Why does the world need supermodels? According to the French photographer Gerald Marie, who created the trio known in the business as "the Trinity" (Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista), "actresses started to hide themselves, and people needed something else in their mouths ... We were right there at that moment". Despite his singularly inappropriate name, Michael Gross has an impressive handle on what is, by this account, an extremely nasty business, and he traces the rise of the phenomenon from the first known professional model/agent - interestingly enough, a man, or rather a second rate actor, by the name of John Robert Powers - through Sixties nymphettes like Jean Shrimpton, and Twiggy to today's megastars. And if you still want your daughter to go on the catwalk after Gross's catalogue of cattiness and cocaine, Mrs Worthington, consult Renata Heinen's Model for invaluable insider tips like "if you've been given an appointment, be sure to show up on time" and "if you want to be successful you must always act like a professional".
