Background

Kate Moss was born on January 16, 1974, in Croydon, Greater London, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of Linda Rosina Shepherd, a barmaid, and Peter Edward Moss, an airline employee. Linda and Peter divorced, when Kate was 13 years old.

Kate has a younger brother, Nick, and a half-sister, Lottie (Charlotte).

Education

Kate grew up in the Addiscombe and Sanderstead areas of Croydon. She studied at Ridgeway Primary School and also attended Riddlesdown High School (present-day Riddlesdown Collegiate) in Purley.

Career

The start of Kate's career can be counted from the time, when, at the age of 14, she was discovered by Sarah Doukas, the owner of the modeling agency Storm. In 1990, Moss caught the attention of the fashion industry, when a series of stark unstylized photographs of her - taken by British photographer Corinne Day - was published in the youth style magazine The Face. At that time, the fashion industry was populated by supermodels, who were famous for their statuesque and curvaceous frames and traditionally glamorous images. With her more natural look, street style, and slight build - at five feet seven inches, she was short for a model - Moss became known as an "anti-supermodel," and she launched a new era in modeling, though not without some controversy.

In 1992, Moss signed with American designer Calvin Klein and she subsequently appeared in a series of advertisements for his brand, that highlighted her very thin frame, clothed in skimpy attire. The Klein campaign, as well as a photo spread in British Vogue shot by Day, caused a furor, as Moss was accused of promoting anorexia and pedophilia. She became the symbol for the so-called "heroin chic" generation, that followed the grunge style. Despite the uproar, Moss became one of the most sought-after and highest-paid models. In the ensuing decades, she appeared in ad campaigns for Dior, Burberry, Chanel, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana, among others. With her iconic style, she also became a muse to a number of designers. Although many models retire by their mid-20s, Moss remained busy into the 21st century, by which time she had appeared on more than 300 magazine covers.

In addition to her work in front of the camera, Moss also was involved in several design-related ventures. Her first collection for the retailer Topshop appeared in 2007 - it reportedly sold out in one day - and, in 2010, she debuted a line of handbags for Longchamp. She also launched a perfume line in 2007, and her first lipstick collection for Rimmel hit stores in 2011. In 2020, Moss's jewelry collaboration with Messika appeared.

Outside of the fashion world, Kate has become an icon of pop culture, appearing in numerous rock videos of such artists, as The White Stripes, Elton John and Marianne Faithfull. Her vocals can be heard on some recordings, including those of Oasis and The Lemonheads, among others.

Kate has appeared in a number of movies, including Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999), The Boy in the Dress (2014), Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), Zoolander 2 (2016) and Red Nose Day Actually (2017).

In addition, Moss wrote the book Kate: The Kate Moss Book in collaboration with Jefferson Hack, Fabien Baron, and Jess Hallett. Moss is also a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue.

Achievements

• 

  With a distinctive small stature and size zero figure, that stood in sharp contrast to many of the curvy supermodels of her time, Kate Moss created a niche for herself in the modeling industry, popularizing the notion of delicate-beauty and the wide-eyed 'waif' looks. She is one of the most iconic figures of the fashion industry and has appeared on the covers of over 300 magazines. Furthermore, she has worked with all the top and established fashion labels, designers and photographers in the industry, including, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Bulgari, Calvin Klein, Chanel and Rimmel. Successfully establishing herself at the forefront of the fashion scenario, she went on to become one of the world's leading fashion models.
  
  In addition, Moss ventured into the world of entrepreneurship with the launch of her own clothing line, which has diversified and broadened her horizon. Additionally, she was featured in a number of music albums and videos.
  
  It's also worth noting, that TIME magazine named Moss one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007. In 2012, she came second on the Forbes top-earning models list, with estimated earnings of $9.2 million in one year. Also, she has been enlisted in the 'Sexiest Woman List' by various magazines.
  
  Moss has attained a number of awards, including the Fashion Personality of the Year Award (1995), the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Icon Award (2005), the NME Sexiest Woman Award (2007), among others.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Kate: The Kate Moss Book

    (Created by Kate Moss herself, in collaboration with Fabie...)

    2012

• movie

  • Blackadder: Back & Forth

    (At a New Millennium Eve party, Blackadder and Baldrick te...)

    1999
  • Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

    (After attracting both media and police attention for acci...)

    2016
  • Zoolander 2

    (Derek and Hansel are lured into modeling again, in Rome, ...)

    2016

Religion

In 2009, there were rumors, that Kate had bought a statue of the Buddha and that she had also started meditating.

In 2011, Kate was married in a religious Christian ceremony, which was an indication of loose affiliation with Christianity through her husband.

Politics

Kate Moss tends to keep to herself any information, regarding her political views. She has not contributed to any political party, gay marriage discussions or other related topics. But she is famously a huge component of the body image discussion.

