News Taffy

I grew up with the REAL supermodels on the covers of fashion magazines. Naomi, Christy, Linda and Cindy. These four women blazed the trail for all models in my generation. Unfortunately, most models don't make it onto the cover of the fashion magazines anymore. Those covers are reserved for today's Hollywood starlets. Professional models have all but disappeared from the covers of magazines. These four have seen a bit of a resurgence. One has found her mug shot on the front of newspapers (Naomi Campbell)! My all-time favorite (Linda Evangelista) recently re-emerged in an ad campaign for Talbot's. The all American (Cindy Crawford) now sells everything from low end furniture to skin care. Christy can now be seen in a Louis Vuitton ad campaign...along with helping bring awareness to expecting Mom's around the globe and the many challenges they face during labor.

Christy Turlington Burns was recently the guest of honor at a luncheon at Centrolire in Manhattan. Divalysscious Moms, Lyss Stern, joined forces with the three women of Moms and The City, Denise Albert, Melissa Gerstein and Raina Gittlin . Christy was honored for her new film "No Woman, No Cry" which chronicles the struggle of pregnant women across the globe who lack proper medical care. Christy's campaign Every Woman Counts came about after her own medical scare after giving birth to her daughter.

We were all reminded once again how very fortunate we are to have access to state of the art medical care and facilities. Even with all of that, 2 women in the United States die each day during childbirth. According to Christy, 1000 women around the world die EACH DAY giving birth. Christy is a supermodel, but she is also a supermom who is using her "celebrity" to shine a light on women all around the globe who need our help to deliver their babies in a safe environment.

About the photo - I introduced myself to Christy and started asking her about her yoga practice. Even before I started practicing yoga in 1999, I had a Time magazine with her in a difficult pose on the cover. It stayed on my bedside table for many years and served as inspiration for me, too. She is actually on the cover of this month's Yoga Journal magazine. So maybe the real supermodels are making a comeback!! Anyway, I wanted to have my photo taken with her. But as soon as I handed my camera over to her friend, I thought to myself, "what in the world are you thinking standing next to a supermodel and having YOUR picture taken with her?"

-D.J. Duckworth