Kaia Gerber didn’t know mom Cindy Crawford was considered one of the greatest supermodels until last year.
During an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Tuesday, the 22-year-old admitted that her own modeling career was surely shaped due to her mother’s success — even if she didn’t realize how “iconic” Crawford was — and still is —until she watched “The Super Models.”
“I was like, ‘I didn’t realize. I knew you were iconic, but …’ I didn’t understand when I was younger,” she recalled telling her mom, 57, at the time.
“I was starstruck in front of her after.”
The Apple TV+ show highlighted Crawford’s career, as well as Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington’s, who were four of “The Big Six” in the 90s.
The docuseries detailed the highs and lows of the women’s careers, including the uncomfortable moment Oprah Winfrey told a then-20-year-old Crawford to stand up so the audience could look at her body.
Gerber, who bears a striking resemblance to her mother, noted that watching the show opened her eyes to all the hardships Crawford faced to provide the life she did for their family.
“What she made of her career, there wasn’t really someone’s footsteps to follow,” the young model told the outlet. “And I thought it was so cool that she always had that ambition, and she did things where people told her, ‘This will ruin your career. Don’t do this.’ And she trusted her instincts.”
Gerber praised her mom for being so “smart and focused and ambitious” from “a very young age” despite “coming from a very different background” than she did.
While Gerber grew up in Malibu, Calif. with pictures of her famous mother in Playboy on her walls, Crawford was raised by “poor” divorced parents and bullied as a teenager.
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However, Gerber pointed out that she is well aware of her privilege and how her “nepo baby” status has boosted her modeling career.
“I don’t think it’s a topic that will go away, so I’ve clearly reached a point of acceptance,” she said of the controversial term.
“I personally am very aware of all the wonderful things it has done for me, and I would never, ever say anything negative about it, because that is my truth about it.”
Due to her parents’ understanding of the industry, she feels fortunate to be able to turn to them for guidance. (Her dad is former model and Casamigos cofounder Rande Gerber.)
“I can actually ask my parents [for] advice on career things, on business things,” she explained.
“That’s very rare, to have parents who are in the same industry or career as you, whose advice you actually can trust.”
While she might have had help getting her foot in the door, Kaia has blazed her path over the years, becoming one of the most sought-after models in the industry.
Like her mom, Kaia’s catwalk is one of the best in the biz and her impressive resume includes the likes of Valentino, Calvin Klein, Burberry, Alexander Wang, Coach, Prada, Chanel, Fendi, Miu Miu, Givenchy and more.
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