Once-Popular Supermodels Who Completely Vanished

This article contains references to sexual assault and suicide.

Britannica defines a supermodel as a model who is "financially successful and culturally significant." Janice Dickinson, who claims to have invented the word, told Queerty that supermodels do it all: When she was signed to Elite, the agency created a "supermodel division" for models who did "catalog, runway, editorial, advertising, and spokesperson." That ability to be skilled at every aspect of modeling combined with an otherworldly charm is what separates supermodels from the rest.

In 2026, the supermodel is effectively extinct. That's not to say there are no great models in the modern age, despite (or perhaps, because of) the fashion industry starting to resemble a city solely inhabited by nepo babies. It's just that so rarely are any of the current models "super." The era of supers like Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista may be gone, but it is far from forgotten.

Not every supermodel can stay as culturally relevant as the ones in George Michael's "Freedom! '90" music video have, nor do they all want to. For every Naomi, there's a supermodel who faded out of the public consciousness and (often happily) into obscurity. Others left their careers after tragedy struck or to pivot into a completely different field.

Karen Mulder, the Dutch supermodel often compared to Barbie, was once so popular that "she could sell a paper bag" according to her agent Ellen Harth (via The New York Times). With her long blonde hair and chiseled, yet approachable features, Mulder was perfect for anything as editorial as Vogue and anything as commercial as her own Hasbro doll. Seemingly everywhere during the '90s, Mulder's career dramatically tapered off in the early 2000s after appearing on the French show, "Tout le monde en parle."

Mulder went on the show ostensibly to talk about her recent pivot from modeling to a singing career, but instead she claimed she had suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of people in the modeling industry and outside it. According to a report published in The Independent at the time, "the claims were regarded as so devastating, and so potentially libelous" that her segment was cut. The tapes are said to have been destroyed, but reports of the allegations remain.

After revelations like those in the bombshell Epstein documents, Mulder's claims don't feel as far-fetched as they did in 2001. At the time, Mulder was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown and a suicide attempt not long after in 2002. Aside from a 2007 runway appearance for Christian Dior and a 2009 altercation with a plastic surgeon, Mulder has effectively disappeared from public life outside of her Instagram account.

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There's a lot of debate about which model was truly the first supermodel. Janice Dickinson claims to be the first, though this is generally thought to be unlikely, as she became a model in the '70s. Swedish model Lisa Fonssagrives seems to be the most popular pick for the world's first supermodel, but one could also make a case for '50s model Sondra Peterson.

Before GOAT supermodels like Gisele Bündchen shaped the modern modeling industry, models like Peterson were all the rage. Truly prolific, Peterson appeared on seemingly every magazine cover and spread in the '50s and '60s until she vanished from the public eye. In the pre-Internet era, it was far easier for a model with a following like Peterson to simply disappear without leaving a trace.

Though she stopped modeling, Peterson left enough information for us to piece together her trajectory in the years since. During her career, Peterson traveled between the United States and France, where she eventually settled down with her husband, magazine publisher and art enthusiast Daniel Filipacchi. The pair have two children, including novelist Amanda Filipacchi, author of "The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty." 

Look up underrated in the dictionary, and you just might see a picture of Yasmeen Ghauri strutting down the runway. Often overlooked in favor of her still-active peers, Ghauri was one of the industry's top models in the '90s until her retirement. That impact makes her intentional disappearance just as mind-boggling now as it was in 1997 when she left the runway for good.

Reports of how Ghauri entered the industry differ. One account says she was discovered leaving a hair salon, while another says she was working at McDonald's when fate knocked on the door and pointed her toward the path of the supermodel. Regardless of how she got her start, it wasn't long after that the Canadian model was making waves in the U.S. as one of the few models of color in an industry long dominated by blonde, blue-eyed models.

According to Vogue, Ghauri, who is of mixed Pakistani and German descent, was the first South Asian model "to land a luxury beauty contract, to become a Victoria's Secret Angel," and to grace the very same magazine's cover. While she was still in demand, Ghauri decided to leave the industry to build her family with husband Ralph Bernstein. The couple has two children, Maia and Victor.

