How 40 of Your Favorite Models Got Discovered

Before Crawford graced the runway and the covers of all major fashion magazines, she was a girl living in the small town of DeKalb, Illinois. She recounted how a poolside photo that a local photographer took of her piqued her interest in modeling. From there, she traveled to Chicago and signed with the modeling agency Elite.

Forbes's longtime highest-paid model in the world was discovered while shopping in São Paolo, Brazil, The Independent reported. After walking her first runway at the age of 14, Bündchen went on to become the breakout supermodel of the late '90s and early 2000s, after making her big break at Alexander McQueen's spring 1998 show.

She has since dabbled in acting, appearing in movies like The Devil Wears Prada and Taxi, and most recently wrote a memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life.

The iconic supermodel was only 15 when she was spotted by Pennington Models scout Beth Boldt.

"A woman came up to me and asked if I'd ever thought of modelling. It was Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro agency. My immediate reaction was surprise and excitement," Campbell told The Guardian. "My mum wanted me to stay on at school and finish my exams. But I wanted things my way, so a few weeks later I went to see Beth on my own. On my first visit, she parted my hair in the middle, did my makeup and took me up on the roof in my school uniform to take a few black-and-white pictures. Eventually, Mum decided I could model, so long as it didn't interfere with my school work or exams."

In January 1990, Campbell was declared "the reigning megamodel of them all" by Interview. Most famously, she was also part of The Big Five supermodels of the '90s—going on to become a runway icon and the face of endless major fashion campaigns.

Renowned model scout Sarah Doukas found a 14-year-old Moss squabbling with her father at JFK Airport in New York. Doukas got on their flight to England and approached them in-flight as soon as the seat belt sign turned off, Business Insider reported.

In the '90s, Moss's collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fashion icon status after debuting the "heroin chic" look. Moss spent the decade dominating runways, campaigns, and editorials as one of the supermodels to watch.

Passing the torch along, Moss founded the Kate Moss Agency in 2016 for young models and creatives.

While horseback riding in Florida at the age of 14, Turlington was spotted by a photographer. Just one year later, she was making her way to Paris, she revealed in an interview with Harper's BAZAAR.

While dominating the '90s fashion world as one of The Big Five supermodels, she appeared in major campaigns for Calvin Klein, Chanel, Versace, and more while also walking every major runway show. In 2014, she was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential for the philanthropic work she has accomplished since.

"I took a modeling course in my hometown, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was sort of a scam. In order to work as a model, you had to pay for the classes. My mom paid for me. They sent me there at 16, and I was chosen by a Japanese agency to go over to Japan for the summer to work," Evangelista told Interview in 2013.

"My parents were strict Italians who didn't let me go out past 10 o'clock, and I had to choose between going out Friday or Saturday night and was not allowed to have a boyfriend. But they said okay. I got there and it was a catastrophe. They wanted me to take my clothes off and shoot me naked. It was a nightmare and I panicked and basically the Canadian Embassy helped me out. I was there about two days and went home, saying, 'I don't want anything to do with this ever again.' But how I got my start was that my modeling agency insisted I enter the Miss Teen Niagara Pageant."

Now, Evangelista is respected as one of the most iconic, influential models of all time and has appeared on more than 700 magazine covers.

Gigi inherited her modeling chops from her mom, Yolanda Hadid, and started her career when she was only two years old. She was first discovered by Guess cofounder Paul Marciano as a toddler and appeared in a Baby Guess campaign. As a teenager, she relaunched her modeling career and signed with IMG in 2013.

After landing her first major fashion editorial in the December 2014 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, Gigi's modeling career skyrocketed both on and off the runway. She has since walked just about every major fashion show, starred in a multitude of campaigns, and collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger for three seasons on the Tommy x Gigi brand.

Harlow was first discovered by Tyra Banks on Instagram, who cast her as a contestant on America's Next Top Model. Harlow placed sixth overall in the competition, after winning a second chance following her original elimination.

Since then, Harlow has walked runways for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, and was just cast as Victoria's Secret's newest model. She has also been a spokesperson for vitiligo and gave a TED talk in 2014 called, "My Story Is Painted on My Body."

Delevingne's close connections, including older socialite sister Poppy, helped launch her into the modeling world at a young age.

"I've been best-friends with Genevieve Garner, daughter of Sarah Doukas [CEO of Storm Model Management] since I was five. Sarah saw me when she came to our school and Gen introduced us. I had never thought about modeling before, and it just happened," she told The Telegraph in 2011. Delevigne was signed to Storm Model Management in 2009 and landed her first campaign for Burberry at 18 years old.

Delevingne quickly went on to dominate the runways and won Model of the Year at the 2012 British Fashion Awards.

