Kate Moss recalls being pressured into topless modelling aged 16

Kate Moss attends New York fashion week in 2019
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Kate Moss is one of the most talked-about women in the world, and from her Victoria's Secret debut earlier this year to her new Zara collection, she never fails to get the world talking.

It was the 50-year-old’s early modelling days that made headlines this week, with Moss starting her career in 1988, aged just 14. And during a recent appearance on the “Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud” podcast, the supermodel reflected on her first few years in the industry.

Moss spoke specifically about one uncomfortable photoshoot experience with Corinne Day for The Face, where she explains she felt pushed into posing topless aged 16.

“I never wanted to be topless,” Moss explained of her discomfort on the recent podcast, adding: “I would cry.

“I had to get over it,” she continued. “Because the photographer was like, 'If you don't do this, I'm not gonna book you for the next job. So, I had to get over it.

“Luckily, The Face wasn’t really sold in Croydon,” she later added. “I don’t think anyone really saw it. But I mean, they heard. They took the piss out of my brother, like ‘Oh your sister has her tits out.’ He probably suffered more than I did about it.”

This is not the first time that Moss has spoken about her discomfort with the photoshoot, recalling the experience previously in a 2012 cover interview with Vanity Fair.

“I see a 16-year-old now, and to ask her to take her clothes off would feel really weird,” Moss explained. “But they were like, ‘If you don’t do it, then we’re not going to book you again’. So I’d lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it. There’s a lot of boobs. I hated my boobs! Because I was flat-chested. And I had a big mole on one. That picture of me running down the beach - I’ll never forget doing that, because I made the hairdresser, who was the only man on the shoot, turn his back.”

Kate Moss’ full interview on the “Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud” podcast is available on Spotify now.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.