Katherine Moss,
(born 16 January, 1974, Croydon, Greater London), known as Kate Moss,
is an English supermodel who is known for her waifish figure, high
profile relationships and iconic advertising campaigns. She has
appeared on over 300 magazine covers.
Biography
Moss was born in
Addiscombe, London Borough of Croydon, England. She attended Ridgeway
Primary School, then Riddlesdown High School but she was not noted for
her academic success. According to Vermorel's book "Addicted to Love:
Kate Moss" she gained one C (in Science) and all the rest were Ds, Es,
and Us at GCSE level. However, Moss did excel at sports. She was
discovered at the age of 14 by Sarah Doukas (the founder of Storm Model
Management) in 1988, at JFK Airport in New York City, after a vacation
in the Bahamas. Kate's career began when Corinne Day shot black and
white photographs of her for British magazine The Face when she was 15,
in a photo shoot titled "The Third Summer of Love". Moss then went on
to become the anti-supermodel of the 1990s in contrast to the
supermodels at the time, such as Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and
Naomi Campbell, who were known for their curvaceous and tall figures.
She ushered in the waif look in 1993 (which prompted much speculation
over her weight) with a highly publicised campaign for Calvin Klein,
including posing nude in ads for its perfume brand, Obsession.
Moss charmed the fashion industry despite her height and has modelled
for such elite houses including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis
Vuitton, Versace, Burberry, Chanel, Missoni, Dior, Longchamp and David
Yurman. Now in her 30s, Moss is still working and has become a
"supermodel" in her own right.
She has a daughter, Lila Grace, born on 29 September, 2002, with Dazed & Confused editor Jefferson Hack.
Campaigns
Moss
has had campaigns with major Italian, French, American, and British
designers including Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent, Burberry, Rimmel, and
Bvlgari. She has been featured in fashion spreads in most major fashion
magazines including UK, US, and French Vogue magazines (as well as other international versions of Vogue), Another Man, Vanity Fair, the Face, and W. Moss has appeared on the cover of Vogue 23 times and has been featured on the cover of 17 issues of W, including one issue with nine different covers featuring the model. W
even names Moss its muse (September 2003 issue). She has worked with
the most well-known photographers in the fashion industry today, such
as Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Steven Klein, and Juergen Teller, and
is a Peter L "trained" model. She won the prestigious Vogue/CFDA
award from the Fashion Designers of America in July 2005 as Fashion
Inspiration. The haute couture dress she wore to the award ceremony was
from the Christian Dior fall 2005 haute couture designed by John
Galliano.
Music involvements
Moss has appeared in music videos
such as "Kowalski" by Primal Scream, "I Just Don't Know What to do with
Myself" by the White Stripes and "Delia's Gone" by Johnny Cash. She
also provided vocals for songs by Primal Scream (the 2003 version of
"Some Velvet Morning") and Babyshambles. She has worked with various
artists and sculptors including artist and photographer Chuck Close.
In
March 2003, Moss did a lengthy interview with Penny Martin on website
Showstudio, which is an unusual decision for Moss who rarely gives
interviews or speaks in public. She replied to the topic of the media
singling her out on the debate on body image with: "It was just the
time. It was a swing from more buxom girls like Cindy Crawford and
people were shocked to see what they called a 'waif'. What can you say?
How many times can you say 'I'm not anorexic'?"
In February 2005, a
nude portrait by Lucian Freud of Moss while she was pregnant sold for
£3.93 million. Moss planned and posed for the portrait as her version
of the Madonna as a full frontal nude.
In 2006, Sphinx, a
sculpture of Moss in a complicated yoga position was unveiled by
controversial British sculptor Marc Quinn. The pose itself was modelled
by a more experienced woman, though the body, hands, and feet are cast
in Moss' exact measurements. Quinn's representation of Moss is meant to
show "a mirror of ourselves, a knotted Venus of our age."
April 2005 saw the launch of the Rimmel London mascara ad featuring a leather clad Kate Moss riding a motorbike through London.
Moss has led ads by Roberto Cavalli; and in the February issue of W
is a 20 page main fashion shoot depicting her as Greek goddess shot in
St. Barts while on vacation. She is the cover of the 6 March edition of
W and in a 15 page fashion shoot as Marilyn Monroe in the April issue of W.
In March 2006, the women's lifestyle magazine Female First
reported Kate Moss as adopting Buddhism after briefly reading about its
philosophy during rehab to get through an alleged drug addiction.
According to Britain's Grazia Magazine, she is contemplating on doing charity or volunteer work to achieve good karma.
As
of April 2006, camera company Nikon have also signed Moss to be the new
face of their new Coolpix S6 digital camera, where the photoshoot
features Moss in a state of undress, with nothing but the camera.
Troubles and scandals
Moss
checked herself into a psychiatric centre in 1998, claiming she was
suffering from "exhaustion." She later admitted she'd been drinking and
getting high before getting on the catwalk, but denied ever indulging
in harder substances. Dismissing rumours that her stay was for
substance abuse, sources have revealed that she was suffering from
depression over her separation from longtime boyfriend, actor Johnny
Depp.
