The Untold Truth About Kate Moss
Kate Moss is considered one of the most influential supermodels to ever walk the runway, but it took a lot of hard work to reach the level of success she now possesses. According to Insider, the British model was discovered at JFK airport when she was just 14 years old. She was spotted by Storm modeling agent Sarah Doukas, who was scouting out eccentric-looking models as opposed to the traditional glamazonian beauties who walked the runway at the time. "Wherever I was going, I was looking," said Doukas while speaking to Insider. "I found a great girl outside a garage in Battersby, in her school uniform."
Because Doukas was on the hunt for unconventional beauties with unique features, it's no surprise that she sought out Moss for Storm Management. And while many people doubted Moss, claiming she wasn't fit to be a model (per Interview Magazine,) she is now regarded as one of the most respected pros in the industry. Moss, who is known for her alluring mystique, is very careful about what information she reveals to the public. Because she is such a private person, most people don't know how interesting she really is. So without further ado, let's uncover some lesser known facts about the '90s icon.
She was once considered the 'anti-super model'
It's hard to believe that there was a time when Kate Moss was viewed as an "anti-supermodel," considering how well-regarded she is on the runway to this day. But as Britannica reports, she got started during a time when she didn't fit the traditional mold for runway models. In the 1980s, magazines and runways were dominated by Amazonian women with more voluptuous frames, who sported chunky jewelry, massive perms, and boxy shoulder pads. According to Harper's Bazaar, 1980s fashion was all about excess, where the more sparkly and colorful it was, the better. Moss, who was known for an image described as heroin-chic grunge, embodied the minimalist attitude of the '90s, where the excessive makeup, shoulder pads, and bangles were stripped away.
And while Moss eventually gained superstardom, she never sought to be a model because she didn't feel as though she looked the part. "I was short, I had bow legs and crooked teeth," she revealed in an interview with Love Magazine (per Harper's Bazaar.) Fortunately, though, her imperfections made her stand out from the crowd.
Kate Moss' love story with Mario Sorrenti
Ah, young love — there's nothing else quite like it. Yet for Kate Moss, her romantic relationship with then-boyfriend Mario Sorrenti did more than just make her heart skip a beat. It also essentially launched her entire career. According to Harper's Bazaar, the pair was sought out by fashion designer Calvin Klein, who hired the young couple to help launch his Obsession perfume ad at the time. Klein offered Sorrenti and Moss a vacation in the Virgin Islands, to document their trip on camera to utilize as footage for the perfume advertisement. (Sorrenti was an aspiring photographer at the time, while Moss, of course, was his model muse.) The ad for Obsession perfume became a major hit, and things started to launch at full speed for Moss' modeling career.
Fortunately, their love story wasn't anything to complain about either. According to Vogue, the two became inseparable after leaving a party early and strolling through the streets of London all night long. They walked until the sun came up, which was followed by the two of them falling asleep on the grass in Hyde Park. (We love a boho couple moment.)
"We were obsessed with each other. It was very passionate," Moss said to Harper's Bazaar. "We were really young ... It was heart-wrenching a lot of the time, so when we were together, it was huge."
How Calvin Klein helped launch her career
For the longest time, models have been known for their slender figures. But when Calvin Klein was looking for models to work with, he says that many of the women to walk the runway at the time were getting cosmeti surgery to give them a curvier build. Moss, who didn't have a massive bust, was the exact type of woman that Klein wanted for his ads. According to the fashion designer, he felt as though plastic surgery sent a bad message to women that they had to change themselves. "I didn't want these girls ... who had big bosoms," he said in an interview with Iris Covet Book. "They augment their bodies. They used artificial implants and things. They were doing crazy things to their bodies. I found that offensive."
Unfortunately, not everyone praised Moss' natural and unique looks. Even Moss says that she never liked her face or her body up til recently. "I never liked it," she said of her face while speaking to The New York Times. "I wasn't the prettiest girl in class. No breasts, short legs, gangly teeth. I didn't think I was model material, that's for sure ... I think they're alright, my looks, now. But I've never seen myself as sexy or a side of myself that boys would like."
And one of her biggest critics, believe it or not, was Mark Wahlberg ...
The Calvin Klein shoot with Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss worked together for a Calvin Klein underwear commercial in 1992. The only thing more cringe-worthy than the ad itself was the way that Wahlberg treated the model behind the scenes. Wahlberg reportedly body-shamed Moss, and later went on to say that "she kind of looked like my nephew" during an interview with Nuts Magazine (via Cosmopolitan).
According to Moss, the shoot was so bad that it led to weeks of her not wanting to get out of bed. While speaking to Vanity Fair, she said, "I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18 when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts. It didn't feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn't like it." She also says that the former rapper was far from nice during the shoot.
Wahlberg, who has since commented on the now-vintage advertisement, has confessed that he wasn't the easiest person to work with at the time. In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, the former Funky Bunch member said that he wasn't all that sophisticated back then. He adds that he and Moss seem to be on better terms since the shoot.
The model's relationship with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp and Kate Moss were one of the most high-profile celebrity couples of the mid-'90s. Their relationship was filled with many headline-worthy moments, from their notorious habit of smashing up hotel rooms (per The New York Times) to their unique way of exchanging gifts. (According to an interview Moss gave on "Big Breakfast," Depp reportedly gave her a diamond necklace through his butt crack.) And while most couples like to spend date night with dinner and a movie, these celebs had a bit of a different idea of fun — including reportedly taking a bubble bath (via The Independent) by utilizing 36 bottles of champagne.
