Naomi Campbell is as legendary as they come. A self-proclaimed diva, larger than life, relentlessly shocking, and beautiful, you can’t help but love to watch her—she is 100% supermodel icon.

Born on May 22, 1970, Naomi was often left with a nanny as a child while her mother, Valerie, traveled Europe with the Fantastica dance troupe to support her daughter. Fifteen years later, while Naomi was on a break from her ballet studies at London’s Academy of Performing Arts, Naomi’s world took a turn. A scout spotted her shopping in Covent Garden and, next thing she knew, she was on her first shoot for Elle, flashing her magnetic smile. Elle’s editor at the time, Sally Brampton, said about Naomi, “Standing in the street with her was like being with a bird-of-paradise—a bird-of-paradise, while we were all just little brown birds.”

Elle gave Naomi her first steps, but Gianni Versace gave Naomi wings. Naomi met Christy Turlington on a job in London, and they became fast friends. It was Christy who introduced Naomi to Gianni, and from then on Versace didn’t hold a show without her. The era of the supermodel had begun, and Naomi was leading the way. She was the first black model to land the cover of French Vogue, in August 1988. She gives credit for that success to Yves Saint Laurent, who also gave her one of her first jobs, appearing in TV ads for his men’s cologne, Jazz. A self-proclaimed workaholic, Naomi has graced more than 500 covers in her career, including Italian Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel, in January 1992 and Vogue in February 1992. More Vogue covers followed, in May 1996, January 1998 (British), and March 1999. Nars and Ralph Lauren signed Naomi for their campaigns in 1988, beginning a run of campaigns with designers like Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, and others. The early 1990s brought the height of the glamazon era, when models were labeled with names like “The Big Six” and “The Trinity.” Naomi has walked the runway for countless designers, including Chanel, Chloe, Christian Dior, Anna Sui, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and Versace.

While holding court as queen of the runway, Naomi appeared in a smattering of television shows, music videos, and movies, including a small recurring role on “The Cosby Show” in 1988, an episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1990, “Miami Rhapsody” in 1995, Madonna’s “Erotica” video, and, of course, the infamous George Michael video for “Freedom.” She has written two books: Swan, a novel, in 1996 and Naomi, her autobiography, in 2001. In addition, she dabbled in a singing career and partnered with Elle Macpherson, Christy Turlington, and Claudia Schiffer on Fashion Café, a restaurant venture. Naomi is no stranger to charity work. She is responsible for an incredible amount of fundraising and campaigning in South Africa—so much so that Nelson Mandela named her an honorary granddaughter in 1997.

What sets Naomi apart from her Big Six counterparts is that she has worked continuously since the beginning, never taking more than a very brief break and successfully keeping a firm hold on the spotlight for more than 20 years. Now that’s what legends are made of.