Naomi Campbell surprised the world in May 2021 by announcing that she had become a mother for the first time. The 50-year-old London model has given few details about her baby girl; she has not revealed her name or birthday. But now, the model has given some clues about her daughter and even shared a photo with her. The portrait shows Campbell hugging the child to her chest while looking at the camera. Part of the baby’s face is visible since she is lying on her side. The snapshot, taken by renowned photographer Steven Meisel, is the cover of British Vogue’s March issue. Although there are two cover options – the other shows Campbell in a black jumpsuit with side slits and high-heeled boots, but without her baby –, it’s the first one with her baby, who is almost a year old, that has generated the most media attention.
The headline reads: “I always knew that one day I would have a child.” The issue will be published on February 22, but her words come as no surprise – particularly when it comes to her daughter. ”She wasn’t adopted, she is my [biological] child,” she tells Vogue, from which it can be deduced that the baby girl was born through a surrogate mother. “My daughter comes first,” she answered when asked what the biggest surprise has been since becoming a mother. “Everything I do, I do for her – that’s it. It’s so completely selfless, isn’t it?” Asked if she would consider having more children, she laughed and said: “Why not?”
The 1990s supermodel also said that the announcement of her daughter’s birth surprised just about everyone – only her inner circle knew the news. “I can count on one hand the number of people who knew that I was having her,” she said during the interview. “But she is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Campbell also revealed that she maintains a close relationship with the supermodels of the 1990s – they have a group chat together and are now developing a series for Apple TV, of which they are producers. According to Campbell, fellow supermodel Cindy Crawford is one of her closest friends – she met little Campbell just a few days after she was born. Christy Turlington also met her before she was two weeks old. Linda Evangelista, however, has not yet been able to see the child, as she is in the US waiting to resolve her legal problems after experiencing depression due to a liposculpture treatment that went wrong. “She’s a strong woman and I think she’s very brave. It takes a lot of courage to come out and speak her truth. I stand by her absolutely,” Naomi said of her friend.
Campbell explained that she always knew that one day she would be a mother and said that achieving it has been “the biggest joy” she could ever imagine. “I’m lucky to have her and I know that,” she said. When Vogue touched on the issue of her age, the model said she “doesn’t even consider the 50-year age gap between her and her daughter an issue,” explaining that she has enormous energy levels and she only needs a few hours of sleep. In fact, the model admitted that she is encouraging all her older friends to have children: “I’m telling them all, do it! Don’t hesitate!”
“I’m like a kid again. I’m reliving nursery rhymes, playing and discovering how many great new toys there are out there in the world! And dolls! Things I couldn’t even dream of,” she said, admitting her baby girl has a well-stocked wardrobe thanks to designers and friends who have sent her clothes.
The baby girl was very well behaved during the Vogue photo shoot, said Campbell, who added that she always takes her daughter on trips, so she is now used to traveling. Campbell also has a babysitter – recommended by a close friend – who has been with her since the birth.
Speaking of her baby during the photo shoot, she said: “She loves the light. She’s inquisitive. She was looking at everyone – she looks at people right in the eye and for a very long time. She was taking it all in.” Campbell admitted that she was the nervous one – not her baby, despite her 35-year career as a model, and the fact that she is a good friend of the photographer, whom she has known since she started modeling.
The interview included no more details about the model’s experience of motherhood, and it’s likely that Campbell will keep the girl’s name a secret. But more information may be revealed in her memoir, which she is planning to write, although she has started yet.
