Bad and Beautiful: Inside the Dazzling and Deadly World of Supermodels

by Ian Halperin

An award-winning investigative journalist exposes the true nature of the modeling industry by tracing the rise of well-known supermodels, and revealing how many models are misled into a world of drugs, sexual slavery, eating disorders, violence, and murder. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Ian Halperin is a Canadian investigative journalist and writer whose 2009 book, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, which was a number one best seller on the New York Times list on July 24, 2009. He is the author or coauthor of nine books, including Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story and Hollywood Undercover. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? and Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain with Max Wallace. Halperin has contributed to 60 Minutes II and is a regular correspondent for Court TV.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 2 out of 5]

Load of rubbish that was out-dated when it was written. Everyone with a picture gets flattered, those without a picture, not so complimentary. Models are basically tall and thin as the agencies can legally get away with (their have been some deaths from starvation) and so curves do not disturb the designer's vision of their outfit on their ideal woman. The catwalk models are often very plain so they don't attract more attention than the clothes and their average age is under 20. So they aren't very interesting.

'Supermodels' are those that bring attention to the clothes because 'they' are wearing them. Traditionally they were also tall and thin, but these days if they are the daughter of someone famous, they can be 5'2". Some Vogue cover models are not model-shaped but being a model is about bringing publicity to clothes either from the clothes or the person. So 5'2" 42" hip 36DD Kim Kardashian is a model!

When I worked in direct marketing in the UK (electronics) some of the ads and catalogues would have clothes so we employed models. They would come in, do their own makeup, change into clothes whenever the photographer was ready, eat sandwiches with us for lunch and chat, and go home at 5pm. They earned quite a lot of money, had no fame at all, and were disdained by Tyra Banks as 'commercial models' with her worst insult being 'catalogue models'.

They had a very good life though, working when they wanted, doing trade fashion shows and not needing to be thin. They had to be exact stock size, which at that time in the UK was size 10. No one was making clothes for them, they were wearing sample stock and off the rack.

Trade fashion shows are held in huge exhibition halls, in London it is Earls Court. Everyone from big designers to boutique-level ones shows hoping to get orders from the retail buyers. The shows are there to get attention, not to get publicity like the Paris runway. They are not there to promote a designer and their ego and 'front row' reality stars, but to sell clothes. So they tend to be real showbizzy productions. DJ, loud music, models prancing, dancing and parading. They can be quite raunchy and are repeated several times throughout the day. The models themselves are often working on the smaller stands as well.

But this book is not about them. It's about the lettuce-leaf eating stick thin women whose agencies insist they attend parties and cosy up to the rich old guys who own the magazines and clothes companies so they can be photographed with 'famous' people at fashionable clubs and parties. It's about sex with same, drugs, and what a fabulous life style... It's about the models who earn big money, not even 0.1%. It's about the ones whose names we know or at least the author thinks we should.

If you find this book cheap enough, hang it in the outside privy for entertainment and good usage (paper quite soft). I kept my copy and finally reviewed it

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh.... this book. Parts of it were quite interesting, such as the history of modeling and some of the side stories of people's lives. But it really could have been encapsulated into a series of articles instead of a book.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chilling look at the lives (and deaths) of young models, both men and women (boys and girls). There should be more investigations and expose's around what goes on in this industry. Unconscionable and heinous

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

With glamorized portrayals of the fashion industry with reality television, it is sometimes refreshing to read about the downsides to get a fuller view of reality. Author Halperin went undercover as a Canadian actor whose Jewish looks were constantly being degraded for looking for like an actors' than a models'. He had minimal success, but his experience helped him uncover many abuses in the industry, which is wrought with drugs, sex, and manipulation, in many cases with minors.

Over time, the stories become so numerous that they lose their effectiveness, but it illustrates how many problems there are. Halperin covers both small-time models and major ones, which he dubs the "big six."

[Ozma · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for juicy details about the modeling industry, this book has some but certainly not enough. If you are looking to feel bad about a terrible industry where women are openly pillaged, then this is the book for you! I had this stubborn view that modeling was glamourous. This book totally shattered that perception. The modeling industry is apparently a safe haven for sexual and drug criminals. It took me a long time to get through this because it was just so sad and terrible.

[Rachel Yuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ian Halperin is one of my favorite authors. This book reveals the ugly business and the dark side of modeling industry.
I read Terra Patrick's memoir and she basically told the same thing.

[Faith Farris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting! Basically, everyone is on drugs and/or is trafficked. I wonder how the modeling world has changed since then.