Kaia Gerber covers the February issue of Elle. The editorial is fine, albeit a bit undercooked? “Put a pretty model at the beach.” And that’s as far as they went. The interview is a bit more interesting – I haven’t read one of her interviews in a while, maybe a year or so? Back in the day, Kaia wasn’t really interesting enough to be the subject of an interview – she’s lived a life of (mostly unexamined) privilege, she had an extremely easy path into modeling and she’s barely had any struggles in her life. That’s still the case, but at least she’s more of a conversationalist now. She reads! She acts! She’s a comedy nerd! Some highlights from Elle:
Her Malibu childhood: “When I say it’s a small town, people laugh, but it really did feel like that. Same kids from preschool till you graduate. So [modeling] really expanded my world by an infinite amount.”
Off-duty style: “I put a lot of effort into it. Then I realized I want to be comfortable. If you’ve seen me anytime in the last two years, I’m most likely wearing sweatpants, because my priority is just somewhere else now.” You get the feeling she’s not just talking about fashion: “I’ve gone back to who I am at my core.”
She’s different now: “I’m only 21, and I feel like I’ve lived a whole life already. Having the opportunity to travel taught me so much from such a young age. I got this really amazing education. I have this catalog of images that has recorded my growing up. You’re growing, and you’re changing: your body, what you like, your taste. Being surrounded by so many creatives shaped my taste. I’m very much an observer, and I retain a lot.
Her mom’s advice: “Be on time. Take the time to learn people’s names, and be nice to everyone. If you’re not grateful and happy to be there, there’s someone who would be. Even when I was really tired, or wanted to go home, or felt lonely, I would remind myself how lucky I was. Another thing she told me is, “I wish I had written more down,” because you think you’re going to remember these amazing moments forever, and one day, it’s hard to even know what shoot that was, where it happened, and when. And so I wrote it down; I journaled.
How her personal style has evolved: “I remember the first time being like, “Oh, people care what I’m wearing.” That wasn’t how I felt growing up. In Malibu, people didn’t wear shoes to school….
The idea of carrying around a book she didn’t read: “Getting people to read, no matter how you do it, is very cool. But how can you promote something that you don’t fully understand? I would never tell people to read a book that I’ve never read. I’ve had people be like, “Do you really read the books you carry?” I was like, “Would I be carrying a book that I haven’t read?” I always have a book, because in the job that I’m in, you wait around a lot. I cannot be on my phone. Social media makes me anxious when I spend a lot of time on it, so that’s why I escape into books.
The pandemic made her develop healthier habits: “I developed so much deeper relationships in my life, and also a connection to myself. When you’re forced to sit with yourself, all of a sudden, you’re aware of all the stuff you haven’t dealt with. There wasn’t communication happening between me and myself, and I felt out of body sometimes. Once I developed that, I was like, “This isn’t something I want to give up.” My personal life and my mental health are not something I’m willing to sacrifice for my job ever again. Right now, I’m getting to work at home, which is a beautiful thing, and not traveling all the time. I come home, and I’m with my dog. I have friends, and I’m cooking dinner. I see my therapist, and I see my family.
On nepotism: “I won’t deny the privilege that I have. Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for. My mom always joked, “If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.” But I also have met amazing people through my mom whom I now get to work with. With acting, it’s so different. No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid. That just isn’t how art is made, and what I’m interested in is art. Also, no one wants to work with someone who’s annoying, and not easy to work with, and not kind. Yes, nepotism is prevalent, but I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we’d see even more of it.
“My mom always joked, ‘If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.’” Horsesh-t. Cindy nepotized Kaia from her early teens, introducing Kaia to all of her fashion and editorial connections, agreeing to do mother-and-daughter magazine covers, paving Kaia’s way for years. Not only that, but Cindy pushed Kaia into modeling very early on (something Kaia clearly wasn’t actually ready to do). Be real, Kaia. As for “No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid” – it’s actually kind of sweet that she’s that naive? It’s like “oh, honey, of course people sacrifice their vision constantly because some producer wants his daughter to get this part.” She’s really defending herself there – like, every modeling gig she’s ever gotten has been solely on her accord, because she was the artist/photographer/designer’s first choice? Baby girl, I hate to break it to you…
Photos courtesy of Elle.
Oh, sweetie. 😂 completely tone deaf
I say this again, she looks nothing like Cindy. She has Randi’s whole face.
