She’s pushing 25 years in the business, but Kate Moss, who turns 40 today, is still at the pinnacle of fashion. The supermodel was spotted at the age of 14 by Storm Models founder Sarah Doukas at JFK airport, and the skinny south London schoolgirl has since become an international icon and household name.
And to mark her landmark birthday, a revealing new illustrated biography has been put together by Chris Roberts and is published today. The enlightening book explores the life, loves and looks of one of the world’s favourite British models,
and it misses no highs or lows, chronicling everything from that cocaine scandal to her intense relationships with men including Pete Doherty and Johnny Depp.
It features lesser-known truths about the star, including the fact she paid Jefferson Hack, the father of her daughter Lila Grace, 11, a cool £1 million when they broke up. It also reminds us of the time her younger brother Nick was signed to Storm Models, and how the pair starred together in a Versace campaign.
The fascinating read is accompanied by hundreds of glamorous, intimate and revealing portraits. ‘Kate Moss has grown up in public,’ journalist Julie Burchill wrote back in 1999, ‘into one of the most singular and shimmering icons our damp little islands have ever produced.’
Today, Kate is one of the most recognizable – and, against all odds, durable – stars alive. She’s exceeded the career expectation of a model by 15 years. Most retire by 25. To more than one generation the mother and wife – who said she’d ‘never dress like a wife’ – is an unconventional inspiration and the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll style guru.
Kate has worked in fashion for over three decades, launching styles and defining trends. Yet she never becomes dated. She is due to launch yet another range for Topshop in April. Her look evolves and so does she, making her an endlessly fascinating subject, both photographically and biographically.
Her rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle and celebrity status provide compulsive viewing and reading. The book is compiled and written by author Chris Roberts, who thought Kate’s 40th was ‘worth landmarking’. And it’s because ‘she’s endured particularly well, and her career has had a longevity that I think most people didn’t think it would have when she was discovered at 14,’ he tells the Telegraph.
Although Roberts has never met Kate, he compiled the book from media coverage and interviews with the very few friends of hers who will speak out, such as singer Bryan Ferry. ‘You won’t find anyone with a bad word to say about her who knows her because a) they are friends, and b) there is this kind of fierce loyalty around her, there is a protective circle,’ he says.
In the author’s opinion, Kate’s lack of interaction with the press and presence on social media just adds to her intrigue and makes her even more appealing to the art world. ‘She’s got this sphinx-like quality, in that apart from her circle of celebrity friends, and business friends, no one really knows what she’s like,’ he speculates. Chris Roberts has also published books on Lou Reed, Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, Abba, Scarlett Johansson and Heath Ledger.