing store was actually hiring young women for a fashion shoot, and Cindy Crawford was one of them!

Photographer Roger Legel, whose main hustle was photographing college girls for magazines, (the local Terry Richardson if you will) took this now-famous photo of Crawford:

The fashion icon credits the shoot as as her first official cover, and the catalyst for her career.

The positive feedback Crawford received, encouraged her to join a small modeling agency (which would shortly after be acquired by Elite Model Management).

In 1983, Crawford entered Elite's Look of the Year contest at 17 and made the national finals. By '86 Crawford relocated to New York City to pursue a full-time professional modeling career.

Not only did Crawford have no problem securing work, but the in the same year she landed the coveted spot as a VOGUE cover model (August 1986 issue).

VOGUE famously chose not to airbrush Cindy Crawford's mole. No, this doesn't seem groundbreaking per se, but at the time, Crawford's beauty mark was seen as a blemish. The creative decision to not alter Crawford's appearance was a wise one, as that same "blemish" would become the supermodel's signature feature.

Take Note: If we've learned anything from Jennifer Grey it's that we shouldn't mess with a good thing!

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After landing the VOGUE cover, the rest was history. Cindy Crawford solidified her spot in the Supermodel Hall of Fame, and to this day the ageless beauty continues to turn heads!

But fans would be surprised to know the 5' 9" bombshell almost didn't pursue a career in modeling, for this shocking reason!

Cindy Crawford Was Almost A Chemical Engineer

Crawford has both brains and beauty. In 1984, Crawford graduated from her high school as Valedictorian and earned herself a full-ride scholarship to Northwestern University (one of the top 10 institutions in the U.S.) to study chemical engineering.

All we need to know is that we can be thankful every day Cindy Crawford never made it to Chem Engineering 101 because every nerd would have had a heart attack on site!

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But don't underestimate her! Even though the supermodel traded in books for bookings – she kept her wits about her.

In fact, Cindy Crawford is as notorious for her business savvy as she is her beauty.

Cindy Crawford was one of the first models to capitalize on her star status and endeavour a lucrative investment portfolio. In the 90s, she launched her own production company to exclusively manage her career, Crawdaddy Inc.

Putting Her Muscle Into Building a Fitness Empire!

Cindy Crawford took a page out of Jane Fonda's book when she released the first instalment of her her fitness video trilogy: Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body Workout (1992).

For obvious reasons, Cindy Crawford's at-home-workout fitness videos sold millions of copies (and one more 15 seconds ago).

Decades later? Her 7-minute arm-workouts still hold upand Cindy Crawford now isn't afraid to show it!

When asked if daughter Kaia Gerber (who is following in mom's footsteps with an already lucrative modeling career) has tried out her iconic fitness routine, Crawford had this to say:

Kaia Gerber has the right idea. I vote for Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body Workout (2023 Edition)!

What it Means To Be Beautiful: Cindy Crawford's Product Lines, "Meaningful Beauty"

Meaningful Beauty is Cindy Crawford's beauty line, dedicated to launching products for all kinds of women with all kinds of skin types!

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The VOGUE cover model-turned-entrepreneur founded Meaningful Beauty, so other women could have access to all the tricks she learned over the years.

Alongside aesthetic specialist Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh, Crawford shares all her skincare and haircare secrets with the purchase of her subscription-based product line.

Cindy Crawford now celebrates over 18 years of Meaningful Beauty and the 5 Million+ Women who have trusted the results.

But Crawford has also spoken openly about her own cosmetic procedures like Botox and lasers.

"I’m not going to lie to myself, past a certain age, creams work on the texture of your skin but, in order to restore elasticity, all I can really count on is vitamin injections, botox, and collagen."

Cindy Crawford, InStyle. 

Blue Jeans, White Shirt, and the 1992 Superbowl: The All-American Beauty's Current Collaborations, and Partnerships.

Cindy Crawford will always be a blue jeans and white t-shirt kind of girl. She's just classic that, like Cherry Pie or...Pepsi at The Super Bowl 😉

So it was only fitting (pun intended) that Crawford was the one to bring back an old-school classic, in a new way!

