From Twiggy to Irina Shayk: the 30 best and most famous models of the last 100 years

Once the work of a model was considered not prestigious, and only girls from very poor families took up it. But over time, the situation has changed dramatically — today top models are no less popular and recognizable than Hollywood stars. We decided to collect in one collection 30 of the most famous models for more than 150 years of the existence of the modeling profession in the usual sense!

The wife of the famous couturier Paul Poiret was not just her husband's wife, but also a real muse.

Denise took an active and most direct part in the activities of the Poiret fashion house, acting as a model. Her images were copied by all the fashionistas of Paris, and in the 1910s, Denise Poiret went down in history as the first model to participate in a fashion show.

Twiggy became a superstar thanks to the occasion — her famous haircut was the result of an experiment by a popular London hairdresser in the 60s.

Photos of Twiggy from his portfolio were accidentally seen by a journalist of the Daily Express, and this moment changed the life of a young British woman — the covers of Vogue and Tatler, the title of "Person of the Year", the release of Barbie-Twiggy, filming, two Golden Globes and, of course, the title of a style icon.

Hereditary aristocrat Vera von Lendorf-Steinort did not want to spend her life on boring social events, so she moved to New York and changed her long name to the laconic Verushka.

A long-legged beauty with an alien appearance instantly became a star. In addition to modeling, Verushka worked on the film platform (among other films, she starred in the cult "Photo Exaggeration") and in art, taking part in one of the performances of Salvador Dali.

In the 70s, Jerry Hall starred completely naked in the infamous advertisement for Opium perfume by Yves Saint Laurent

She turned the heads of all the rock stars and married Mick Jagger.

Yasmin became a rising star of the modeling business under her maiden name Parvane and thanks to her profession she found the love of her life

The singer Duran Duran fell in love with his future wife after seeing her on the cover of a fashion magazine.

It's hard to imagine, but in her youth, Elle MacPherson dreamed of becoming... a lawyer!

But the world was lucky, and the beautiful blonde became one of the first supermodels. El's "official" nickname is "The Body". Why? Just look at the famous five covers of Sports Illustrated — more often than not, none of the stars of the modeling business appeared there.

Iman's modeling path will be the envy of any aspiring catwalk star — she was the muse of Saint Laurent.

Such photography gurus as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and others considered it an honor to work with her. Annie Leibovitz.

Today, Tyra Banks is better known for her strange behavior and scandals, but in the 90s she was part of the era of top models.

It is impossible to list all of Tyra's victories in one sentence — in the first season as a model, she appeared on the podium in 25 (!) shows, then became the first black "angel" of Victoria's Secret and on the covers of GQ and Sports Illustrated.

Once upon a time, the "black panther" conquered the fashion world instead of throwing phones at negligent assistants, and conquered more than successfully.

Campbell is one of the few supermodels of the 90s who still take part in Fashion Week shows.

Christy Tarlington is the "top" in everything.

Among her achievements are shooting for more than 500 magazine covers, a million-dollar contract with Maybelline and the status of the most successful face of Calvin Klein in the entire history of the brand.

Cindy planned to realize herself in nuclear physics, but the portfolio collected for the sake of curiosity decided her fate, making her a star of the modeling business.

Today, Cindy's children are already trying themselves as models — son Presley and daughter Kaia, who have more than adopted their mother's beauty.

Kate is unique in everything — a non-standard appearance and a small height (170 cm) did not prevent her from becoming a superstar of the modeling business at all.

The scandal of 2005, related to paparazzi photos in which Kate used cocaine, would have cost the career of any other model, regardless of the degree of stardom, but not Moss-she went to rehab and two years later triumphantly returned to business.

Linda got the talking nickname "Chameleon" in the 80s, which she received thanks to her amazing ability to change.

The professionalism and beauty of the Evangelists made her the muse of Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace.

Christensen knew from childhood who she wanted to be, and went to the goal in a directed way — at the age of 19, Helena won the title of "Miss Denmark".

In the 1990s, Helena Christensen joined the cohort of supermodels and among the muses of Gianni Versace.

Claudia Schiffer received the title of "Brigitte Bardot from fashion".

The gorgeous blonde has long been the embodiment of the dreams of men all over the world, representing brands such as L'Oréal, Guess, Opel, and alternately shooting for the covers of Rolling Stones and Vanity Fair.

