Background and career
Linda Evangelista ( EE-van-jə-LEE-stə; Italian: [evandʒeˈlista]; born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian fashion model. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential models of all time, and has been featured on over 700 magazine covers. Evangelista is primarily known for being the longtime muse of photographer Steven Meisel, as well as for the phrase: "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day."
Evangelista's modelling career began in 1984, when she signed with Elite Model Management after moving from Canada to New York City. Upon the suggestion of photographer Peter Lindbergh, Evangelista had her hair cut short in 1988.
Described as the "chameleon" of the fashion industry and one of the "Big 6" supermodels (with Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford), Evangelista was one of the most famous women in the world during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.
Unlike her colleagues, Evangelista chose not to diversify into other ventures outside of modelling. She retired from her career in 1998 and made a comeback three years later, this time working only sporadically. Her achievements as a model led to her being voted as "The Greatest Supermodel of All Time" by the viewers of the television show Fashion File in 2008.
Evangelista was born into a strict working-class Catholic family on May 10, 1965, in St. Catharines, Niagara Region, Ontario. Her parents, Tomaso "Tom" Evangelista (died 2014) and Marisa, had emigrated from Pignataro Interamna, Lazio, Italy. Tom worked for General Motors following his emigration in 1957, and Marisa is a bookkeeper. The second of three children, Evangelista has two brothers.
How Linda Evangelista makes money
In 1991, it was rumoured that the fashion house Lanvin paid Evangelista $20,000 to walk in their haute couture show for the spring/summer season, an amount that was considered excessive. Nonetheless, limited edition prints of the image were sold for $1,000 a piece, to benefit Ads Against AIDS. Evangelista later landed an endorsement deal with Clairol worth over $5 million.
