Christy Turlington Burns on the moment her past photos came back to haunt her: ‘All I wanted to do was disappear’

Christy Turlington Burns is one of the original supermodels, and one of the most iconic figures of the 80s and 90s.

While she’s remained a significant figure in the modeling industry, it’s clear that the 55-year-old has prioritized motherhood as the mom of two now-grown kids, Grace, 20, and Finn, 18. But Christy remembered one incident where her past photoshoots came back to haunt her as a mom.

The supermodel revealed that while attending one of her son’s high school basketball games, the opposition team had passed around a nude photo of Christy from an old shoot as a “heckling tactic”. 

The star revealed she was “surprised it hadn’t happened sooner”, caveating she thought it was “so rude”. As the school found out what happened and got involved, the incident became a “bigger thing” – which was not what the supermodel wanted.

“All I wanted to do was disappear”, she said of the frustrating moment. Yet she noted that the moment wasn’t embarrassing for her. 

“I don’t feel embarrassed about anything,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “Regretting things is a waste of time.”

Christy’s daughter has followed her mother into the world of modeling, but she had to wait a while before she was allowed to.

“I was officially allowed to begin modeling at 18; that was the age my mom always had in mind, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Grace told HOMMES Magazine. “I remember denying the interest to anyone and everyone because I hadn’t yet told her. However, I’d longed to be 18 for some time.”

© Paul Bruinooge

The star shares her two kids with husband Edward Burns, who she married in 2003.

© Cindy Ord

She said of their marriage in 2020: “I think one key is being realistic about marriage and having common ideas about what a successful marriage means. Simply [being] married for many years does not necessarily mean success.”

“I went into marriage understanding that there would be good days and not-so-good days, which helps on the not-as-good days”, she added. “Over time you come to know how to minimize them. Every day and year is an opportunity to grow closer and deepen the relationship.”