Among Kaia Gerber’s many passions, books are a top priority. Already one of the world’s most successful models at just 20-years-old, the Calvin Klein face, who recently broke into acting with a role in Ryan Murphy’s wildly popular series American Horror Story, is also an avid reader.
Daughter of legendary supermodel Cindy Crawford, Kaia would often "bring books backstage to shows,” admitting in a recent interview that "some people would act surprised, which I always found interesting."
Delving deeper into her intellectual pursuits, the June/July Vogue cover star shared how she’s furthered her education during the pandemic and used her social media platform to get people into literature.
With 7.2 million followers on Instagram and deeply aware of the responsibility that comes with so much visibility, Kaia, who’s never been fond of the term "influencer," also opened up about how she feels being regarded as a role model.
Here’s what she had to say.
Dreaming About College
Starting work in her early teens, the catwalk sensation — who booked her first gig at age of 10 with Versace’s junior line, Young Versace, and was already shooting for Italian Vogue with Steven Meisel at 13 — has always been conscientious about her studies. Traveling around the world for modeling gigs as a young teen, Kaia remained focused on school, switching to an online course load at Malibu High once after her career kicked into high gear.
“I was one of those kids in preschool who thought they’d go to Columbia one day,” Kaia shared in her Vogue cover story.
While she’s still dreaming about college, the model — who a few years back said she’d love to major in psychology — knows it’s never too late.
“I can always go,” she said. “I have no problem with being a 50-year-old in college.”
Book Club
Meanwhile, Kaia is using her love for reading to soak up knowledge and further her education. The model even started her own online book club during the pandemic, inviting fellow bookworms to join in on literary discussions over on Instagram Live.
Prepared with gripping titles by authors ranging from Lena Dunham to Jonah Freud, she’s also brought in interesting guests, including writer Jia Tolentino, novelist Raven Leilani, and Normal People actor Daisy Edgar-Jones. What started out as a hobby has since led Kaia to be identified by the New York Times as part of a wave of “fresh-faced mega-influencers using Instagram to share literary life with millions of eyeballs,” notes Vogue.
Learning About Politics
The Los Angeles native, who moved to New York after high school and quickly became familiar with all the bookstores — McNally Jackson Books is her "home away from home," she gushed on Instagram in March — has recently begun educating herself about contemporary politics.
“In the past, I stayed away from getting political because I didn’t want to speak about things I wasn’t knowledgeable about. But this year, I really had an opportunity to learn,” said Kaia, who attended Black Lives Matter protests last summer and has featured books such as Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me on her book club.
Role Model
As for her role model status with many young girls who admire her and want to be like her, Kaia takes it very seriously while also striving to be authentically herself.
“I want moms to be happy that their daughters look up to me, but being a real role model means also being a real human,” said the supermodel, who’s not interested in seeming perfect.
Her stance hasn’t changed much since a 2017 interview with Teen Vogue when a not-yet-16 Kaia was telling the magazine: “My parents have always taught me to be myself and to follow my instincts.”
The then-teenager, whose own role model at the time was Karlie Kloss — “She’s broken all the rules of what a model should be and uses her platform to benefit others," raved Kaia — expressed her very mature views on the topic, which still echo in her latest interview.
“It is so key to me to be a good role model for young girls and someone their mom would want them to look up to,” she told Teen Vogue. “I now reach so many people, and it’s hard for them to know what is real. I don’t take any platform I have lightly. It’s so important to send a good message.”
Her Efforts Are Seen
Talking to Vogue, designer Stella McCartney, who’s the daughter of Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney and has worked closely with Kaia, spoke admiringly about the model’s constant drive for self-improvement.
“Kaia wants to better herself through reading and through being part of a community. And she wraps all of those responsibilities up in a way that still makes young girls want to be like her," she said. "I think the thing about Kaia is she understands her privilege, the access to influence through her platforms, and her voice as a young woman. She doesn’t shy away from that responsibility, but embraces it.”
Likewise, Harris, who’s become friends with Kaia, sang her praises to Vogue.
“When I met her, I saw someone so curious and excited about learning, about not always looking like the smartest person in the room, about complicating her understanding of her own socioeconomic and racial positioning,” he said. “She’s decided to be an autodidact in public, and it’s really admirable because when you do that, you risk potential failure.”
]]>The Inquisitr
