From gooey romcoms to high-octane action thrillers, supers including Gisele Bundchen, Devon Aoki, and Cindy Crawford have proven they're more than just a pretty face
If you want to be on top, as Tyra Banks was wont to say on America’s Next Top Model, you’ve got to give so much more than just a stunning face and near-psychopathic smize. Beauty alone is boring. You’ve got to embody enigma, charm, and personability. Solely being drop dead gorgeous? Dull!
To reach the woozy heights of Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, or Cindy Crawford, you’ve got to come cloaked in je ne sais quoi. The kind of luminescence which probably oozed out of Gisele when she was first spotted scoffing at a Sao Paulo McDonalds or Kate Moss, who was slumped over an airport check-in desk when she was scouted.
It’s an allure that often goes beyond the expanses of the fashion world, too. After all, what is a model without the slew of multi-hyphenate titles trailing after their name? Tyra, for example, can count being a talent-show judge, perfumier, theme park maven, actress, singer, novelist, and interviewer-extraordinaire as just a few of the accolades that she has been decorated with over her career.
As ridiculous as some of these may sound, navigating the world borderless and unboundaried is seemingly a supermodel’s superpower (see Carla Bruni as First Lady of France or Naomi Campbell's kinship with Nelson Mandela). And, over the years, the movie industry has made full use of this universal appeal, serving us some of the most iconic fashion cameos and cult crossovers. Below, we trace the most memorable exchanges between supermodel and silver screen.
GISELE IN TAXI (2004)
Alongside Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen joined the cast of Taxi as Vanessa, the leader of an all-female group of bank robbers. “I didn't have any time to prepare,” she said of the role, which was one of the reasons she reportedly took on the job. “I figured she's a Brazilian bank robber; I don't have to lose my accent. I really didn't think it was going to be that difficult.” Aside from line learning, Taxi isn’t really the type of film you’d exactly need to prepare for anyway. It’s also the type of film that probably wouldn’t get made now. One tiresomely drawn-out scene features Gisele suggestively frisking co-star Jennifer Esposito on the side of a car, which made her feel “a little embarrassed”. "OK, what are men going to like?” the model imagines the producers saying, “two girls touching themselves. Great!"
DEVON AOKI IN 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS (2003)
Stepping into the role of bad girl drag racer Suki, Devon Aoki’s hand in 2 Fast 2 Furious really kept the fashion girls fed. We got fuschia cowhide chaps, low-rise magenta lace-ups, studded belts, school girl skirts, and hand-spliced crop tops. Plot-wise, the film had something to do with cars, racing, and mechanics – though it’s difficult to recall considering we’re now in the 13th iteration of the movie franchise. However, Devon’s inimitable styling, courtesy of costume designer Sanja Hays, has stood the test of time. With all her Y2K regalia and give-a-fuck commentary, you just know Suki would have done numbers on depop.
PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE IN PRET-A-PORTER (1994)
Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, Cher, Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gautier, Christian Lacroix, Issey Miyake, Gianfranco Ferré, Björk, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Nicola Trussardi. This is the (non-exhaustive list) of cameos that featured in 1994 Paris Fashion Week-set, murder mystery flick Pret-a-Porter. Making up its main cast were the likes of Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, Kim Basinger, and Julia Roberts. Yet no amount of star power could have pulled this film from the brink of annihilation, as it was totally and utterly panned by critics. So derided was the film that Karl Lagerfeld even blocked its release in Germany – though Forest Whittaker calling the late designer a “thief” in an offhand line may have had something to do with that.
ELLE MACPHERSON IN SIRENS (1994)
Based on the life of artist Norman Lindsay, the mid-90s movie Sirens is Hugh Grant at his most Hugh Grant. Portraying an Anglican priest, the floppy haired cleric travels to Australia where he meets Lindsay and his entourage of free-loving bohos – among them a striking Elle Macpherson. The film follows the sexual awakening of Grant and his wife (Estella), who, initially quite perturbed by all the conversations surrounding sex and nudity, do end up getting their bits out on a nudist beach. Good for them! Although the couple eventually leave the bucolic surroundings of Australia, they return to England somewhat reformed and a little less prudish.
KATE MOSS IN AB FAB: THE MOVIE (2016)
In a slightly more realistic interpretation of the “siren” theme, Kate Moss plays a central role in Ab Fab: The Movie, where she gets accidentally toppled into the Thames by Edina. Obviously, chaos ensues as Edina and Patsy escape to live a life on-the-run in the South of France. Then, a few weeks later, Kate emerges from the river, bedraggled, with a cig hanging from the corner of her mouth, swilling a half glass of prosecco. Remarkably, neither of which have been dampened in the process. On finding out that Kate Moss is in fact alive and well, the hapless duo return to the UK. Edina then becomes Kate’s new PR, on the back of which she is able to relaunch her career and finally live life in the spotlight.
TYRA BANKS IN COYOTE UGLY (2000)
As part of the raucous Coyote Pack, Tyra Banks plays barmaid Zoe, who, despite getting paid hundreds of pounds in tips a night, decides to leave her job to further her education. Boring! The film tells the story of Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) who leaves her home in New Jersey and moves to New York City in order to pursue her dreams of becoming a songwriter. There, she joins the crew at Coyote Ugly, the riotous fictional bar which lays the scene for LeAnn Rimes’ now iconic music video for Can’t Fight the Moonlight. Banks recently revealed on the Kelly Clarkson show that a Coyote Ugly sequel was in the works, full details TBC.
SHALOM HARLOW IN HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN TEN DAYS (2003)
Starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days is a canonical piece in the early 2000s romcom oeuvre. Full of dramatic irony and Shakespearean subplots, the film follows Benjamin, who has been challenged by his co-workers to find a woman to fall in love with (so that he doesn’t have to go to a work party alone). Meanwhile, the egregious journalist Andie has been commissioned to write an article on how to lose a man in – you guessed it – 10 days. Despite the odds, and with the help of matchmaker-cum-pot stirrer Judy Green (played by Shalom Harlow) the two end up falling helplessly in love. We all need a Shalom.
CINDY CRAWFORD IN FAIR GAME (1995)
In Fair Game, Cindy Crawford relinquishes herself from the object of a photographer’s lens to find herself the target of KGB agent Ilya Pavel Kazak. It’s a convoluted drama instigated by Cindy’s (or attorney Kate McQuean’s) nosiness as she snoops on her ex-husband’s yacht, soon discovering that it is, in fact, KGB headquarters. Like a working woman’s Lara Croft, Cindy throws herself blood-stained out of flaming windows into the arms of Max Kirkpatrick, played by William Baldwin (yes, another Baldwin), the police detective sent to protect her. The New York Times called it “bland” but with good pyrotechnics, so that’s something.
CLAUDIA SCHIFFER IN LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)
German super Claudia Schiffer crops up in Richard Curtis’ cult christmas classic Love Actually for roughly 60 seconds towards the end. The could-be love interest of Liam Neeson, Claudia makes her appearance post-nativity in the school corridor, where she first encounters Neeson. He mistakenly calls her Karen (which hits differently post 2020) and she responds: “Carol. I’ll make sure we do”. Romantic as it is brief, she turns up at the airport at the end of the film, implying that the two shacked up together. Claudia was allegedly paid £200,000 for the cameo, an impressive mark up from Linda Evangelista’s “I never get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.” Must be inflation!