Models aren't just good at posing for photos and walking down runways. Some of them have taken their talents to the screen as well.
With Ocean’s 8 taking place at the Met Gala and Gigi Hadid being a modern star of the event, it only made sense that she and some of her supermodel friends like Kendall Jenner and her sister, Bella Hadid, would make a cameo in the film.
In Love Actually , Liam Neeson’s character makes no bones about his attraction to Claudia Schiffer. At the end of the film, the model herself makes an appearance as a fellow single parent of a school-aged kid, and Daniel is instantly intrigued.
Tyra Banks has made loads of appearances in film and television, but one of her funniest was in The Hannah Montana Movie. Banks played herself and got into a fight over a shoe with the title character in a luxurious boutique, which aided in Hannah’s dad’s decision to send her home to Tennessee for a while.
In Parks and Recreation, Jerry said for years how beautiful his wife and children were, but no one believed him until they met his wife, who just so happened to be supermodel Christie Brinkley. The cast has noted they felt bad for being so mean on screen to such a nice guy off-screen, and producers wanted to give him a win by having someone objectively beautiful play his wife.
Ugly Betty was full of incredible celebrity cameos, including supermodel Adriana Lima. Lima played herself and came to Mode to shoot a magazine cover with what the show claimed was her favorite fruit.
Brooklyn Decker made an appearance on Ugly Betty, too. But instead of playing herself, she played a character named Lexie. Lexie was Daniel’s secretary for an episode, and after he inadvertently groped her, she took his suggestion to pursue a career he saw more fitting for her: modeling.
Naomi Campbell actually has a lengthy acting resume. She’s been in film and television, including American Horror Story. Creator Ryan Murphy is known for casting unexpected people in the show, and Campbell, to many, was one of them. The model appeared in season 5: Hotel.
Models often pop up as side characters or make cameo appearances in TV and movies, but rarely are they the stars of the show. In 1995, Cindy Crawford broke the mold by starring in Fair Game. It was a universally hated film, but Crawford was still the lead female.
Kate Moss’s acting career doesn’t amount to much. It’s mostly a mix of music video appearances and roles in made-for-TV movies, but she was in Zoolander 2 as herself, and that’s … something. Why she wasn’t in the first one is beyond us.
Zoolander 2 scored a slew of stars. The sequel also included English model Jourdan Dunn, and this wasn’t the only movie to premiere in 2016 that featured both Dunn and Kate Moss. The two also had roles in the film Absolutely Fabulous that same year.
Karlie Kloss’ onscreen persona is limited mostly to hosting duties on Project Runway, but she has had her turn at acting in the past in pieces like Zoolander 2 and the TV series Love Advent.
The Devil Wears Prada name-dropped plenty of real designers, models, and photographers, but one of the most famous people in the fashion industry, Gisele Bündchen, actually played a character. Bündchen played Emily Blunt’s friend at work, and she was part of the famous Chanel boots scene.
For some, Sex and the City today is no more than a record of who was who in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. People were thrilled to get roles in the show, so much so that it had icons like Linda Evangelista playing minor characters who didn’t even have names, like Saleswoman in this model’s case.
If Christy Turlington in the movie Ready to Wear isn’t ringing any bells, don’t feel bad. The film is from 1994, and people hated it. It did have a good cast, though, with Julia Roberts and Sophia Loren at the helm and plenty of other cameos from the likes of Naomi Campbell and Lauren Bacall.
Cara Delevingne is a model and an actress. She’s had roles in multiple films and television shows, including Only Murders in the Building . Delevingne played a murder suspect and Selena Gomez’s love interest in the second season of the Hulu original.
‘60s icon Twiggy popped up in an episode of the equally iconic ‘90s sitcom The Nanny. Twiggy played Maxwell’s sister, and we’ve got to say, those two would make an epic sibling pair in real life.
Kate Upton’s acting career is by no means prolific, but it does have one defining moment: Her bikini scene in The Other Woman. Upton strutted across the beach, baring her body for all to see, and viewers loved it. Upton, on the other hand, wasn’t so confident. She had just turned 21 and didn’t feel her healthiest at the time of filming.
Only Heidi Klum can be cast as a giant and not look awful. The supermodel played one of the mythical creatures in the 2004 Anne Hathaway classic Ella Enchanted, and we’ve got to give props to the casting director because no one else would’ve done that role as beautifully as Klum.
Friends had more celebrity cameos and guest roles than can even be kept track of (though if you really want to know them all, check IMDb). Elle Macpherson was one such celebrity. The model played a dancer and Joey’s roommate-turned-love-interest that he and Ross want to spend Thanksgiving with one year.
Acacia is a South Dakota-based writer with a love of all things pop culture, particularly music, television, and celebrities. Her previous work can be found on Nicki Swift and Mashed. When she's not writing, Acacia is watching television, listening to music, completing a crossword puzzle, or reading.
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