1984: Paulina Porizkova
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This Czech-born Swedish supermodel broke barriers in the 1980s for being the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Her family had fled the former Czechoslovakia when the Soviets invaded and she never looked back.
Porizkova had been well known in the Paris modeling circuit in the early 1980s, but it wasn’t until an aspiring makeup artist used her as a canvas and sent the photos to Elite Modeling Agency. Rather than noticing the makeup, the agency noticed Porizkova.
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1985: Carol Alt
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This New York City-born model was enrolled in college on an army scholarship when she was discovered by a photographer. She was then introduced to the founder of Elite Model Management and offered a contract on the spot. Alt became a household name in 1982 after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
By 1985, Alt had landed numerous ad campaigns with Diet Pepsi, Cover Girl, Noxzema, Hanes, and Givenchy. Her fame in beauty covers gave her the nickname “The Face.”
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1986: Kim Alexis
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Alexis began modeling when she was only 18 after being discovered by an agent for Elite Model Management. Her rise to fame came in the early ’80s when she notoriously replaced ’70s supermodel Lauren Hutton as the face of Revlon’s Ultimate II Line.
1986 was one of the few years in the 1980s that Alexis didn’t appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Alexis was photographed for the magazine from 1982-85, and again in 1987 and 1988.
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1987: Yasmin Le Bon
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Le Bon became one of the highest earning models during the 1980s when she represented numerous high-fashion brands. In 1987, Le Bon was hired to be the face of Guess?. From there, she went on to represent Calvin Klein, Versace, Chanel, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor.
While other models in the ’80s had begun to brand themselves with advertising campaigns, Le Bon took it to a new level with retail fashion.
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1988: Karen Alexander
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This African-American beauty was working in a nursing home when she was 13 when she decided to try her hand at modeling. She was inspired by other models of color like Iman and Johnson. Her cousin took some amateur photos of her, and for more than two years she was denied by agencies.
She was finally signed by Legends Agency in the late ’80s. By 1988, Alexander had landed campaigns for Cover Girl, Tiffany & Co., and Chanel.
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1989: Kathy Ireland
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Ireland was scouted by Elite Model Management when she was only 16 back in 1979, but the peak of her career came one decade later. The 1989 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue featuring Ireland on the cover was the most-sold issue to date.
The cover is still iconic in Sports Illustrated history because for their 50th Anniversary event, they named Ireland’s cover “The Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Of All Time.”
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1990: Linda Evangelista
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Nicknamed “The Chameleon” this Canadian model’s career began in 1984, but seamlessly transformed over the years and adapted to the dirty, grungy ’90s. In 1988, Linda made waves by having her hair cut short and inspiring a generation of women to lop off their locks.
The Chameleon nickname came after she was able to seamlessly dye her hair any color and still make it work. Evangelista also famously said the quote “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”
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1991: Christy Turlington
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Turlington is another model who used her unique features to make a name for herself. Her pillow-lipped smile was complimented by what professionals call a “perfectly symmetrical face.” By 1991, she was one of the top earners in the industry after making $800,000 during a 12-day campaign with Maybeline.
She also booked gigs thanks to the reputation that she was one of the nicest and professional people in the fashion industry.
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1992: Kate Moss
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Back in the early ’90s, Moss was just a teenager from London, England, who was considered too short and thin to be a model. Her 1992 Calvin Klein campaign alongside Marky Mark sealed her fame.
At the time, Moss was considered the anti-supermodel in comparison to women like Cindy Crawford and Brooke Shields. Her ultra-thin physique went on to brand the “heroin chic” look and she was considered to be a figure of “dirty realism.”
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1993: Naomi Campbell
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One of the most recognizable supermodels from the ’90s may have been inspired by previous African-American models, but she had a tough rise to the top. In the late ’80s, Campbell faced numerous racial discriminations, but thanks to white models as allies, she began to book more and more gigs.
In 1993, Campbell appeared twice on the cover of American Vogue. That same year she famously fell on the Vivienne Westwood catwalk in foot-high platform shoes, but she was so popular that the fall didn’t hurt her career.
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1994: Claudia Schiffer
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This blonde Bavarian beauty grew up wanting to be a lawyer, but things changed in 1987 when she was discovered by the head of the Metropolitan Model Agency. From there, Schiffer moved to the United States and became a top model in the early ’90s.
In her early days, she was largely compared to Brigitte Bardot, but by 1994 she had discovered her own image. Karl Lagerfeld selected Schiffer as the face of Chanel and Vogue named her one of their “Modern Muses.”
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1995: Amber Valletta
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Valletta knew she wanted to be in the entertainment, but never had her sights set on modeling. Instead, it was her mother that enrolled her in classes and got Valletta signed at age 15.
The mid-1990s proved a perfect time for Valletta to use modeling to break into other parts of the business. She appeared 13 times on the cover of American Vogue and rocked the runways for a decade until she finally made her acting debut in 2000.
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1996: Tyra Banks
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While Banks had a very successful career throughout the early ’90s on the runways of Europe, 1996 proved to be a pivotal year for her. February 1996 marked the year that Banks became the first African-American model to be featured on the cover of GQ.
Thanks to this monumental achievement, Banks became a household name in America and landed more lucrative work. She was awarded “Supermodel of the Year” in 1997, and that same year became the first African-American model to become a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
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1997: Helena Christensen
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Christensen got her foot in the fashion industry’s door when she won the Miss Copenhagen competition. She then went on to compete in the Miss Universe competition where she was noticed by modeling agents.
The Danish model had appeared on over 650 magazine covers and became one of Victoria’s Secret’s famous Angels. Christensen took the idea of being a supermodel to the next level when she founded the magazine Nylon and became a clothing designer.
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1998: Rebecca Romjin
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Aside from being famously married to ’90s hunk John Stamos, Romjin established herself as a supermodel in the latter half of the decade by walking the runways with fellow models like Crawford, Evangelista, and Turlington.
Romjin was named the host of MTV’s House of Style in 1998, and it was there she found her love of television. People today might more readily recognize Romjin for her role as Mystique in the X-Men franchise.
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1999: Heidi Klum
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Klum perfectly encapsulates the transition from ’90s supermodels to ’00s super career women. This German model got her start modeling in the late ’90s and made her mark at the turn of the millennium when she appeared on the cover of the 1999 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Klum was also the first German model to be named a Victoria’s Secret Angel and would go on to be an actress, producer, author, fashion designer, and television personality.
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2000: Gisele Bündchen
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In 2000, a model who’s now a household name was top in her field: the stunning Gisele Bündchen. Hailing from Brazil, Ms. Bündchen rose to fame in the late 2000s and is credited by some as ushering in the “heroin chic” era of modeling.
She’s now married to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and is still one of the highest-paid models in the world. In fact, Forbes named her as the 89th Most Powerful Woman in the World in 2014. Fun fact: Bündchen has a twin sister, Patricia!
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2001: Natalia Vodianova
With the nickname Supernova, Russian model Natalia Vodianova has been wowing the world with her gorgeous looks. She first rose to international stardom with an eight-season, seven-figure contract with Calvin Klein, and by 2012 had earned $8.6 million in one year.
Vodianova is almost as well known for her philanthropic work as her modeling career. She’s been named one of Vogue India’s Women of The Year, a Harper’s Bazaar Inspiration of the Year, and a Glamour Woman of the Year. Mattel created a Russian Barbie with her name in 2016.