In the ’90s, long before the age of social media influencers, supermodels reigned supreme. Glamazons like Cindy Crawford and her contemporaries were virtually inescapable, dominating photo shoots, music videos, commercials and more and becoming bona fide cultural icons. Given the fact that the career of a model has a notoriously short shelf life, and many models struggle to be taken seriously, it’s no surprise that a number of ’90s supermodels sought to find new careers as actresses once they’d conquered the fashion world.
Here’s a look at six forgotten films in which models attempted to make the jump from magazine cover girls to movie stars. While they were by and large unsuccessful, these B-movies are sure to take you back to a simpler and more stylish era.
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1. Fair Game (1995)
Cindy Crawford was the very definition of all-American beauty in the ’90s, and in 1995, she attempted to make it as a movie star when she appeared opposite William Baldwin in the action movie Fair Game. The film, in which Crawford played a lawyer who becomes a target for murder, was a notorious box office bomb, grossing just a fraction of its $50 million budget.
Looking back at the movie in 2021, Crawford said, “I never really wanted to be an actor, but a guy I met, who was a producer, begged me to be in it and kept upping the price until I thought, ‘I’m an idiot to say no.’ But I should have said no, or prepared myself better. The valuable takeaway was that I’m very comfortable in front of the camera, but only when I’m being me.”
2. The Blackout (1997)
The sultry blonde German supermodel Claudia Schiffer costarred in The Blackout, a provocative thriller in which she played a woman who becomes engaged to a drug-addicted movie star (Matthew Modine), and attempts to set him on a healthier path, until drama inevitably arises.
In an interview, Schiffer recalled that the film’s director, Abel Ferrara, who’s known for his brash and controversial persona, said, “The first goat that came down the road could have played the part better.” In 2003, she went on to appear in Love, Actually, a movie that was pretty much the polar opposite of The Blackout.
3. The Edge (1997)
Elle Macpherson, the Australian supermodel known as “The Body” due to her many Sports Illustrated swimsuit covers, played Anthony Hopkins’ model wife in The Edge, a survival thriller set in the Alaskan wilderness.
In a contemporary interview, Macpherson quipped, “People asked me why I did the movie. Sir Anthony Hopkins plays my husband, Alec [Baldwin] plays my lover. I mean, ‘Hello?’”
4. Prisoner of Love (1999)
Naomi Campbell made her mark as one of the few Black supermodels of the ’90s, and in 1999 she brought her signature glam to an unexpected setting when she played a woman who witnesses a crime, only to then get kidnapped by one of the violent perpetrators, in the gritty drama Prisoner of Love.
While Prisoner of Love wasn’t a hit, Campbell continued to act, and appeared in shows like American Horror Story, Empire and Star. When asked about her ongoing acting career, she said, “I’m not looking for fame. I’m already known so it’s really about me learning a new craft and trying to do the best I can. I’m learning each day.”
5. Restraining Order (1999)
German supermodel Tatjana Patitz, who sadly passed away in 2023, was known for her soulful, expressive quality, and she set out to bring that quality to the screen, playing the wife of a criminal defense attorney (Eric Roberts) in the 1999 thriller Restraining Order.
Patitz’s acting career didn’t take off, but she was called “a dead ringer for a young Lauren Bacall” when she played a small role as a murder victim in the 1993 film Rising Sun.
6. Head Over Heels (2001)
Shalom Harlow, a Canadian supermodel with a Snow White look, costarred in the 2001 rom-com Head Over Heels, playing one of four model roommates who ends up living with an unlucky-in-love non-model (Monica Potter) who discovers that her crush (Freddie Prinze Jr.), who she initially feared was a criminal, is actually an undercover FBI agent.
Head Over Heels was a box office flop, but Harlow continued to have supporting roles in films like Vanilla Sky (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and Melinda and Melinda (2004) and previously starred in the little-seen indie movie Cherry in 1999. The model jokingly likened Head Over Heels to a “Scooby-Doo episode.”