There ain’t nothing wrong with that, but it explains why Cindy had to push as hard as she did in having people believe Kaia is her mini me.
Made even more complicated by the fact that her son actually DOES look like her.
It’s a shame that for every nepobaby who gets to stare dead-eyed on a magazine cover and call themselves a model, another one is self-sabotaging with massive face tattoo and a drug habit.
Presley Gerber doesn’t seem like a happy kid but he’s not more attractive than his sister at all.
She comes across as young, sheltered and kind of sweet.
She’s a pretty girl but she’s lacking charisma. She looks like many other pretty girls at any mall or high school. 🤷🏻♀️ It seems unlikely she’d be where she is today if she were born to John & Jane Smith in some suburb somewhere.
I hate to generalize, but usually if you’ve been pretty and privileged your whole life, you don’t learn charisma. You don’t need to. She seems nice and harmless, but there’s not much adversity to help her develop a complex personality.
I have said this before. I have seen Kaia at my son’s former school in her late teens and I have seen Cindy Crawford in NYC (at a bodega) when she was a baby model, probably in her early 20s. Pretty vs. Stunning. I don’t think it’s fair that Cindy pushed her to model, why set her up to be compared to her mom?
Yes dear, and you’re on the COVER of Elle Magazine. I can’t with these people.
I don’t know. She seems like an earnest kid. She’s trying to understand privilege, and she certainly knows that she’s had a path laid down before her covered with gold and jewels. I can understand a neop kid also trying to legitimize herself–who wants to believe that their success is solely due to their family background? Everything I see from Kaia suggests that she takes being a good colleague and a professional very seriously. She has spoken out against racism in fashion, and for mental health. I’m not going to jump on a 21 year old who doesn’t say all the right things when it comes to nepotism. She’s not denying it. Her opinions will grow more nuanced as she gets older, and gets more life experience. She’s not asking for sympathy. Nepo kids are easy targets, but she’s not the worst of them. There are some that are utterly delusional
I appreciate that she acknowledges her privilege, I realize that’s the bare minimum for someone like her, but shockingly it seems to be such a hurdle for the Lilly Rose Depps of the world.
Yeah, I mean it’s not the worst thing she could be saying for a 21-year-old in a bubble. She has some interesting ideas that I disagree with but I’d at least give them the time of day, lol. Lily Rose Depp and her ilk remain the most clueless.
She’s pretending that nepotism is that she gets to benefit from her mom’s experience. She’s certainly not the worst but I think the bar would have to be underground to pretend that she’s really acknowleding her privilege.
Minority opinion but… I actually got what she was saying and agree to an extent? She acknowledges her privileged upbringing, she acknowledges that of course her mother made introductions for her (and obviously helped a lot) and she admits that having her mother be who she is at all is an advantage. So, she gets it? And fine, that one sentence was naive but I also ultimately agree.
Sure, artists will have to sometimes compromise – but not for Cindy Crawford’s daughter. I think that’s a refreshing take on what level Cindy is at. And I believe that Cindy can actually NOT book a Chanel campaign for her. That’s editorial – you’re a name in your own right or they are not interested.
A lot of words to say that this seems an ok answer to me actually. Also she is 21. What do I even care what she has to say. She is pretty, rich and will stay that way. Nothing she says is changing that and the fact she’s even trying to speak on this instead of just keeping her mouth shut speaks in her favour.
This is a conflicting topic. There are those who are pushed into positions they have no talent for. Sorry to be shallow, but Kaia Gerber and Lila Moss are not model material. But what about the idea that talent may be passed down the family and that this talent deserves the networks available thru equally talented parents? Are parents, already in a creative industry, wrong to use their networks to open doors and then let their kids stand or fall on their merits? Say you are a musician and your child is equally good: would it be wrong to use the access you have built with orchestras and schools? Not to get in but to experience what it’s like to be around a professional orchestra or to meet conductors and administrators? Several of my family are in law. Would it be wrong to use their networks once one of the kids graduated? Not to grab a job unfairly but perhaps seek advice or gain experience in an office? If that access is seen as unfair nepotism, it’s almost like the family has to live in a vacuum, where the parents’ working life and its network are totally off limits. This seems a bit of a reach.
