Candice Bergen is reflecting on her early days in fashion after her daughter, Chloe Malle, rose to one of the top positions at Vogue.
During an appearance on The Run-Through with Vogue podcast, co-hosted by Malle, the 80-year-old actress admitted that modeling never truly appealed to her, despite landing major magazine covers as a teenager.
Bergen recalled beginning her modeling career around age 15 or 16, posing for publications including Vogue and Mademoiselle. Fashion was already part of her family history, as her mother, Frances Bergen — professionally known as Frances Westcott — had worked as a Powers model.
Still, Bergen said the glamorous world of modeling quickly lost its charm. She remembered enjoying the independence that came with earning her own money, but found the experience of dressing in formal outfits and stockings more exhausting than exciting. According to the actress, the novelty wore off after only a short time.
Her career soon shifted toward Hollywood, where she landed her first acting role in The Group in 1966. Around the same period, Bergen also became the face of Chanel No. 5 and appeared on her first Vogue cover in 1967.
More recently, Bergen proudly spoke about Malle being chosen as the successor to Anna Wintour at Vogue in 2025. She emphasized that her daughter earned the role through years of dedication, having worked at the magazine for more than a decade in several editorial positions.
Bergen also praised Malle’s family life, describing her as a devoted mother to two children and complimenting her husband, Graham Albert, for being a supportive father.
Malle, whose father was acclaimed French filmmaker Louis Malle, joined Vogue in 2011 and steadily climbed the ranks from social editor to editorial leadership.
In a fitting coincidence, Bergen herself once portrayed fictional Vogue editor-in-chief Enid Frick in Sex and the City and its sequel series And Just Like That….