Views

Moss has supported War Child, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Hoping Foundation, the Lucie Blackman Trust, Make Poverty History, Comic Relief and Homes of Hope. In 2006, she contributed to the launching of the SamandRuby charity, which was started to provide funding for the education and shelter of Thai children. Besides, Kate provided Comic Relief with her support by recording an appearance in a Little Britain sketch and making a short film with Misery Bear for the March 2011 Comic Relief event, entitled "Misery Bear's Comic Relief Starring Kate Moss."

The model also gave her support to Cancer Research UK, designing a charm in a necklace for Wallis in 2007.

Quotations: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

"It's a sin to be tired."

"It was kind of boring for me to have to eat. I would know that I had to, and I would."

"What people say isn't going to stop me. I have to do things for myself."

"People don't hear me talk. They don't expect me to."

Personality

Moss is a very private person and rarely appears on television or gives interviews.

Kate prefers Lord of The Rings to Harry Potter.

Her favorite cheese is Stilton.

Christy Turlington is Kate's favorite supermodel.

Anita Pallenberg, Faye Dunaway and Marianne Faithfull are Moss's beauty icons.

Moss has said that her favorite animal is a lion because it matches her fierce personality.

Physical Characteristics: Kate is 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall. She practices yoga daily, doesn't go out nearly as much as she used to, and regularly takes care of her skin.

She used to do drugs.

Interests

• Music festivals, Japanese food, cooking and baking, especially making homemade jam

• Writers

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Sport & Clubs

  Chelsea Football Club; jogging, swimming

• Music & Bands

  Pop, dance

Connections

In 1994-1998, Moss dated Johnny Depp.

In the early 2000s, Kate was in relationships with Jefferson Hack, a curator, creative director and co-founder of Dazed Media. In 2002, their daughter, Lila Grace Moss-Hack, was born.

In January 2005, Moss got acquainted with Libertines member Pete Doherty. Later, the two would form relationships, and, on April 11, 2007, Doherty announced Moss as his fiancée during one of his concerts in London. However, the couple separated in July 2007.

It was on July 1, 2011, that Kate married Jamie Hince, an English musician, best known as the guitarist for the indie rock duo The Kills. The two parted their ways in 2015 and divorced in 2016. Moss has since been in relationships with German aristocrat and photographer Count Nikolai von Bismarck.

Father:

Peter Edward Moss

(born August 31, 1944)

Mother:

Linda Rosina Shepherd

(born September 8, 1947)

half-sister:

Charlotte "Lottie" Moss

(born January 9, 1998)

Brother:

Nicholas Peter Moss

(born November 1976)

ex-partner:

Jefferson Hack

(born 1971)

Jefferson Hack is a curator, creative director and co-founder of Dazed Media.

Daughter:

Lila Grace Moss-Hack

(born September 29, 2002)

ex-partner:

Pete Doherty

(born March 12, 1979)

Pete Doherty is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist.

Ex-husband:

Jamie Hince

(born December 1968)

Jamie Hince, in full James William Hince, is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the indie rock duo The Kills.

ex-partner:

Johnny Depp

(born June 9, 1963)

Johnny Depp, in full John Christopher Depp II, is an American actor, producer, and musician.

Moss and Depp dated for four years, beginning in 1994, and although they were frequently snapped by the press, their relationship was often described as tumultuous.

Partner:

Nikolai von Bismarck

(born December 29, 1986)

Count Nikolai Leopold Archibald von Bismarck-Schönhausen is a British-German photographer.

Friend:

Naomi Campbell

(born May 22, 1970)

Naomi Campbell is a notable English model, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist. She became the first black woman to appear on the cover of French Vogue en route to iconic status in the modeling industry. In addition, Campbell has made a number of acting appearances in film and television.

Friend:

Marc Jacobs

(born April 9, 1963)

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer.

Friend:

Frankie Rayder

(born January 26, 1975)

Frankie Rayder, born Heidi A. Rayder, is an American model. She appeared in the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show four times and in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue twice.

Friend:

Stella McCartney

(born September 13, 1971)

Stella McCartney, in full Stella Nina McCartney, is an English fashion designer.

Friend:

Rita Ora

(born November 26, 1990)

Rita Ora is a British singer, songwriter and actress.

References

• Kate Moss's Official Website
• Kate Moss by Mario Testino This book represents Mario Testino's personal choice of his photographs of Kate Moss.
  2010
• Kate Moss: Style A stylish celebration of top model Kate Moss's life in fashion.
  2008
• Kate Moss: Model of Imperfection This work discusses the turbulent times of one of the world's most beautiful women.
  2004
• Kate Moss: the Making of an Icon A fascinating, in-depth look at the iconic and enigmatic Kate Moss, perhaps the most famous fashion model in the world.
  2012
• Kate Moss: the Complete Picture Based on in-depth research, including candid conversations with friends and family, Laura Collins has written the first definitive biography of one of the most glamorous women in the world.
  2008