News & Gossip

Updated July 14, 2009

Christy Turlington: From Supermodel to Super Role Model

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FOXNews

Now 40, Turlington has a family of her own, and she's starting a new career, working toward a master’s degree in public health

When Christy Turlington was a teenager, she made more than her dad.

Way more.

That can warp family dynamics, Turlington admits in the August issue of Vogue.

"My income surpassed my dad's in my first year of modeling—and my dad made a good living," she says. "That puts you in a different place in your family, and the power dynamic shifts, I kind of liked the power in a weird way, but I was confused by it."

PHOTOS: Click for pics of Turlington and her 1980s/90s supermodel competition, then and now.

Now 40, Turlington has a family of her own, and she's starting a new career, working toward a master’s degree in public health at Columbia and making a documentary on the risks of maternity in developing countries.

A bit of a different tack than your standard supermodel.

"One of the reasons I've been lucky in the business is that I had normalcy, I had a family, I stayed in school—all of the things I didn't want at the time," she admits.

Turlington was always the "good one" in the Naomi-Linda-Christy 1980s/90s supermodel triumvirate.

"That's a way I got attention," she says. "All I had to do as a model was be sweet and kind and a team player and hang up my clothes and I got accolades—how easy is that?"

More From Vogue.com

PHOTOS: 25 years of Christy Turlington in Vogue

FEATURE: Read more about Christy in Vogue

VIDEO: Behind the scenes at the Vogue photo shoot

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