The British tabloids and paparazzi often target Kate Moss, most likely because she never gives interviews. UK tabloid the Sunday Mirror
was sued successfully by Moss for claiming that she had slipped into a
coma after taking large amounts of cocaine in Spain years earlier.
Cocaine scandal
British tabloids, particularly the Daily Mirror, have long claimed that Moss habitually used cocaine. In interviews Moss dismissed these claims as ridiculous.
On 15 September, 2005, London's Daily Mirror
ran front page and inside photos that seemed to show Moss snorting
several lines of cocaine at a Babyshambles recording session. Most
tabloids have reported that Moss used a £5 note to snort five lines in
40 minutes. Her partner at the time, Pete Doherty, is the band's singer
and chief songwriter. It has been alleged by Doherty that James
Mullord, his former manager, sold the photos to the newspaper for more
than £150,000. Within a short time of publication, Moss lost major
modelling contracts with several international companies. On 20
September, 2005, the Swedish fashion retailer H&M, which intended
to feature her in a campaign of their autumn clothes range designed by
Moss's good friend Stella McCartney, announced instead that it was
dropping Moss after the drug allegations. The contract was reportedly
worth £4 million a year. A day later, Chanel announced that it would
not be renewing its contract with Moss, which was set to expire in
October, although the company said that its decision had nothing to do
with the drug scandal. Burberry also decided to drop Moss's campaign
with them. Moss quickly issued an apology though she stopped short of
admitting drug use. "I take full responsibility for my actions. I also
accept that there are various personal issues that I need to address
and have started taking the difficult, yet necessary, steps to resolve
them," she said. "I want to apologise to all of the people I have let
down because of my behaviour which has reflected badly on my family,
friends, co-workers, business associates and others."
Moss continued to appear in major ad campaigns during this period for Dior. She was on the cover of the November 2005 W and also appeared inside in a multi-page "fashion shoot". She was also defended by
friends and supporters, including models Naomi Campbell and Helena
Christensen, French actress Catherine Deneuve, her ex-boyfriend Johnny
Depp, and designer Alexander McQueen. McQueen's defence was especially
notable and during his walk out after a fashion show he wore a t-shirt
saying "We love you Kate". Artist Stella Vine also supported her and
paintings of Moss by Vine in this incident were exhibited and
reproduced in the press. Pop singer Robbie Williams said of Moss'
relationship with Doherty, "I can understand why Kate finds it
difficult to leave Pete, he has a certain charisma surrounding him."
Also
in November 2005, Moss ended her relationship with Doherty soon after
he checked himself out of Meadows Clinic in Arizona, failing to
complete a programme for drug rehabilitation. Moss herself underwent
successful treatment there in October and had urged Doherty to seek the
same treatment himself. Doherty claims that their separation involved
other issues, telling the The Sun newspaper that Moss left him because, “I can’t buy her diamonds and my dick is too small.”
Comeback
Moss
made a colossal comeback just months after the cocaine scandal broke.
Twelve months on she had bagged 18 top modelling contracts (for the
Autumn(Fall)/Winter 2006 season) include: Rimmel, Agent Provocateur,
Virgin Mobile, Belstaff, Beymen, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Roberto Cavalli,
Longchamp, Stella McCartney, Bulgari, Chanel, Nikon, David Yurman,
Versace, Mia Shvili, Calvin Klein Jeans and Burberry. Moss has also
agreed to make her first foray into the design world by designing a
collection for Topshop.
On 5 January, 2006, the Metropolitan Police
asked Moss to return from the US to Britain to answer questions about
the incident. The following day, the Daily Mirror reported that
Moss would return to Britain and face arrest about allegations of
cocaine usage. She was interviewed by police in London on 31 January,
2006, with her solicitor present, but reportedly made no admissions,
and she was not arrested (photographs of alleged drug-taking are not
admissible evidence in British courts). On 16 June 2006, British police
finally dropped the charges for lack of evidence. Ultimately Moss was
cleared of all charges, and had resumed her modelling career.
In
November of 2006, Kate Moss won the Model of the Year prize, the top
accolade in British fashion, but the award has divided opinion and
stirred fresh controversy.
Today Kate Moss makes more money than before the scandal. Her 2006 earnings add up to £30 million.
Style
In
addition to being known for her modelling work, Kate Moss is also an
international fashion icon. She has garnered many awards for her style
including Award of Fashion Influence at the Council of Fashion
Designers of America's award and a place on the Vanity Fair's
international best-dressed list. She even appeared on the cover of
Vanity Fair's September 2006 style issue. Her style mostly draws
inspiration from rock and roll. Due to her reputation, she is credited
for setting numerous trends. In recent years she has popularised denim
cutoff shorts, Ugg boots, skinny jeans especially of the brands Sass
& Bide and Siwy, the waistcoat, and the Balenciaga handbag, as well
as bringing waist-cinching belts back into popularity.
Trivia
- She
appeared in the comedy Blackadder, as Maid Marian in the episode , a
Comic Relief special, in 2000. This episode also starred Hugh Laurie,
Rik Mayall, Colin Firth and Stephen Fry.
- In another Comic
Relief appearance, she appeared as Katie Pollard, the sister of Vicky
Pollard, in a special Little Britain performance in Hammersmith on 22
November 2006.