Christy Turlington

Christy Turlington; a classic beauty, fresh, natural, and graceful... One of the first top models, she did not let herself get carried away with the "super model" craze of the 1990s, and refused to be just a body and a face.

Turlington was born on January 2, 1969 in Walnut Creek, California. She grew up with her father, a commercial pilot, her mother, a flight attendant, and two sisters in a happy family home. She loved horseback riding and spent all her free time developing her technique. Her father had taught her to try her best and her hobby became a passion: Turlington began to compete.

She was 13 when she was spotted by Dennie Cody, a scout, at one of the competitions. Cody was overwhelmed with her perfect, pure and elegant beauty. Even though she was only an adolescent, he knew she was special, and that she possessed something unique. He did everything he could to convince her parents, who hesitated at the idea of allowing their daughter to start in the modeling world. He succeeded, however, and despite her age, she was signed to an agency.

Turlington was quickly taken in by a local agency. Her first contract was for the department store chain, Emporium Capwell. Her face was everywhere and people in the business started noticing her. The California agencies saw a future top model in her and competed for her contracts.

Despite being in heavy demand, Turlington and her parents made sure that she led a normal life. She never missed class for photo shoots, working only on days off or weekends. She did not lose herself in the fascinating universe of fashion, potentially dangerous for someone so young.

The infatuation that she inspired did not take long to reach the New York agencies. Eileen Ford, known in the business for spotting future top talents, offered Turlington a contract in Paris. She was only 14 years old. She left for France during vacation, but did not do well: she was too young, lost in a foreign country. She was uncomfortable and it showed in the photos - she was sent back to America.

At the same time in the states, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista were making their debuts. Brunettes were the trend and Ford did not miss a step. In 1985, she sent Turlington to the biggest magazines and photographers to show her potential. At just 16, she shot a series for Vogue US before returning to her studies.

It was not until 1987 that things began to take off when Turlington posed for the cover of Vogue Italy. This kind of exposure opened doors for her in the fashion world. Famous photographers discovered her incredible beauty and wanted her for their photos. Designers like Chanel, Alaïa, Versace, and Lacroix invited her onto their catwalks.

The pace of her life picked up and she no longer had time for her studies. She felt the need to pull back. In 1987, she began to study yoga, a discipline that would later became a lifestyle and influence her future. She moved to New York where she shared an apartment for a while with Naomi Campbell.

From 1987 to 1994, she appeared in many ad campaigns, became the face of Calvin Klein for his "Eternity" perfume, and posed for a Vogue cover with Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Steven Meisel shot them so often together that the trio became known as the "Holy Trinity." She also appeared several times on the cover of Vogue UK. She was a part of that wave of models that gave birth to the term "super model" or "top model." In 1993, the Metropolitan Museum of Art named her the face of the 20th century.

In 1994, when she was at the top of her glory, she decided she needed some space. She was only 25 and the world was at her feet, but she was deeply aware that she was only loved for her appearance. She wanted to do something more with her life, work more with her head; she no longer be just an image nor belong to a group of top models whose flashy reputation had nothing in common with her own personality.

She launched herself in business, partnering with other top models -- Schiffer, Macpherson and Campbell - to open the Fashion Café in New York. She did not quit modeling entirely - she just broadened her horizons. In 1996, she incarnated the Calvin Klein woman and posed for the prêt-a-porter ad campaign. She also wanted to go back to school and explore other interests, something she would have done earlier had she had the time.

At 25, she stopped smoking. At 26, she went back to school to study literature and history of religions. Shortly after, her father died of lung cancer and Turlington took up the fight against tobacco companies and smoking.

She also participated in numerous charity events for children and access to culture. She worked with PETA against animal cruelty and donated proceeds from her calendar to children in El Salvador. Meanwhile, she became the face of Gemey Maybelline and posed for Estée Lauder and Louis Vuitton campaigns.

For years, she had been practicing yoga three times per week in the mornings. In 1999, when she finished her studies, she became aware of the absence of yoga clothes on the market and decided to take advantage of this great opportunity.

In 2000, she partnered with Puma and came out with a prêt-a-porter line of yoga clothes called "Nuala." Turlington created clothes that she would like to wear during her yoga sessions and created the yoga lifestyle. Over the years, the line filled out with more and more pieces, always directly connected to the Zen philosophy.

In 2001, she planned to marry the actor Edward Burns, but 9/11 put a halt to their project. The couple separated but reunited several months later and were finally married in 2003. Turlington gave birth to Grace soon after. Until 2006, she dedicated herself to her role as a mother and only rarely appeared in public. It was not until 2006 that she would return to the media scene.

She resigned with Maybelline, the brand that made her famous, then posed for Versace and Chloé. She joined Bono in his AIDS project, co-wrote a show for television with her husband, and gave birth in January 2006 to a boy.

Turlington has succeeded in getting what she wanted: a family, a career based on something more than her appearance, causes to fight for and a calm lifestyle, fitting with her philosophy. In any case, she is far from worrying about time passing. She declared that her face will never know botox, and all who know her agree with Marc Jacobs: it is impossible to find a fault on her, no matter how hard one tries...