Today, Bella and Gigi Hadid seem to be the most famous sisters in the fashion industry. But in the ’90s, the names of Nicki and Chrissy Taylor were all the rage. Behind the glossy magazine covers and early success, however, the girls also hid tragedies. We tell you their story.
In the ’90s, Nicki became one of the most recognizable supermodels. She walked the runways of the most famous brands, appeared on countless magazine covers, and billboards featuring her face adorned Times Square. Chrissy followed in her footsteps…
Niki Taylor’s modeling career began
Niki Taylor was born on March 5, 1975, in Florida. She had a sister, Chrissy, who was three years younger.
When Niki was 13, her mother took several modeling photos of her daughter while vacationing in Mexico. Niki enjoyed posing, and she later recalled that it was then she realized she wanted to do this for the rest of her life. She spent her allowance on glossy magazines to practice posing and hone her skills. Meanwhile, her mother sent Niki’s photos to modeling agencies.
The fashion world didn’t immediately accept her. Niki recalled that she was often rejected because she didn’t fit the requirements.
“I was told I was ‘too young,’ that they were looking for a more European look, that I was ‘too commercial,'” Nicki recalled in an interview with Fashionista.
But luck eventually smiled on her. A Miami Beach agency, which had previously turned Niki down, offered her a partnership this time.
From that moment on, the young model’s professional career took off. She first began modeling for catalogs, then won the Fresh Faces modeling competition in New York City, and then a $500,000 modeling contract followed. At 14, Niki landed the cover of Seventeen magazine. The following year, she was on the cover of Vogue, making her the second-youngest model to achieve such success, after Brooke Shields.
The secret to Taylor’s popularity lay in her simple American girl-next-door image—kind yet confident, outgoing, and open. She was nicknamed “Little Cindy” for her resemblance to Cindy Crawford.
Together with my sister to the heights
Nicki’s younger sister, Chrissy, then 11, also began accompanying her to shoots. Photographers noticed the girl, and they began photographing her as well, often asking the sisters to pose together. Soon, Chrissy also appeared in Seventeen. And her career took off. Having accompanied her sister to Milan Fashion Week, she quickly found herself on the runway—and thus began her full-fledged professional career. Chrissy began regularly appearing in fashion shows, was constantly featured on glossy magazine covers, and soon, like her sister, signed a contract with the leading modeling agency IMG.
At the same time, Niki continued to set fashion records: at 16, she became the new face of L’Oréal, making her the youngest model ever to land a multimillion-dollar deal with the brand. In 1992, she made history with CoverGirl, becoming the first model under 18 to sign a major contract with the brand.
One after another, advertising campaigns for leading fashion houses were released with her participation: Thierry Mugler, Escada, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace, Anne Klein and others.
Niki was hanging out with supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Christy Turlington, and the next day she was living the life of an ordinary high school student.
“I always came home, I didn’t move to New York or Los Angeles to go to school, play sports, and be normal. My family helped me remember my roots, who I really was,” Niki recalled.
A hurricane in his personal life and the death of his sister
When Niki was 18, she met former football player Matt Martinez. Three months later, they eloped to Las Vegas to get married. The following year, Niki gave birth to twin sons.
The birth was difficult, and she was prescribed painkillers. Taylor recalled that this was a turning point that changed her life – she now knew how to cope not only with physical pain but also with stress.
Then, as her marriage began to crumble, Niki faced another tragedy. She was 20 years old when she found 17-year-old Chrissy on the floor of the family’s Florida home.
Despite showing no symptoms, the model’s younger sister died from a rare heart condition, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD).
“The greatest tragedy and loss of my life was the death of my little sister. We were very close. We worked together. We did everything together. I miss her very much,” Nicki later said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Trying to cope with the loss, Nikki began taking prescription painkillers again, and gradually became dependent on them.
However, the work continued. In May 1996, she appeared on the covers of six magazines simultaneously: Allure, Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire, Self, and Shape.
Car accident and clinical death
Just six years after losing her sister, Niki nearly died in a car accident. Her boyfriend was driving her home from a club on a rainy night and crashed into a utility pole.
“He wasn’t going fast at all, and I thought I was okay until I got out of the car and felt a terrible pain in my stomach. I was taken to the hospital. Doctors determined that the seat belt had torn my liver in half, and I was bleeding internally,” Niki recalled.
The model also suffered a punctured lung. Over the next 24 hours after the accident, she underwent three surgeries, dying twice on the operating table. Medical staff were able to revive her, but that was only the beginning of a long and difficult recovery.
Niki underwent over 50 surgeries over the next three years, including two steel rods implanted in her back. Once again, prescription painkillers became her best friend.
New life
In 2001, Nicki moved to Tennessee with her sons. The following year, 2002, she met country singer Keith Urban. Their relationship quickly became serious. They even got matching tattoos—the words “Love Conquers All.” Nicki also starred in Urban’s music video for his song “Somebody Like You.”
During this same period, Taylor began to expand her career, founding her own company, Begin Enterprises, Inc., and launching a perfume line, a clothing boutique, and a charitable arm.
Niki and Urban lived together for two years before splitting. The reason was their excessive workload—according to Niki, they saw each other very rarely.
In 2006, Urban married Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman. That same year, Nicki married former NASCAR driver Bernie Lamar, having met him at an autograph signing just a few months earlier. They had two children: daughter Syl and son Rex.
Niki tried herself as an actress, and in 2016 she returned to the modeling business, appearing in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.
“I laugh a lot. I focus on the positive. And I enjoy every moment,” Taylor says of herself today.
Having experienced several tragedies, Niki has definitely learned to enjoy life.