Another aristocrat in our list, Stella became the first top model with a unisex appearance, able to represent both women's and men's collections.

Today, she proudly bears the title of the muse of the House of Chanel.

Platinum blonde with endless legs (by the way, these most famous legs even got into The Guinness Book of Records as the longest in the world!) I have been on all possible magazine covers and shows.

Nadia Auerman has earned the title of a modern Marlene Dietrich.

The turning point in Eva's career was the Wonderbra advertising campaign — in the pictures, Herzigova posed in underwear, and the frame was accompanied by the inscription "Look into my eyes, I said — in the eyes!".

Representatives of the brand were forced to withdraw the campaign from billboards on the roads, as it caused a noticeable increase in the number of accidents. Today, Eva is actively acting in films and is considered one of the best models-actresses.

Estonian Carmen is one of Anna Wintour's favorite models, whose location is very, very difficult to earn.

And Cass ' career began with the casting of Chanel. By the way, Carmen Kass is not only beautiful, but also smart — a top model headed the Estonian Chess Federation!

Polish model Anya Rubik became one of the most famous catwalk models — the girl took part in the shows of the most famous fashion houses.

For three whole years, from 2009 to 2011, Anya participated in the Victoria's Secret show, and in 2011 she appeared in the provocative Pirelli calendar.

You will be surprised, but once Giselle had to spend a lot of time beating the thresholds of various castings — the future supermodel was refused a job because of her famous nose!

But Bundchen did not despair and managed to break the system — after participating in the Alexander McQueen show, during which the fearless Gisele defiled on the wet floor on frighteningly huge heels, offers literally fell on the Brazilian. Giselle set a real model record and became a fashion sensation, appearing on 10 Vogue covers in just four years! In 2009, Bundchen topped the list of the highest-paid models in the world.

Daria became a star thanks not only to her hard work, but also to her unusual appearance.

It was an unusual and attractive face that provided the Recruitment status of the face of Prada, after which the girl's modeling career went uphill, bringing her the status of "Model No. 1" according to the New York Times.

Carly's career began at the age of 16 — and how it began!

The young model in her first season in 2008 appeared on the podium in 64 (!) shows, after which she became the muse of the shocking John Galliano and the" angel " of Victoria's Secret.

The red-haired beauty Coco has written her name into the history of fashion, opening one of the shows of Jean-Paul Gaultier with a performance of a traditional Irish dance.

Interesting fact: Rocha has Russian roots, which the girl is very proud of!

Kara started her modeling career at the age of 10, and a decade later became the new muse of Karl Lagerfeld and the House of Burberry.

Recently, Delevingne said that she decided to end her modeling career and focus on movies — this is not surprising, given that the fashion world has already completely submitted to the British beauty.

Eriksen is probably the most rock and roll model — behind the scenes of fashion shows, she includes Led Zeppelin.

Her body is decorated with as many as 16 tattoos, and such famous brands as Chloé, Alexander Wang and Jill Stuart call accessories after Freya.

The whole world knows and adores the story of Natalia Vodianova, the "Russian Cinderella", who sold flowers in Nizhny Novgorod, and then conquered the world's catwalks, becoming a supermodel.

Natasha is considered one of the most professional stars of the fashion business and the favorites of famous photographers — she is always different and is able to transform herself in the frame beyond recognition.

Another Russian model who became a superstar of the fashion world.

Natasha Poly (Polevshchikova) went to fame progressively — in 2000, a blonde from Perm took second place at the New Model Today contest, and four years later appeared in 54 shows at Fashion Weeks in Paris, Milan and New York.

The" Godfather " of Sasha's career was her husband (at that time future), photographer Igor Vishnyakov, who sent a photo shoot of his beloved to the IMG Models agency.

The result was a three-year contract with Prada and a rapid rise to the top of the modeling business.

Sasha Luss blew up the fashion world in 2013 — then the fragile blonde appeared on the catwalk at a total of 124 shows!

Now Luss is shooting in high-profile advertising campaigns and the status of a favorite of many designers. But Sasha frankly admits that a modeling career is not the most important thing for her — the girl manages to combine work with studying at the literary faculty of the University of Cambridge.