Yahoo News Kate Moss at 45: Looking back at the iconic supermodel’s most outrageous moments
Kate Moss turns 45 today, and the Croydon-born model is still arguably at the very top of her game.
To mark her milestone birthday, we’ve looked back at the star’s funniest, most scandalous and generally most iconic moments from her storied fashion career (and her equally notable partying career).
The supermodel - who was scouted at the age of 14 - rarely gives interviews (though when she does, they’re pretty spectacular), but anecdotes from her partying days have become the stuff of celebrity legend.
Never change, Kate Moss…
Smoking on the catwalk
Never afraid to bend the rules a little, Moss took the phrase ‘smoking hot’ to its logical conclusion when she traversed the Louis Vuitton runway with a lit cigarette in hand at the brand’s 2011 fashion show, seven years after she’d officially retired from the catwalk. The model didn’t appear to care that she was flouting France’s smoking ban – and it was certainly no coincidence that her appearance fell on No Smoking Day, either.
The best birthday parties in the business
No one does a birthday party like Mossy. There was the Beautiful and the Damned themed 30th celebrations, with a guest list that boasted Naomi Campbell, Sadie Frost, Stella McCartney, Tracey Emin and the late Alexander McQueen. Then there was her 34th, when she planned to party for 34 hours (but only managed a still respectable 18), and the medieval banquet that marked her 35th. Here’s to some equally riotous 45th celebrations.
The Olympics’ golden girl
The 2012 Olympic closing ceremony wasn’t short on spectacle (including a surprise Spice Girls reunion) but Moss still managed to steal the show during a segment designed to celebrate the British fashion industry. Billboards of Moss and seven other UK models (Campbell, Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Lily Donaldson, Jourdan Dunn, David Gandy, Georgia May Jagger and Stella Tennant) were wheeled into the stadium, before the screens were dropped to reveal the stars standing behind them. Dressed in golden Alexander McQueen, Moss was the standout as the model squad turned the Union Jack into an eight-pronged catwalk
The basic b**** incident
Perhaps the best piece of Moss mythology from recent years occurred in 2015, when her Turkish spa holiday with best friend Frost hit a distinctly un-Zen end note. The model was reportedly escorted off her return EasyJet flight by the police as it touched down in Luton, having previously been spotted drinking vodka from her hand luggage after cabin crew refused to serve her alcohol. Her parting shot? Branding the pilot a “basic b****” as she was taken away. Never has a pedestrian insult seemed quite so cutting.
The Little Britain cameo
No stranger to a comedy cameo (she’s also appeared in French and Saunders and Blackadder) and never afraid to make a fool of herself for a good cause, Moss joined Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas on stage for a Comic Relief special in 2006. Donning a blue shellsuit and plenty of gold jewellery, she appeared as the sister of Vicky Pollard, borrowing the character’s “Yeah but… no but” catchphrase in a sketch that hasn’t exactly aged well.
Faking her own death in the Ab Fab movie
For further proof of Moss’s willingness to send herself up, there’s 2016’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. Standing out in the film’s ocean of celebrity cameos, the model’s ‘death’ is a major plot point. Our Bolly-addled heroines Patsy and Edina accidentally knock Mossy into the River Thames and, when she doesn’t emerge, fear that she has met a watery end. However, it soon transpires that – spoiler alert – all is not as it seems, as Moss staggers onto the riverbank clutching a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Sadly, her Best Supporting Actress BAFTA campaign never materialised.
Gogglebox with Naomi and Noel
Their nights out have long been the stuff of tabloid legend, but Moss, Campbell and Noel Gallagher showed us what a Primrose Hill night in looks like as part of Gogglebox’s 2014 Stand Up To Cancer special. The old pals gathered on a very swanky velvet sofa to snack on Monster Munch (with Moss remonstrating with Gallagher for his refusal to share his crisps), share their thoughts on Strictly and generally set British TV to rights. We’re still holding out hope for a spin-off series starring the A-list trio.
The Marilyn Monroe moment
Always one to make an entrance, Moss channelled Marilyn Monroe last year when she arrived at photographer Mert Alas’ 47th birthday party hidden in a giant ‘cake’ before jumping out of the huge confection and singing a special tribute to her friend.
She was joined by the likes of Campbell. Lindsay Lohan, DJ Fat Tony and Idris Elba.