The pair met at a New York café back in 1994. At the time, the model was only 20 years old, while Depp was 31. Despite their age difference, Moss told People in 1994 that she knew the second she met the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor that they were destined to become a couple. "I knew from the first moment we talked that we were going to be together," Moss said.
The reason behind Johnny Depp and Kate Moss' messy split
After four years of dating, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss split up. In an interview with Hello! Magazine, the actor detailed what ultimately went wrong. According to Depp, he was too focused on his movie roles to give Moss proper loving within the relationship.
"What we had was so pure," Depp told the outlet in 1998. "But I guess I blew it. I allowed the critics to get to me. I let my last role get to me. Somewhere out there is a very lucky guy who is going to get Kate." Moss goes on to explain in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair that Depp had a massive influence on her career. She says that he taught her the importance of keeping your private life out of the public eye. And according to Moss, she has carried Depp's words with her decades later. "I was lucky to be with Johnny," she wrote in "Kate: The Kate Moss Book." "He taught me a lot about fame. He told me 'never complain, never explain'. That's why I don't use Twitter and things like that. I don't want people to know what is true all the time and that's what keeps the mystery."
Fox News reports that Depp and Moss reunited in May of 2022, when the actor invited his former girlfriend to a concert that he was performing in.
She disputed Amber Heard's testimony
During Amber Heard's testimony in the Depp vs. Heard defamation trial in the spring of 2022, she alleged that Johnny Depp pushed Kate Moss down the stairs during their relationship in the 1990s. In May 2022, Moss gave her witness testimony to debunk this claim. "We were leaving the room and Johnny left the room before I did," she said to the court. "There had been a rainstorm. As I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back. And I screamed because I didn't know what happened to me and I was in pain, and he came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention ... He never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs."
In Heard's court testimony, she says that she acted to protect her sister during an incident when she was close to a staircase, where she believed her then-husband would have pushed her down. "I don't hesitate, I don't wait — I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs. And I swung at him."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Kate Moss' incredible net worth
Kate Moss has been in the business since the '90s, so it's no surprise that the model is worth a ton of money. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she is worth a staggering $70 Million. Wow! But don't think for a second that the runway icon is hogging all that money for herself. Moss likes to give back whenever she can and has a history of donating to various charities, including the SamandRuby charity which, according to Look to the Stars, offers Thai children shelter and education.
According to the website, other organizations she has lent a hand to include Make Poverty History and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In the 1990s, she famously went on air with Johnny Depp to support the War Child Help charity, which helps offer food and medical supplies to children in need. In 2021, Moss auctioned off a video of herself sleeping to raise money for a mental health organization called Gurls Talk (per The Toronto Sun).
Moss' eccentric parenting style
Kate Moss has a rather eccentric style of parenting. Her daughter, Lila Moss, has an incredibly close relationship with her mother and even carries a photograph of the two of them in her purse (per the Daily Mail.) One of the reasons they have such a tight bond could be in part due to Moss' parenting style. According to the model, instead of refraining her daughter from engaging in mischief, she encourages it. That way, her daughter won't feel the need to rebel against her. As Moss reveals in an interview with Harper's Bazaar, her own mother was strict. This created a rebellious streak in Moss, and she became a little hell-raiser as a result of all the restrictions.
"You can never advise a teenager," she told Harper's Bazaar. "They'll never listen. I would never have listened. My mum tried, but I would just do the opposite. I asked my friend's mother once what she did when they're being annoying, and she said 'With my son, when he kicked a door, I told him to kick it harder.' I thought that was genius. And now she's 85, and her son is so successful, I bow down to her. It was very clever — to be strong like that and say 'kick it harder. If I was a kid and someone had said that to me, I think I would have backed off."
She regrets one of her past mottos
As previously mentioned, Kate Moss is adamant about keeping her personal life private. She is never one to tell all, whether that's through social media platforms, in-depth interviews, or celebrity memoirs. Yet she did offer one rare interview in 2009 to WWD, when she was asked to reveal some of the mantras she lives by. One of her mottos — "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" — received a wave of backlash from the general public, who believed she was promoting eating disorders/unrealistic body standards.
While sitting down with Megyn Kelly at Today, she explained the comment. "My friend used to say it," Moss revealed. "We were living all together, and you know, we'd go for the biscuits and we'd say, 'oh, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!' But it's a little jingle." Moss states earlier in the interview that she is thrilled about the diversity in the industry now, including people of various shapes and sizes.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
The model has a wholesome idea about beauty
One would think that a fashion icon of Kate Moss' status would have a very specific idea of what classifies as beautiful. Yet in an industry that is so driven by appearances, it wouldn't be surprising for Moss to place more emphasis on outward appearance as opposed to inner beauty. And although she has an abundance of beauty and makeup tips up her sleeve (some tips thanks to the help of her daughter, Lila, who taught her how to contour), she believes that the true definition of beauty comes from within.
Moss thinks that being a good person will change how others see you as a whole, and that even if you are physically attractive, it won't make up for a poor attitude. When asked by WWD how she defines beauty, she said, "It sounds really corny, but I think that if you're beautiful inside, it shows on the outside for sure. You can be a pretty face, but if you're not a nice person, it just doesn't work. I'm not traditionally a beauty, but apparently people think I'm all right. If you're a nice person, it definitely helps."