Cindy Crawford: Shaping Culture, Adult Kids & The Next Chapter

When you hear the name, Cindy, there is only one iconic face that comes to mind. Of course, we are talking about Cindy Crawford. And this legend is hunkered in the Coop with us today. 

We dry-brush off the layers to reveal coveted beauty tips and, most profoundly, the past that made Cindy who she is. Balancing beauty and valedictorian status, shaping fame and culture, maintaining life-long friendships, dealing with unspeakable loss, and staying connected to her Midwestern roots… Cindy’s drive and authenticity are mesmerizing.

Cut to today, when Cindy, who is just like us(!), is an empty nester in the middle of rediscovering her life with her husband, Randy, and figuring out what her back 9 looks like. We discuss parenting kids in their 20s, aging gratefully, and the benefits of being friends with George Clooney (there are many).

She’s real. She’s honest. She’s a legend. She’s Cindy Crawford.

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Follow us on social media @thecoopwithkithoover or behind-the-scenes content, teasers, and updates.

Keep up with Cindy on Instagram @cindycrawford.

This episode was produced by Kit Hoover and Harper McDonald. Our Technical Producer is Christian Brown, and this episode was edited by Christian Brown. Business Development by Casey Ladd.

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Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically and reviewed by Harper McDonald. Its accuracy may vary. 
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Kit Hoover:

Welcome to the Coop with Kit. My name is Kit Hoover and I have been lucky enough in my 30 years in this business to interview some of the most iconic badass women out there. We all know that girlfriends give the best advice and they're all coming to the coop. We're talking career, marriage, kids, sex, aging, all of it. I truly believe we are just hitting our stride. Alright, my chickens. Let's get into it.

Alright. When you hear the name Cindy, there's only one iconic face that comes to mind. Of course, I'm talking about Cindy Fing Crawford. Sorry about the F right there, bug. But today we are dry brushing off the layers to reveal the past that made Cindy who she is today. By the way, she also does give real beauty tips on dry brushing, and they're amazing. 

She's an empty nester, like a lot of us. She's in the middle of rediscovering her life with her husband, Randy, and she's figuring out what her back nine looks like. We get into parenting kids in their twenties, aging gratefully, and the benefits of being friends with George Clooney. 

She's real. She's honest. She's a legend. Here is Cindy Crawford. 

Welcome to the Coop, Cindy Crawford.

Cindy Crawford:

Thank you. Thank you. I like your wallpaper.

Kit Hoover:

Isn't that fun? So cute. They're actually mermaids coming together. I'm so glad to see you, my friend. 

Cindy Crawford:

You too.

Kit Hoover:

We always start off in the coop with one question, Cindy, to describe where you are in your life right now. One word.

Cindy Crawford:

One word. Next chapter. That's two words, sorry. 

Kit Hoover:

Explain.

Cindy Crawford:

Well, I have both my kids are moved out of the house and that's a big change. And so it's kind of like Randy and I figuring out together what this next chapter will be like. And it's fun, it's exciting. It can be a little intimidating as well. And I think also it can be a little sad. You realize that period of having kids in the house and all of that is over. And I think I don't want to get stuck in that. So I am really consciously trying to figure out, okay, what's next? What's fun for us to do as a couple? And in my career, my life as well.

Kit Hoover:

Cindy, that's why I'm doing the Coop. I'm living your life. I was like, okay, my kids two have already flown. I've got one who's going to be a senior. So there is that feeling. And as far as a relationship, how has it shifted for you and Randy? All of a sudden you do have more time for each other and sometimes it could be a little jarring if you haven't worked on it.