One day while scrolling on Instagram, she decided to follow her daughter, Kaia Gerber's favourite denim company RE/DONE. RE/DONE is a sustainable denim company that repurposes vintage jeans without compromising on style, and after following them, Cindy Crawford was inspired to post a #TBT in a pair of then-vintage jeans!

Her caption read: "Working that @shopredone look before @redone was even born"

It wasn't long before RE/DONE founders reached out to Crawford and pitched collaborating on "The Crawford" jean.

Ahead of the release, Crawford's collectionhad a waitlist! Everyone was trying to get their butts in a pair of the perfect pair of jeans, because "vintage" and "flattering" often don't go hand it hand.

You gotta give it to her, Cindy Crawford knows her denim! But turns out Cindy Crawford isn't the only one in her family who's got a taste for the trends.

Cindy Crawford and Husband Rande Gerber Have a Sense of Humor

Cindy Crawford's husband, Rande Gerber have more in common than the same postal code. Just like his wife, Gerber is also a former-model-turned-entrepreneur! And is killing it.

The American businessman most famously founded Casa Migos; the preferred tequila company of the stars, alongside A-Lister bestie George Clooney!

Casa Migos was making headlines again, when That Chick Angel of TikTok's song of the summer "One Margarita" fame, released her music video that puts a tequila twist on an old classic. Cindy Crawford stuns in the 2023 "One Margarita" Music Video.

Over 30 years later the brunette bombshell recreates the iconic fashion moments of her 1992 Pepsi Super Bowl commercial – she's just f*cking hot!

The opening scene features the gorgeous Crawford sipping a Casa Migos margarita and looking better at 57 years old than most could ever hope to look.

Fun fact: Casa Migos is valued at over 1 Billion Dollars. Gerber alone is estimated to have a net worth sitting around $400 Million – this is not including Crawford's own estimated net worth of $225 Million.

So, yeah. The two most beautiful people with brains found each other and started an empire. Good for them. The Gerber-Crawford clan must truly be outstanding individuals with hearts of gold because on top of their combined net worth of over $650 Million, their children aren't even ugly.

You would think: "No way. uh uh. God don't play that way. Kid's gonna look like an Alabama 2/10" The kids are Los Angeles 10s.

The Audacity Of This Family!!

Cindy Crawford's Family Life: From Kaia Gerber to Presley Walker Gerber

Look at these guys. Cindy Crawford has two children, daughter Kaia Gerber, 21, and Presley Walker Gerber, 23.

Kaia may be the more recognizable of the two children for both being twins with her mom and a budding modeling and acting career. Kaia won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards and has appeared in ads ranging from Omega to Chanel to Jimmy Choo. Making her debut on the runway at just 16, Kaia still has a ways to go to fill her mom's shoes – but she damn close.

Presley Walker Gerber, also a model, and a massive fan of tattoos, has become an advocate for mental health education. Rather publicly, the eldest child of Crawford and Gerber, Presley, suffered from depression, addiction and other mental health issues.

“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do.”

Above all else, at least from the outside, it appears the Crawford is an incredibly supportive mom.

Crawford is actively involved in her children's lives. Even when it comes down to sharing clothes. Crawford was quick to share a video roaming the empty halls of a hotel, in daughter Kaia's 2022 Zara Collection, and it's frankly disgusting how good she looks in a tight, all-white.

She then writes "thanks @kaiagerber for sharing your @zara collab with me!"

Cindy don't you dare! She should be thanking you for sharing your GENETICS with her! No, it's crazy. The mother-daughter duo look alarmingly similar.

Presley Walker Gerber, also a model, and a massive fan of tattoos has become an advocate for mental health education. Rather publicly, the eldest child of Crawford and Gerber, Presley, suffered from depression, addiction and other mental health issues.

'What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people, so they don't have to make the same mistakes that I made.'

Cindy Crawford Pushing Boundaries in Her 50s

In the Vogue September issue, Crawford jokes that she is just “Kaia’s mom” now, referring to her famous 21-year-old daughter. But landing the cover of the coveted Vogue issue, being a very successful entrepreneur, and still booking campaigns at 57 seems like more than just one thing.

While she may have been joking, Crawford raises an interesting point for many women with families; the feeling of only being someone else's mom and losing your own identity. But just like Crawford, we are all more than one thing, one side, one passion and it's time to take back that spot on our own metaphorical cover.