There’s a dancer in the New York City Ballet named Roman Mejia. His father, Paul Mejia, was a young dancer under Balanchine who married Balanchine’s love interest and muse of the 1960s, Suzanne Farrell. They were both kicked out of the company, because Balanchine felt “betrayed,” but Suzanne returned 6 years later and had a second stage career with NYCB. Paul became a dancer teacher and a coach, and when he and Suzanne divorced, he remarried and had a late-in-life son Roman–who’s one of the biggest rising stars in ballet today. Is Roman a nepo baby? In a sense–he comes from a ballet pedigree. But his talent is how own–hard-earned. I think that’s the difference. A lot of people go into the family business, and many times, that family business requires a certain amount of specific skill–if dad’s a pro athlete, the child still has to measure up. Mom’s a law partner–kid still has to pass the bar, do the billable hours. With entertainment, talent isn’t always required, especially in the social media age. And children of established parents still have to pay their dues–in the corps be ballet for Roman, as an associate lawyer, playing special teams in football. I think a lot of people resent the nepo babies who never had to earn a place for themselves in the entertainment industry. Nepo babies can try to “earn” their privilege through their work, and through their professionalism, but it’s their burden to carry the stigma with them. Pretty light burden, all things considered, though.
I don’t think she comes across badly in this interview. She’s young and not particularly articulate, but she seems nice enough and basically aware that she would never be where she was without her mother.
I do like that she emphasizes being on time and being nice to people. You have a lot of people in all fields who are incredibly talented and made it without connections, but are also assholes who make the workplace unpleasant. Being nice counts for something, in my book (that is if she really follows that advice).
I also think she’s incredibly pretty. I have no idea what her father looks like, so if people say she looks more like him than Cindi, I’ll take their word for it. But I do see a bit of her mother in her. She doesn’t have her “It” factor, but she’s beautiful. I’ve seen pictures of her on the site before and thought so then too.
Didn’t she spend lockdown with her besties Margaret Qually, Cara Delavne and her girlfriend? I doubt they were reading and doing meditative yoga all day.
She sounds like a nice kid. A nice kid who wouldn’t be on the cover of any magazine without her mom and connections. I get so sick of the nepo thing. But honestly, I get more upset about kids getting into college based on fame, parents, money and legacy. Give other kids a chance! Please!!!
@ Elsa, isn’t that the worst issue at hand with families with connections as well as vast wealth. They have no need to take an exam to enter, as the parents will just plop down a few million for a new building or wing. We can look at those that continue to scam the industry but there are feigning ignorance and turning a blind eye as well.
She sounds a bit fragile, honestly. I know she’s rich, but it sounds like she wasn’t offered many opportunities beyond modelling – no focus on education (“barefoot” Malibu school, plus she stated modelling young), no father trying to help her follow *his* footsteps or another career of her choice, she says she felt lonely, she clearly admires real artists, but feels correctly she isn’t one – and that line about body changing and unhealthy habits, I don’t know.
I’m side eyeing her parents a bit, that’s all. Perhaps she would have been happier if she had not been a Nepo baby.
She is one of the nepo babies I give a big pass. I think Cindy has some gaslighting issues with her children. I think if this girl had different parents she would be a math geek in college working at WalMart part-time. I see a lot of sweet pretty girls like her in my college town.
Tiffany, yes, she looks nothing like Cindy, but I think the p.r. for years was, “She looks EXACTLY like Cindy, so she’s a natural.” Also, how many years did it take for her publicist to convince her to say that yes, she ALWAYS was privileged? Or maybe that was therapy.
Having worked in the industry for decades, there’s no way to deny that being Cindy’s kid not only opened doors–but blew them off their hinges. However, the reality is once these kids of famous folks walk in the door, the questions are: is there talent? Professionalism? Work ethic? Without a doubt, Kaia is all of those things and that is why she continues to work. Nepotism has always existed and folks getting twisted over it will change nothing. The trick is to observe and see what the famous child does once they get in the room. Kaia, if she’s lucky might be the next Jane Fonda, Isabella Rossellini or Jamie Lee Curtis—only time will tell.
She has the right looks to be a model. People shouldn’t criticize her for having advantages as model when she looks like a supermodel. This is completely different to someone like Jayden Smith getting a film role.
This latest generation of kids of famous people really shows how special their famous parents are because these kids all lack their parents’ star power. It takes more than a pretty face, which Kaia has, to be a great model, which she is not. Her face is super-boring; Cindy’s was riveting.