What You Need To Know About Kaia Gerber
Kaia Gerber has propelled her name into the Tinseltown spotlight while juggling a multitude of high-fashion brand deals with Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Versace, and more. Her rise to the top seems to have happened suddenly, but the 19-year-old model was surrounded by the fashion industry her whole life. As the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and model-turned-businessman Rande Gerber (and the younger sister to model brother Presley Gerber), Kaia is fashion-industry royalty.
Kaia made her modeling debut at the ripe age of 10, starring in Versace's first-ever Young Versace ad campaign, and she was featured in CR Fashion Book with her brother when she was 15, according to ET Canada. However, the budding model primarily stayed away from the spotlight until her late teen years, where she then hit the ground running. There's a lot more to this runway star than just classic beauty, though — from her brains to her hidden talents. Here is everything you need to know about Kaia Gerber.
Kaia Gerber worked with her model mom as a baby
Kaia Gerber's mom did not hold her back from the spotlight as a child. In fact, Cindy Crawford incorporated both Kaia and son Presley Gerber into her work when they were not yet school-aged. As a remake of the iconic 1992 Pepsi Super Bowl ad that showed Crawford enticingly sipping out of a can of Pepsi wearing cut-off shorts, the 2002 version showed Crawford getting into an SUV with her kids buckled up safely in the back. Kaia was not even 2 years old when she made that famous first appearance.
Crawford is still excited to put her daughter in the spotlight, teasing that she would love to see Kaia have a Pepsi commercial of her own one day. "I think it would be fun for her to get to really re-create my original spot." she told People in 2018. While Kaia has yet to fulfill her mom's shoes — or should we say, shorts? — there's clear evidence that she got her mom's classic looks and confidence.
Kaia Gerber has always been the creative type
Kaia Gerber was blessed with the creativity gene from her parents, which makes sense because she was always either creating art or looking at it as a kid. Vogue gave us a glimpse inside of Kaia's life when they visited the ultra-luxurious Crawford family home in Malibu, Calif. as part of the magazine's 73 Questions series in 2017. Cindy Crawford showed the interviewer a framed self-portrait of young Kaia, who wore pigtails and a blue dress, making her look like a princess.
If she wasn't creating the art, Kaia says she was constantly surrounded by it. "When most kids had picture books, I had photography books," she wrote in a letter to Vogue in 2019. Young Kaia would also accompany her mom to shoots, where she could watch the art take form.
However, Kaia wouldn't say she's talented in all aspects of the creativity spectrum. The model told Elle that she would never participate in Jimmy Fallon's Celebrity Karaoke bit. "I'm the worst singer. And I couldn't do his Pictionary game either, even though it's so funny, because I'm the worst drawer too," she said in 2017. Well, your mom and her framed artwork might want to argue about that one, Kaia!
Kaia Gerber has both beauty and brains
Kaia Gerber: model and honor student. That's right — Cindy Crawford's protégé is just as smart in the books as she is in maneuvering the fashion industry. While her hectic modeling schedule forced her to finish school online, according to Vogue, Kaia didn't let her career get in the way of taking her classes from Malibu High School seriously. In fact, she told Harper's Bazaar about her favorite subject, saying in 2018, "My favorite class this year is AP Calculus because I just like math." She did admit, "It's definitely super hard to teach yourself derivatives, though!"
Kaia's dad, Rande Gerber, beamed with pride when he boasted about his daughter's 4.0 GPA in an Instagram post in 2017. Along with the photo, Rande confirmed that the smarts came from his wife. Watching Kaia balance a budding modeling career while finishing high school, both her parents must be so proud.
Kaia Gerber knows she's lucky to have her supermodel mom
It's no surprise that Kaia Gerber has taken after her wildly successful mom, but she also understands how much her mom has helped drive her career. "From my mother I had the kind of knowledge going into it [modeling] that most girls don't get," she wrote in her 2019 letter to Vogue. Kaia went on to say she was also lucky to have some of her first few gigs working with people who were "far from strangers," thanks to her mom's connections.
On top of access to some of the best of the best in the fashion industry, Kaia also gained invaluable advice from her successful mom. Talking about her mom's tips to Entertainment Tonight, Kaia recounted, "She's just always told me to have a thought behind every picture and every expression. You're not just blank, you have a reason for what you're doing."
Furthermore, Crawford gave her daughter one makeup tip to live by: Do not mess with the brows. "She told me not to touch my brows. There was a time when I really wanted to do stuff to them, but she doesn't touch hers and she still has really good brows, so I just learned from her not to touch them and I'm glad I didn't," Kaia told People. Well, it's a good thing she didn't need to learn for herself.
