NVENTIONAL(albeitsexist)wis-
omdictatesthatmengetbetterwith
ge,whilewomen—toputit bluntly
don’t.Butanyonewhosubscribes
o thistheoryoughtto google‘Carolyn
urphy2019’.TheAmericansuper-
odellooksmoreluminousanddeli-
atelybeautifulat 45 thanshedidat
1.It’sa featoftwistedlogicthathas
eenherkeepherplaceasoneofthe
ostin-demandmodelsintheindus-
s. Legendary photographer Arthur
y toTheTimesofLondon:“Christy
andCarolyngetolder,theygetbetter.”WhenMurphyspeaksto
BAZAARfromLosAngeles,wheresheis shooting,I askherhow
shereactedwhenshereadthatquote.
“Ihavegoosebumpshearingthat,”shesayswithastonishment.
“Formetobeputina sentencewithChristyTurlingtonis insane.
Forhimtosaythat,ofallpeople—I mean,I needtositdown.”
Whatcouldsoundlikefauxmodestyorevena lackof awarenessof
her ownlegacy, coming from the chatty, optimistic,genuinely
lovelyMurphyis actuallyendearing.Turlington,it turnsout,is her
lifelonghero.“TheonlypersonI lookedupto,andwhomentored
me,bothfroma distanceandpersonally,wasChristy,”shesays.
Murphy entered modelling at a moment when fashion was
changing.ShemovedtoNewYorkCityfromWashingtonstatein
theearly’90saftera pushfromherparentstogetawayfroma dud
boyfriend.Thegrungemovementwasjusttakingoff.“I remember
being in a laundromat looking at Harper’s BAZAAR with the
imagesofKateMossandEmmaBalfour,andthoughtit wasthe
coolestthingI hadeverseen,”sherecalls.“I hadvisitedParisa year
orsoearlier,whenit wasstilltheglamazonera—it wasa totally
different time. The supermodels were dating their European
agentsandtheywereallsmokingwithbighairandbigeverything,
thenina matteroftwoorthreeyears,grungehappened.That’s
whenI realisedI couldwearflannelshirtsandadidaskicksand
slipdresses,andjustbemyself.”
Murphyquicklyestablishedherselfina newgenerationof’90s
supermodels alongsidecontemporaries Amber Valletta,Shalom
HarlowandLiyaKebede—allfriends.“Carolynhasremained
oneofthebiggestmodelsintheindustrybecausesheis soclassi-
cally beautiful and yet so cool,” Valletta says. “She feels so
approachable because she is approachable. She is friendly and
funny,andthoseattributescarryyouveryfarinfashion.”
Murphy had backstage accessto one of the industry’s most
interestingandcreativeperiods(herrunwayrésuméreadslikea
pottedhistoryofmodernfashion:Gianni-eraVersace,TomFord-
periodGucci,JohnGalliano’searlyPariscollections),butshehas
also been candid about abuse in modellingdecadesbefore the
phrase‘MeToo’wascoined.Earlierthisyearshespokeoutabout
anexperienceofsexualharassmentonsetwitha photographershe
greatlyrespected.Howis shereframingexperiencesfromyearsago
inthisnewsocialclimate?“Thewholementalexperienceofit can
bereallyunhealthy,”shesays,quicklyclarifyingthatmodelmal-
treatmentisn’ta simplemale-femaleissue.“Youhavepeopleinthe
industrywhoabusetheirpowerfromallsides.It’snotjustmales
tryingtocoerceyoungwomenintobed;therearesomanyother
layers of abuse. Even female editors are making girls feel terrible
aboutthemselves,thereareagentswhojudgeyou...The#MeToo
movement has opened our eyes to an unfortunate partof the
industrythatneededtobeexposed,butthere’sa lotmorethere.”
Murphy’sdaughter,Dylan,is nowtheageMurphywaswhen
shebeganmodelling.Unsurprisingly,Dylanis beautifulandhas
alreadybeenshotformagazineeditorials,butfornowhersights
aresetonuniversityratherthanfollowinghermumintofashion.
“ThebiggestthingI wantedhertolearnwasself-love,”Murphy
says.“Whethershe’smodellingornot,if youhavetrueself-love
thenyou’renotgoingtolovetheshittyboyfriend...you’renot
goingtoallowyouragenttoexploityou.”
Ontheself-lovefront,Murphyhasledbyexample.Havingbeen
a singlemumformanyyears—shesplitwithDylan’sfather,surf
shopownerJakeSchroeder,whenDylanwasone—Murphyis,by
herownadmission,fiercelyindependent.ShedatedIncubusfront-
manBrandon Boydin the early Noughties andAussie-in-New
YorkrestaurateurLincolnPilcheronandoffforseveralyearsbefore
theysplitin2016.Shortlyafterwards,Dylanwasinhospitalwith
viral meningitis. Aftershe recovered, Murphy took her out of
school,beganhomeschoolingher,andtheduobrieflyrelocatedto
CostaRica,whereMurphyhadlivedfora periodinthelate’90s.
It’sallpartofa legacyofautonomysheis passingontoherdaugh-
ter,onewhichstretchesbackgenerations.“There’sa funnySouthern
expression,‘filledwithpissandvinegar’.That’sthewomeninmy
family,”shesayswitha laugh.“Beinganindependentwomanisn’t
always a great thing, but it’s never a bad thing.You just have
tolearntobevulnerable,too.I’mstillworkingonthatat 45.”
TheCostaRicagapyearis a goodexampleofhoweasyMurphy
findsit to stepoutof thefashionrigmarole.“I don’tknowwhatthe
secretis,exactly,to sustaina careerthislong,butI alsodon’tsocial-
ise,”shesays,laughing.“I don’thangin thefashioncrowds.Oneof
myheroesis StevenMeisel[theiconicphotographer,whois rarely
interviewedorphotographed].I adorehimandhavelearnta lot
fromhim.I lovethepeopleinthisindustryandwouldn’tbewhere
I amwithoutthem,butI don’thavetheenergytogooutallthe
timeandsocialise.I havemyfriendswhohavenothingtodowith
theindustryandI needthattofeelgrounded.I loveandrespect
everyoneI workwith,butI doneedthatseparation.”
Murphy’srenownedworkethicis matchedbyanequallyfasci-
natingrestraint—sheis oneofthefewtopmodelstonotparlay
herfamousname(andface)intoa personalbusiness.Asidefroma
singleactingjob,in 1999’sromance-dramaLibertyHeights, shehas
alwaysbeena careermodel—a rarethinginthiseraofmodel-in-
fluencers, #SponCon andside-hustles. “Icountmy luckystars
dailythatI’veworkedwithEstéeLauderforalmost 20 years[she
becamea spokesmodelin2001],becauseI knowthebusinessand
thatis trulyananomaly,”Murphyacknowledges.“It’sbeena safety
nettohavethatlong-termrelationshipandhavethefinancialreli-
ability.I havea tonofotherinterests,butI don’tfeeltheneedto
standona soapboxandsay,‘I’mtryingtosavetheworld!’I’mvery
conscious of authenticity. I remember when I had the Sports
Illustratedcoverandeveryonewastellingmetolauncha swimwear
brand,andI waslike,‘Why?’”
That’snottosayshe’sruledouta sideprojectentirely.“Ihave
a lotofideas,butI haven’thadthetimetoexecutethemtothe
rightstandard.I’vealwayssaidif I’mgoingtodosomething,it has
tohaverealmeaningbehindit.”I can practically hear her shrug
through the phone. “We’ll see.”135 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019