Christie Brinkley has her dog to thank for her modeling career. In an interview with WWD, Brinkley revealed that, while calling a veterinarian for her sick dog in Paris, she met a photographer at the telephoning office who saw her potential. He asked to shoot her for a project, and Brinkley has since graced photoshoot sets worldwide. Merci, pooch!

Ambrosio started taking modeling classes in Brazil at the age of 12. She continued with the contests, and by the time she had turned 14, she was chosen as a finalist for the countrywide Elite Model Look competition. The rest, as they say, is history.

Along with appearing in major fashion campaigns for brands like Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana, the model has been most known for her work with Victoria's Secret. As one of the most recognized VS Angels, Ambrosio walked an astounding 17 Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, making last year her final walk for the annual show.

Long before walking the biggest shows at fashion week, Kloss walked a charity fashion show in her Missouri hometown. Then, at the age of 15, she made her New York Fashion Week debut on Calvin Klein's runway.

"I was discovered at 13 in a mall in St. Louis. I had never been on an airplane, actually." she told CBS in 2015.

Since, Kloss has walked every major runway in New York, London, Milan, and Paris—along with starring in campaigns for brands like Oscar de la Renta, Versace, and Diane von Furstenberg. In 2015, she partnered with Flatiron School and Code.org to create a scholarship program, Kode with Klossy, which supports young girls who are interested in computer science to become leaders in tech.

Instead of getting scouted by surprise, Smalls actively pursued modeling in Puerto Rico, where she was born and raised. Though she lost the competitions she entered as a young girl, she earned a much bigger prize later on. After moving to New York, Smalls signed to IMG Models in 2009 and focused on runway work. She got her big break walking at Givenchy Haute Couture in 2010, courtesy of Riccardo Tisci.

In 2010, Smalls began modeling for Victoria's Secret and has walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show since. But aside from the VS runway, she's also walked just about every major fashion show including Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Tom Ford, Versace, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, and Louis Vuitton.

The model was first discovered by British agency Profile Model Management when she was just 15 years old and signed to its New Faces division.

Whiteley made her runway debut at Vivienne Tam's New York Fashion Week show in 2004. She has appeared on dozens of magazine covers; graced campaigns for Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, and Balmain; and became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010.

EmRata's dream of acting and modeling came true when she signed with Ford Models at age 14. Between small modeling jobs, she dipped her toes into the acting world and once appeared on Nickelodeon show iCarly, according to The New York Times. She dropped out of college after one year to pursue her modeling career and got her big break in 2011 when she appeared naked in Robin Thicke's music video for "Blurred Lines."

Today, Ratajkowski has appeared in hundreds of magazines and even landed key roles in movies such as Gone Girl, Entourage, and I Feel Pretty.

Cool girl Woods was actually discovered by another model, Ash Stymest.

"I was literally at a bus stop in L.A. and Ash Stymest runs up to me and he's like 'Oye!' and I'm like, 'What the f**k? Who is this?'" she told CR Fashion Book in 2016. "So we got close and he ended up being one of my best friends for a minute. And then Dave [Mushegain] started taking pictures of me. And then I came to New York and The Lions signed me. I've been working with them for a couple months and then they finally signed me a week ago or something like that."

Woods has appeared in campaigns for Moschino and Calvin Klein and was named one of the faces of Fenty Beauty by Rihanna in 2017. In fact, the model is a regular muse to Rihanna herself and most recently walked her Savage x Fenty runway show at New York Fashion Week while nine months pregnant.

According to an interview with The Guardian, Dunn was spotted "mucking about"—not shopping, she corrects—in a Primark store when she was 15. She was approached by an agent from Storm Management, the same agency responsible for discovering Kate Moss. By 16, she was already walking in shows for Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.

Dunn has appeared as the face of Maybelline and in 2013, she was named Model of the Year at Harper's BAZAAR UK's Women of the Year Awards.

Aldridge was at her school carnival when she was discovered at the age of 16, according to Tatler. Her first job was a campaign for Abercrombie & Fitch.

Since then, Aldridge has appeared in campaigns for Rag & Bone, Bobbi Brown, Coach, and been named a Victoria's Secret Angel, walking in the brand's runway show each year.

The sweet-faced model got her claim to fame when she won a modeling contest for Dolly magazine at the age of 13 years old. Afterward, she moved to Brisbane to finish school and started modeling for Billabong. In 2004, she signed with NEXT Model Management and eventually signed a contract with Maybelline, later becoming the first Australian Victoria's Secret Angel.

The South African bombshell was unexpectedly discovered while shopping at a flea market. By the time she was 16, she was already modeling in Paris, according to Business Insider.

Along with being named a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010, Swanepoel has walked the runway for several major designers including Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, and Chanel. In 2018, she launched her own swimwear line, Tropic of C.