One of the most popular models of the '90s, Stephanie Seymour is one of the original Victoria's Secret Angels and arguably one of the first prolific supers. Seymour first got her start as a teen in San Diego when she placed as a finalist in a modeling competition hosted by Elite Model Management. Not long after, she was posing on the cover of magazines like Vogue and Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue as one of the industry's most in-demand models.

While she never retired, Seymour effectively disappeared from the runway after marrying her husband, art collector Peter Brant. Aside from modeling, Seymour has pursued other endeavors like entrepreneurship, writing, and acting. Despite going off the radar for years — including refusing to join social media until 2015 — Seymour still models sporadically. In 2013, she joined other supers like Kate Moss and Amber Valletta for Interview Magazine's "Model" edition, and later came out of retirement for Versace's Fall 2019 show.

Seymour has four children: Dylan (from her previous marriage to Tommy Andrews), Peter, Harry, and Lily. After the tragic death of her son Harry in 2021, Seymour disappeared from public life until 2023 when she spoke with The Wall Street Journal about how her family was coping with the loss.

Niki Taylor achieved supermodel status younger than most. She started her career when she was barely a teenager at the age of 14 and appeared on the cover of Seventeen shortly after. A Vogue cover followed when she was 15, then numerous ad campaigns from CoverGirl to Versace. At one point, Taylor was so in demand that her face was on six Times Square billboards at the same time as well as on six different magazines in one month.

Taylor's ascent should have been a time of celebration, but her modeling highs were coupled with tragic lows in her personal life. In 1997, Taylor's younger sister, Krissy, suddenly died from an undiagnosed heart condition at 17. A few years later, Taylor was critically injured in a near-fatal car crash in 2001. Miraculously, she made a full recovery, but the accident left her in a coma for three months and required 40 surgeries.

While she never formally retired from modeling, Taylor stepped away from the runway in the years following her accident to dedicate time to her family and Red Cross advocacy. "I needed lots of blood," she told People of her reason for supporting the Red Cross. "And I've always thought about the donors who gave me a second chance at life." In recent years, Taylor returned to her modeling roots as the face of CoverGirl's Simply Ageless line.

Anna Bayle's life changed after she decided to compete in the 1976 Miss Republic of the Philippines pageant. She didn't win the competition (she was the first runner-up), but she had set herself on the path to becoming the first Asian supermodel. Filipino fashion designer Auggie Cordero took notice of her during the competition and mentored her as she began her modeling career.

Before long, Bayle was taking the fashion world by storm. For nearly two decades, she walked the runway for fashion houses like Chanel and was the face of brands like Shiseido Cosmetics. Her career appeared to be in full swing until she suddenly retired in 1994 at the top of her game. "I wanted to end on a high note," she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Although designers were clamoring for her to return, Bayle is content to leave her time in the fashion world in the past. After her retirement, Bayle first released a line of lipsticks and focused on raising her son Callum. In more recent years, she's been working as a real estate agent in New York and sharing updates on her Instagram.

Gemma Ward did not choose the supermodel life, but it relentlessly chose her. Like many supers, Ward got her start as a model when she was barely a teen, though not entirely by choice. She had gone to a local taping of the Australian show "Search for a Supermodel" intending "to make fun of it," she tells W. Instead, the show's crew plucked her from the audience, forged her parents' signature so she could compete, and threw her in front of the cameras.

She didn't make it past the local stretch of the competition, but she didn't have to. Just a year later, she was walking the runway for Prada at 15, and Forbes would rank her as one of the highest-paid models in the world before she was 20. But just as quickly as she ascended to the upper echelon of the fashion industry, she disappeared.

Behind the scenes, Ward had been battling an eating disorder and dealing with body shaming from bloggers and tabloids as she entered adulthood. In 2008, she had to publicly navigate her grief after the death of her then-boyfriend Heath Ledger and took an extended break from modeling as a result. After travelling the world, starting a family, and getting treatment for her eating disorder, Ward returned to the spotlight in 2014 to walk for Prada.