Kaia and Presley Gerber are as tight as can be
While we're on the topic of family, it's important to note that the Crawford siblings are super close. So close, in fact, that Presley Gerber, 21, has a tattoo dedicated to his younger sister. The model posted on his Instagram (via Entertainment Tonight) in February 2018 to unveil his ink, which displays cursive letters writing out "Kaia" above his elbow with the Roman numeral for "23." The only mystery is what "23" means.
The tattoo was no surprise for Kaia because she was present when her big brother received the ink. She clearly approved, showing it off on her Instagram Story with the words, "Best big bro ever," followed by three broken heart emojis. The celebrity-frequented tattoo artist JonBoy from Bang Bang Tattoos in Manhattan — who has inked big names such as Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner — also posted a photo with Kaia, Presley, and Presley's then-girlfriend Charlotte D'Alessio with him at his shop.
The gorgeous brother-sister duo exemplified their strong bond again in early 2020 when they received "sibling tattoos" together. Kaia received two new ink masterpieces: a delicate heart on her shoulder and a tiny flower bouquet on her wrist, while Presley opted for some miniature tattoos on his fingers. These were also done by a NYC-based tattoo artist, Evan Kim, who posted a series of photos on his Instagram following the session. These two siblings adore each other and want to show it — how sweet!
Kaia Gerber hit a huge modeling milestone earlier than her mom
While Kaia Gerber hasn't been in the game for a super long time, her modeling is making waves in the industry. Kaia landed her first solo Vogue cover at just 16 years old for the February 2018 Paris cover. Her mother was 20 years old when she reached that achievement in August 1986.
In an Instagram post with her Vogue Paris cover, the young model wrote, "MUST BE DREAMING... you made me the happiest girl in the world. SO MUCH LOVE." We might have seen this success coming, though, because the year prior, when she was 15, Kaia earned the breakthrough model of the year award at the Daily Front Row's 4th Annual Fashion Media Awards at New York Fashion Week.
Despite these huge accolades, it's the simple things that keep Kaia going. "The biggest compliment is when someone says I act like my mom," she said to Vogue in 2019. "Beyond her beauty and obvious appeal, she has always been my hero and my role model."
Kaia Gerber has been romantically linked to other celebrities
In early September 2020, people speculated that Kaia Gerber is dating Kissing Booth star Jacob Elordi after she and the 23-year-old actor were spotted leaving Nobu restaurant in Malibu following a two-hour date, per ET. The award-winning model was dressed casually in loose-fitting, ripped jeans and a black top paired with brown lace-up boots. She also carried her dog in her arms. This is the first time the two were linked romantically, though reports claim Elordi is interested in dating Kaia.
Before this, Kaia and Pete Davidson dated for less than six months. They were seen together frequently and didn't refrain from showing PDA. In November 2019, Kaia displayed a "P" around her neck on a gold chain (via Elle). After rumors swirled that Kaia's parents were concerned about Davidson's well-being, the SNL comedian confirmed their breakup in an interview in February 2019. "It just wasn't the right place or the right time at all," he said.
The previous year, Kaia was linked to Fenton Merkell, the son of Eastenders actress Patsy Palmer, per The Sun. Reports said they met through their famous moms, and could relate as young people in the entertainment industry with notable families. While people love keeping track of Kaia's dating life, she's remained very tight-lipped about her love interests. It looks like the only relationship she is willing to talk about is that with her family.
Kaia Gerber wasn't set on being a model her whole life
You would think that Kaia Gerber always dreamed of walking the catwalk to follow in her mom's footsteps. However, that dream came just before she started pursuing it. Kaia admitted to Vogue she didn't fully understand the scope of her mom's job as a child. She "eventually" became interested in pursuing modeling herself and signed with an agency to take "small jobs."
While Kaia is now a full-blown model, she still sees herself as a student. "The most important thing to me, however, is education—whether that includes college or not. I graduated early from high school, with all the credits needed to someday attend college; in the meantime, though, I'm learning more—both in front of the camera and away from it—than I ever thought possible," she expressed to Vogue.
From the other perspective, Cindy Crawford said the most important thing she taught her kids is to be hard workers. "Kids don't always listen, but they are always watching what you do," she told W Magazine. "If you're polite to people, they learn to be polite. If you make family time a priority, they don't even question spending time together. If I'm constantly berating myself in front of them... then they learn to do the same thing."
Considering Kaia has leveled up to "It Girl" status, it's safe to say the work ethic her mother taught paid off.