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Whatever the type, many supermodels behave like prima donnas. Though the leading photographers and editors praise Evangelista's professionalism, there are those who say she can be the most difficult of all. A member of her hair- and-makeup brigade is asked if she is as much of a prima donna as people say. "She's worse," he replies. "You've seen the movie All About Eve? Enough said. It's Eve Harrington all over again." Says Susan Quillim of the Wilhelmina Models agency in New York: "Linda has been lavished with everything, and now she thinks she's fabulous." Mulder is also getting a "little bit too big for her boots," says Vogue's Coddington.
As supermodels assert themselves, many resent the industry's lingering sexism. "I hate it when they call us girls," says Crawford. "Most of us are not girly, and we don't run our careers like girls. When I walk away from this, I'll have the luxury of doing what I like."
That luxury could come after all too short a time since there are few models over 28, and the industry is always hungry for a new face. Says model Gabrielle Reece: "The younger, hotter, fresher girls are always coming along." Campbell must keep an eye on Beverly Peele, 16, who some are calling the "next Naomi." Crawford, 25, is said to have not one but two rivals nipping at her heels: Shana, 21, the Guess? jeans model who is starring in Calvin Klein's ads for his new Escape perfume; and Niki Taylor, 16, who has a mole on her face just like Cindy's. Says Crawford: "People think I'm jealous of Niki Taylor. But I got my 15 minutes of fame, and when you get it you realize it's not what it's cracked up to be." But quitting has never been easy for these coddled darlings. Says ex-model Moncur: "You exist through others' eyes. When they stop looking at you, there's nothing left."
Now listen to Niki Taylor, the lovely Florida blond, the model many say could represent the next generation of superstars. She has had 42 magazine covers since she started working two years ago, and is the youngest model ever to snare a big cosmetics contract. "I'm just playing it day by day and seeing how it goes," Taylor says. Does she want to be modeling at 25? "No," she says, and then her voice drifts off. "I don't know . . ." What she is probably thinking is, Twenty-five! That's so old! Who can think so far ahead?