She's donned barely-there swimwear for Sports Illustrated. Lent her milky skin and Paul-Newman-blue eyes to the covers of three beauty books, two by makeup master Kevyn Aucoin and one by Bobbi Brown. And boasts sufficient fashion range to have appeared on magazine covers from cutting-edge (Harper's Bazaar, French and Italian Vogue) to girl-next-door (Lucky).And that's not even counting the countless designer runways she's walked or ad campaigns she's scored, including Valentino, Missoni, Sonia Rykiel, Vivienne Westwood and Versace.
Yet thirtysomething Chandra North isn't really that different from the unassuming punk-music-loving teenager we met in the early 1980s, when The Dallas Morning News' Fashion!Dallas booked the Highland Park High School student for her very first photo shoot.
The supermodel, who hit her stride in the early '90s during the reign of the Naomi-Christy-Linda troika, recently moved from her longtime home in upstate New York back to Dallas with her husband, Daniel Blaylock, and 8-year-old son, Hayden, to live near family and escape brutal winters. We caught up with her at Starbucks in Highland Park Village, not far from where she now lives, to discuss beauty, fitness, fashion and her life as a supermodel.
What's your current makeup routine? I'm terrible with foundation, so I use a tinted moisturizer instead. I hate powder. If I'm good, I do a little eye makeup. I'm trying to grow my brows back. They used to pluck them a lot for shoots, especially during the grunge era. I wish they were as thick as they used to be. I just tweeze the strays now. How do you take care of your skin? I love a good facial. The last place I went was Kate Somerville in LA, but I need to find a place here. Billy B, this well-known makeup artist, told me about a celebrity client of his who has great skin and is in her late '40s and goes to Kate for facials. So I checked out her products. I love the ExfoliKate treatment. Are you a product junkie? I have a drawer full of products, and I just rotate things so I don't get bored. What's your fitness routine? I work out with a trainer a couple times a week; it's sort of a kick-boxing routine. I also walk my dogs a lot. I love Pilates. I was a dancer when I was younger, so I relate to Pilates. Do you diet? I try to be good, though I'll have a piece of birthday cake. Dark chocolate is my weakness. I love coffee and tea; I try to drink more green tea. I try not to eat at night and eat less sugar, preservative-free things. I like a steak now and then. Fish. Barbecue. I love Joe T. Garcia's. How do you feel about plastic surgery? I say whatever makes you feel good. Do a little self-inventory. I think there are people who have had amazing work done. Anything too extreme, anything that makes you not look like yourself is too much. Subtlety is important. I think it's good to go the noninvasive route first. How often do you work now, and what agencies manage your bookings? I'm somewhat selective. It varies every month, but I try not to be gone more than a few times a month. It's nice that I can almost be a full-time mom. I'm with One Management in New York, Marilyn Agency in Paris, Storm Model Management in London and the Kim Dawson Agency here. 