In a video chat with fellow model Naomi Campbell, the supermodel recalls being criticized over her signature beauty mark when she first started out her career in the fashion industry.
- April 8, 2020
AceShowbiz - Cindy Crawford was told to remove her famous beauty mark in order to make it in the modelling world.
The 54 year old reflected on early criticisms of her looks in a video call with Naomi Campbell for her limited Youtube series, "No Filter with Naomi", and revealed she frequently had her signature mole airbrushed out of photos.
"I did a British Vogue cover, I think with David Bailey, before I did an American Vogue cover, and on the British Vogue cover they retouched it out. So there is a cover of me out there with no mole," she shared.
The star, who began her career in Chicago, revealed her mother encouraged her not to alter her appearance.
"When I went to my first modelling agency... it was in Chicago," she added. "It was a tiny little agency, I don't even remember the name of it. They said I should remove it and my mother was like, 'OK, you can do that but you don't know what the scar will look like. You know what your beauty mark looks like.' "
Cindy chose to embrace her unique look, much to the future dismay of makeup artists. "It's not flat; you can't cover up my mole, otherwise it looks like a gigantic pimple," she explained. "Chicago seemed fine but when I worked in Japan, sometimes they would retouch it off."
It wasn't until her first American Vogue cover in 1986 that she felt her look was truly accepted.
"When I did my first American Vogue cover with (photographer) Richard Avedon and (stylist) Polly Melon, I didn't know if they would leave it on or not, and then they did and I think once it was on the cover of American Vogue, then it wasn't an issue anymore."
She added, "Many women have beauty marks and when they saw me on the cover of Vogue or in a magazine with my beauty mark it made them feel more comfortable with their own beauty mark."
