She’s following in the footsteps of her famous mother and possibly branching out for an even bigger career.
But Kaia Gerber admitted in a recent profile that it was only months ago that she realized just how ‘iconic’ her mother Cindy Crawford truly was.
The 22-year-old model-turned-actress revealed to the Wall Street Journal in a story published Tuesday that it wasn’t until she watched the documentary The Super Models that she understood the depths of the 57-year-old model’s fame.
‘I was like, “I didn’t realize. I knew you were iconic, but…” I didn’t understand when I was younger,’ she recalled telling her mother after seeing the docuseries, which premiered on Apple TV+ in September of 2023.
‘I was starstruck in front of her after,’ she added.
Kaia Gerber, 22, admitted to the Wall Street Journal that she only realized how ‘iconic’ her mom Cindy Crawford, 57, was in late 2023; seen together on November 15 in NYC
She watched the Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models — which premiered in September — and came to realize how much of pathbreaker her famous mother was; Crawford seen in 1990
The documentary traced the superstar careers of Cindy and her fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington.
She was interviewed extensively in the series, as were her fellow runway stars.
Although Kaia was likely somewhat familiar with the contours of her mother’s career, the in-depth look helped her to better understand how much of a pathbreaker she had been, as ‘there wasn’t really someone’s footsteps to follow.’
‘I thought it was so cool that she always had that ambition, and she did things where people told her, “This will ruin your career. Don’t do this.” And she trusted her instincts,’ the so-called nepo baby added.
She added that she was impressed by how ‘smart and focused and ambitious’ her mother was even early in her career.
It was doubly impressive because Cindy came ‘from a very different background’ than Kaia did, as she had none of her daughter’s family wealth and name recognition.
Cindy raised Kaia and her brother Presley, 24, with her husband, fellow model Rande Gerber, 61, whom she married in 1998.
The mini-me model didn’t seem too fazed about being referred to as a ‘nepo baby’ in discussions of her mother’s fame.
‘I don’t think it’s a topic that will go away, so I’ve clearly reached a point of acceptance,’ she said.’I personally am very aware of all the wonderful things it has done for me, and I would never, ever say anything negative about it, because that is my truth about it.’
It wasn’t just her parent’s wealth and fame that gave her a leg up in the modeling industry (and subsequently Hollywood) — she admitted she could always get advice on ‘career’ and ‘business things.’
Both parents would have plenty to say, and Rande is also a successful businessman after co-founding the popular tequila label Casamigos with his longtime friend George Clooney.
The documentary traced the superstar careers of Cindy and her fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington
Crawford was interviewed extensively in the series, as were her fellow runway stars
‘I thought it was so cool that she always had that ambition, and she did things where people told her, “This will ruin your career. Don’t do this.” And she trusted her instincts,’ the so-called nepo baby added
Kaia, who has lately expanded into acting, was particularly impressed with how her mother rose up from a difficult childhood from a broken marriage; seen in July 2023 in France
‘That’s very rare, to have parents who are in the same industry or career as you, whose advice you actually can trust,’ Kaia added.
Though she’s still best known for her eye-catching turns on the catwalk, Kaia has lately been expanding her focus toward acting.
She book roles on American Horror Story and the anthology series American Horror Stories, as well as a small part in the Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie–starring box office bomb Babylon.
More recently, she had a major supporting role in last year’s acclaimed high school lesbian sex comedy Bottoms, which stars The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri and Bodies Bodies Bodies actress Rachel Sennott.