HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA

Today is Linda Evangelista's 51st birthday! To celebrate her magnificence here are a few facts you may not have known about this 80s and 90s supermodel.

Even when she loses, she wins!

Evangelista was always known in her Canadian home town as being the model. Local businesses used her for advertising from an early age. When she was 15 she entered a Miss Teen Niagara beauty pageant and lost. However, even though she lost the pageant she did manage to catch the eye of a representative from Elite Model Management! This was truly the starting point of her career.

Dedication, time and practice.

Linda Evangelista always knew she wanted to be model. There was only ever one time when she was put off of the career which was when she was 16 years old. She was faced with a tragic decision at such an early age of whether or not to stick with her morals. Elite Model Management at the time believed that it was acceptable for a 16 year old to take part in a nude photo-shoot. However, Evangelista was not willing to give up on her dignity and bravely left Japan where she had planned to spend a year. It took her two years to model again.

The awakening of Grunge.

Grunge began to trend in the early 90s but there is still evidence of it beginning in the late 80s. Evangelista was suggested to get her hair cut short by Julien d'Y (French Hair Stylist). When she did, her career was put in danger as the same day she was photographed by Lindbergh which later became the infamous "white shirt" shoot of 1988. Once this editorial was published she was immediately cancelled from 16 shows. Although the fashion industry didn't approve the public did! This haircut soon became 'the Linda', one of the most popular hairstyles of the early 1990's.

The Trinity

Linda was part of a group of supermodels known as 'the Trinity'. These three supermodels in the group included Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. Then the three were later joined by Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz. This well known group of supermodels were seen as iconic. Just to prove it British Vogue published an entire issue in their honour in 1990. This featured each of them in a cover and editorial.