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Kate Moss at 40: A modelling career in pictures
The supermodel who redefined the rules of the game turns 40. We bring you some of the landmark moments of her career that spans more than quarter of a century.
From being spotted at the JFK airport at 14.
To redefining trends in the business.
To being rejected by the industry.
To making a comeback...
... And becoming one of the highest paid models.
To being immortalised in pure gold.
To being Playboy's 60th anniversary cover girl.
We present some of the key moments in Kate Moss's career as she turns 40 today.
Kate Moss at 40: A modelling career in pictures
While she was returning from a vacation in the Bahamas, Kate was spotted by Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm Model Management, at JFK Airport. At the time, she was 14.
But it wasn't until a couple of years later that Kate's career took off.
Her breakthrough was this shoot for the now defunct British magazine, The Face.
Shot by the late Corinne Day, Kate's black-and-white photographs were scandalous for their time (she was just 16 and had posed topless) but they would also help her bag her first major fashion campaign -- Calvin Klein, with model Mark Wahlberg.
Beating the curve
At a time when tall, curvaceous models like Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer ruled the roost, Kate -- with her waif-like figure and bare bones -- became the face of the 'anti-supermodel' trend in the 1990s.
"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," she (in)famously said in 2009 and immediately came under fierce criticism for encouraging anorexia and eating disorders.
The Covergirl
Since her first cover in 1990, Kate has graced the front page of more than 300 magazine issues. Of these, she's been on cover of Vogue 33 times.
Corinne Day, who shot her for The Face, also shot Kate for her first cover for Vogue in 1993.
Cocaine Kate
In 2005, it looked like Kate's career was over when British paparazzi shot her allegedly consuming what looked like cocaine.
She issued a public apology, checked into a rehabilitation clinic and lost several high-profile contracts.
Kate's agent, Sarah Doukas, came to her rescue, making calls to all her major clients, trying to convince them against dropping her discovery.
It worked. Before long, Kate had not only got all her campaigns back, she also doubled her income!
Moss, the ghost
While she was still down and out, her career seemingly over, designer Alexander McQueen paid tribute to Kate when he projected an apparition of the model wearing his iconic hologram gown.
It remains, to this day, one of the most iconic moments in runway history.
Top earner
Kate is the fourth richest model in the world, according to Forbes magazine's 2013 ratings. (More on that here)
Her earnings last year were estimated at $5.7 million, made through her various endorsements of high profile brands including Mango, Rimmel and Vogue Eyewear among others.
Cigarette on the runway
Never the one to shy away from doing the darndest things, Kate made news in 2011 when she closed the Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter ready-to-wear collection by designer Marc Jacobs.
Wearing a lace jacket, boots and a pair of hotpants, Kate sassily took a puff and blew it into the crowd that went as wild as a fashion show crowd could go.
Not just a clothes hanger
Kate has been immortalised in several artworks.
In September last year, Christie's London auctioned 50 artworks featuring the supermodel. The works were collectively valued at £1 million.
In 2008, British artist Marc Quinn made an 18 carat gold statue of Kate. The largest of its kind in gold, the statue weighs 50 kg, almost the same as Kate did at the time it was made.
The men she dated
Besides Mark Wahlberg, who she posed alongside in her first major ad campaign, Kate has dated rocker Pete Doherty, publisher Jefferson Hack and Johnny Depp before she finally married guitarist-songwriter Jamie Hince in 2011.
Still has it!
When Playboy turned 60, there was no doubt about who'd be on their cover.
We wind up with this photograph of Kate Moss, who turned up the heat in the magazine's anniversary issue with an exclusive 18-page shoot by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.