When we think of celeb nepo babies who actually deserve their fame, Devon Aoki is one who comes to mind. The daughter of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki and his second wife Pamela Hilburger, Aoki defined a generation as one of the "it" girls of the 2000s. Discovered at a Rancid concert when she was only 13, Aoki was soon walking runways and rubbing shoulders with new friends like fellow supermodel Kate Moss. While still a high school student, she was closing the F/W Chanel show and posing on the cover of Italian Vogue.

Not content to only be the it girl of the modeling world, Aoki soon set her sights on conquering the film industry. She starred in films like "D.E.B.S." and "Sin City," but her most iconic role was undoubtedly Suki in "2 Fast 2 Furious." Her style in film, editorials, and especially off the runway remains just as impactful now as it was during her heyday.

Aoki could have continued to serve looks the public was eager to imitate for decades but retired from acting in 2009. She never formally retired from modeling but soon cut back on gigs to focus on raising her four children with husband James Bailey. Still, she does the occasional photo shoot and fashion event to show she's still just as iconic as she was when she started.

If you picked up a fashion magazine anytime circa 2008, the odds are high that you know Agyness Deyn. Even if you don't recognize her by name, her cropped platinum pixie haircut and punk-inspired fashion would surely jog your memory. A face of the Indie Sleaze movement of the late 2000s, Deyn fell into modeling after being discovered shopping in London.

In the years that followed, she became the face of Burberry and defined an era of street fashion with her androgynous style. But almost as quickly as she rose, she disappeared from the modeling world. In 2012, she announced her retirement during a conversation with The Independent. "I suppose I have stopped modeling officially," she said at the time, having decided to pursue an acting career. She reaffirmed her decision to step away a year later, telling The Talks that fashion was something she did "for several years, but it was just a job."

After several years away from the runway, Deyn came out of retirement to walk for Burberry in 2024. With her long flowing hair, she joins the ranks of other famous models who don't really look anything like they used to. Even then, Deyn's life no longer resembles that of when she became a famous model. These days, Deyn spends her time in New York City with her husband Joel McAndrew and their four young children.

With her large eyes and otherworldly good looks, Lily Cole ushered in a new era of baby-faced, waiflike models alongside fellow supermodel Gemma Ward. Discovered at 14, it didn't take long for Cole to land editorials with publications like Vogue and walk runways for Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton. She was making millions and living what appeared to be a glamorous life when she announced she was going to study at Cambridge and take a break from modeling.

Cole was surprised that people found her decision to go to school while working as a successful model so shocking. "It doesn't take a very interesting person to realize there are more reasons why you want to study," she told The Independent in 2009 about her decision to pursue higher education despite having achieved financial success. She got a degree in art history and acted in films like "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" before pivoting once again.

In 2013, Cole added entrepreneurship to her impressive resume when she founded Impossible, a platform intended "to grow community through the gift economy," according to her website. More recently, she's started to direct short films and has written a book about fighting climate change titled "Who Cares Wins."

Like most supermodels, Daria Werbowy fell into modeling by way of being genetically predisposed to suit the willowy aesthetic favored by the fashion industry, not out of passion. "Sometimes I am still surprised that I'm a model and that people think I'm good-looking," she told Interview in 2013. After not finding the success she wanted when she first attempted modeling, Werbowy only gave it another shot in order to save up money for art school.

Werbowy did not attend art school. Instead, she became one of the most popular models of her generation and built a lucrative career working with brands like Lancôme and Prada. She was so popular that at one point, she's said to have "opened and closed a record-breaking 12 designer runway shows during one season," according to Canada's Walk of Fame. Yes, she even has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Most publications write that Werbowy "retired" in 2016, but she arguably disappeared after her last Celine campaign in 2015. In a 2016 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Werbowy doesn't speak of her retirement but does give some context on why she took an earlier break in 2008: "I was uncomfortable with being a model for so long," she said. "I didn't understand why I was doing it, because it didn't make me feel good." She then silently retreated from modeling once more until coming out of retirement for Gucci in 2023.