Moms & Babies

Celebrity Baby Blog
Feb 21 2012 02:00 PM ET
Comments (26) Permalink

Cindy Crawford: I Wasn’t a Stage Mom at Kaia’s Versace Shoot

Courtesy Versace, Inset: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage

Modeling had always been a family affair for Cindy Crawford and her daughter Kaia Jordan — until Donatella Versace came calling!

“Her PR person called me. I think Donatella thought it would be fun because I had worked with Versace so much in the 80s and 90s,” Crawford, 46, tells The Daily Front Row of her daughter’s recent photo shoot as the face of Young Versace.

“[Kaia's] done little modeling things with me, but it was always with me, and this was just her. And I really wanted her to have that experience.”

Calling the big day “sweet,” Crawford accompanied Kaia to the set, but let the 10-year-old shine in the spotlight. “I could hear and see everything, but I wanted it to be about her — not me,” she says.

“Donatella kept saying, ‘Come! Stand here by me and we’ll watch it on the monitor.’ But I didn’t want to be a stage mom and make her nervous.”

However, when the campaign launched and the photos were released, Crawford wasn’t prepared for the attention Kaia — and her ads — received from the public.

“Kaia isn’t modeling, per se — she doesn’t have a portfolio or an agent,” she reveals. “She did one picture and it ended up going everywhere! I didn’t quite understand how much media play it would get. They were very smart to choose her.”

But quick to lay any rumors to rest, Crawford insists Kaia’s solo modeling debut was a one-time event — at least for now. “At this point, she’s too young to pursue a career,” she explains. “But if she’s 17 and wants to try it … of course, what can I say?”

And Kaia’s take on it all? The proud mama laughs that a future in front of the cameras seems to only be a back up plan for her little lookalike.

“She’s really into singing and acting,” Crawford shares. “She kind of jokingly said, ‘I might model first because you don’t have to know how to do anything, but then I want to be a baby nurse.’”

– Anya Leon

Comments (26) + Add a comment

If Kaia seriously said that last thing, she’s my new favourite person!

- Lau on

I’m glad to know Kaia isn’t interested in modeling, and that there isn’t any pressure from her mother for her to follow this path. Cindy and Randy sure are raising one smart, bright, funny girl.

- Julianna on

@Lau – LOVE that sentence too.

I’m glad to see Cindy’s not pushing modeling on her daughter. But, it appears Kaia is always wearing a full face of makeup (in various candid photos),and very revealing clothing for such a young girl.

I’m not “prudish” whatsoever, but the string bikinis, short tight skirts, and various low-cut tops seem inappropriate for a 10 year old.

Regardless, she is beautiful!

- RKF on

Loved the quotes in this article!

Hey, Kaia…I hope by “baby nurse” you meant homebirth midwife! :)

- blessedwithboys on

I’m glad Cindy isn’t pushing her!

@blessedwithboys- she could mean a NICU nurse, where preemies and other babies are. Not everyone wants or is safe having a home birth.

- Julie on

“I didn’t quite understand how much media play it would get.”
Yeah, sure. THE american supermodel, Tv host, designer is totally clueless about the fame game is played.

- cécile on

Baby nurse equaling homebirth midwife….what?!?!

Mary

- Jillian on

Oops! “about how the fame game is played”. That will teach me to write while tired.

- cécile on

THIS CHILD IS 10 YEARS OLD AND SHE LOOKS 25!! Whatever happenned to the innocence of youth? Oh, that’s right……model mothers like Ms. Crawfod think it’s okay for her daughter to wear a ton of makeup and bear her daughter’s legs up that high! Shame on you, Cindy!!

- NotCool on

Blessedwithboys, maybe she meant a NICU nurse or a pediatric nurse. Why does it have to mean homebirth midwife? There’s nothing wrong with being a nurse ANYWHERE.

- J on

She is all of 10 years old…

Way too young..

- lois on

At 10 years of age because of the make up and clothing places her in an age range that she should not be looked upon as a full pledge teenager of 16-17………..

- Mimi on

She should be playing with dolls not dressing up as one.

- bh on

It sounds like a lot of you didn’t bother to read the article. She is not pursuing modeling. This was a one time opportunity. All the carrying on about how this isn’t right for a 10 year old, if you had actually read the article, you would have noticed Cindy agrees with you.

- meghan on

Shame on you Cindy…she looks way too old. Come on! I would have preferred to see her in a JCPenney, Kmart or Old Navy ad.

- V on

Perhaps she should have played stage mom and intervened when they made her 10-year-old look 17. Way too young for this…

- dd on

She’s 10? She is going to be a stunner. I hate to be a prude, but I do think that outfit is not quite appropriate for a 10 year old.

- Beth on

I don’t care what outfit she’s wearing….she is too young for “posing” for pictures.

As far as Cindy, bad plastic surgery on the eyes. She looks permanently like the deer caught in the headlights.

- smith on

Yeah right!

- Shannon on

lolol…y’all take ppl way to seriously on here…geez…I think it sounded like a once in lifetime opp for her to do this with Versace.

Remember her “normal” is very different than most of our kids “normal”.

Also, what 10 year old really knows what they want to do when they become an adult anyways! Take a chill peeps!

- Cathy on

Children usually follow in the foot steps of their parents/she has lived a charmed
life and will want to continue to do so!!!!!!!!!

- susie q on

Cindy is definately a smart woman for building such a career and having such longevity, I can only think of a few other models who have done the same…Heidi, Kate, and Gisele. Short list.

BUT…why did she have to do so much obvious cosmetic work to her face?? She’s not even old, she would look so beautiful if she let herself age gracefully…she would set an example for other women! Now her eyes look weird and her face is no longer symmetrical. She still has a great body, she takes care of herself, her face would have looked good even with a few wrinkles, so what was she thinking?

Why Cindy, why???

Pretty soon everyone is going to look fake and plasticky after a certain age, then the natural ones will seem more beautiful.

- Alia on

I think by baby nurse they’re referring to the nurse people in Cindy’s income bracket employ to help take care of their babies when they’re newborn. I’ve heard Cindy refer to hers as “baby nurse”. Midwife would be known as midwife or “doula” for the assistants.

- Mel on

Mel,

What does this mean? “to the nurse people in Cindy’s income bracket employ to help take care of their babies when they’re newborn.” I know what a baby nurse is and she may be referring to that or a nurse that works with babies at a hospital. What I don’t understand is, what does Cindy’s income bracket have to do with anything??? How can you speculate that she would only be a baby nurse for someone as wealthy as her mother? Really…..

Mary

- Jillian on

What’s sad is the outfit they put this 10 year old in! Really? She’s 10 and if she bent over you’d see her bits and pieces. Honestly, let kids be kids and dress like…..KIDS!

- Avery on

She is 10!!!!! She looks like a street walker!!!!

- Cathey on

Advertisement

Add A Comment

PEOPLE.com reserves the right to remove comments at their discretion.




Get Moms & Babies Everywhere

Advertisement

mother's day

most read stories

latest photos

Squeals & Deals

Sign-up for the Mom's &s Babies Free Weekly Newsletter

Free Weekly Newsletter

Dad Said It

"Harper was a name that we've loved for a long time for a couple of reasons. Harper is an old English name, and Victoria's favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird."

 

From Our Partners