Well if I had to comment on the supermodels phenomena , I'd say that they definitely influenced my interest in fashion .Christy Turlington was my favourite model , I could stare at her pictures for hours ,she had (still has) the most perfect face I had/have ever seen , Kristen McMenamy was a revelation , and somehow it took me a long time to get interested in Kate Moss , though she's my favourite model now . Linda Evangelista was the 'Supermodel' par excellence for me , she probably couldn't have been an actress but she could be compared to one in her approach of 'modelling' she could play any role , and was very expressive . Some models somehow remind of certain moments of my life , like when my then 13 y old best friend dyed her hair in red like Sybil Buck and was regarded as a freak at school .
I think models then had more charisma , I don't think that the 'It girls' now will still be around in ten or fifteen years like Eva Herzigova, Kate Moss, or Christy now . I guess it's also related to the the constant demand of novelty that marks the industry fashion now , models don't last too long...
As for the comments in this thread , I'd add a few random thoughts/infos : Heather Stewart Whyte became famous in France when she got married to Yannick Noah a famous French tennis player and singer and for her ads as the face of the perfume 'Dolce Vita' by Dior .Karen Mulder attempted to commit suicide twice after she split with Jean-Yves Le Fur and didn't really succeed as a singer as her friend Carla Bruni did . I miss the model friends like : Amber and Shalom , Carla and Karen , Kate and Naomi (does anyone have pictures of these two posing together ?) . And somehow male models got really famous in the 90's too...I think Laetitia Casta should be added too...