Cindy Crawford:

And for us, so we live in Malibu and we've lived here for almost 20 years and it was a great place to raise our kids, but we're a little bit isolated, which was great. When our kids were little, we always had their friends here and ours here, but it's not a convenient lifestyle where I live. So I think that once the kids left and I was explaining to one of my friends, it's like as much as I love and have loved living here, the ghosts of the children are everywhere. Every room you walk through, you're like, oh, remember when they used to be playing Play-Doh on the floor? Oh, remember when they had their little, I called them dog beds, but we had little mattresses in our bedrooms. So when they would sneak in our room in the middle of the night, I didn't get a hand of the head or a foot to the head.

One thing that we did, and it was for me, it was on the advice of my sister, she said, if you're thinking about moving or doing something, you got to do it when your kids move out, go to college or whatever. Because if you wait too long, they get married and they settle near you, that's where you're going to be stuck in a way. So we have been spending time in Miami the last couple months just to see is this something that we would enjoy? And I think what it's done for us is, first of all, Miami lifestyle is very different because it's like a city.

Kit Hoover:

Heck yeah, it is.

Cindy Crawford:

But with vacation weather. So I'm liking that and we're discovering stuff together. It's been great for our relationship because we're kind of a little bit more dependent on each other because we don't have so many friends.

Kit Hoover:

I can feel this coming from me, sort of what's the next part that takes us to the next chapter? Because you're right, nothing stays the same. I know my father says you can't walk the same riverbed twice, its changing underneath you and it gets scary. Are you and Randy on the same page with it? Are you both liking Miami?

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, I think so. It's pretty new and we're still in Malibu. I'm back here for now. But even if it doesn't become something permanent, it's good to remember that you have that adventurous side. When I go to Miami, it's not that I forget, I have kids, I never forget. I have kids of course, but it's like, oh, we're just Cindy and Randy again, for instance. I don't have to worry about having food in the house there. It's so amazing. 

Kit Hoover:

Tell me more about that. What's your life in Miami? Do you guys walk in the morning and go get your coffee and go run on the beach and plan dinner?

Cindy Crawford:

Exactly. All of that. We would never in a million years do this here, but I had some errands to do and parking can be a pain. And I said, can you just drive me? Basically drive me around so I don't have to park. And I went to the post office and all those little normal things of life and I love it. And the fact that Randy drove me around while I did it was actually, it sounds so mundane and maybe it's not something we'd want to do every day, but it was really fun. And just finding the pleasure in those small things.

Kit Hoover:

I feel like you're back to what it was probably like when you were dating.

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah,

Kit Hoover:

You said, I love this quote from you that your goal in life is not to be happy as much as your goal is to be present. And I feel like that's even what you're talking about now in this transition. Have you always had that insight to be like this?

Cindy Crawford:

There's a doctor in LA that I love. He's a homeopathic doctor. And every time you would come in, he would say, well, rate yourself on a scale happiness scale from 1 to 10. And I was like, I don't even know how to answer that question because that's not really my goal. There are times that it's appropriate to feel sad or to feel nervous. I think as a society we have gotten so far away if it's part of being human, to experience almost every human emotion like anger and jealousy and heartbreak and all of those things. We can't just all be rainbows and butterflies all the time. And I think that part of our growth and probably more of our growth comes from those more challenging feelings. So I don't want to avoid those feelings. I want to, if anything, I guess kind of run toward them and feel them and then move on.

Kit Hoover:

Do you think, Cindy, this is because of your childhood? I was so sad to read about you losing your brother at age three, I think you were nine. How did you handle all that grief?

Cindy Crawford:

Obviously losing a child and as a mother, it's the worst thing that you could think of. And I remember actually when I had my first child, I called my mother two days later and I was like, how did you survive? You can imagine what losing a child is before you're a mother, but then once you're a mother, it's actually unimaginable. And so it is devastating for a family, and it is like a family diagnosis when a kid gets cancer. But then losing a child, I was very blessed because my mother had very strong faith and she was able to let herself grieve. She went to death and dying courses. She was very involved in the church, so she was able to kind of usher us through that in a way that we were able to get through what I remember, and who knows if this is what she said, but it was this idea that, hey, whatever, Jeff, that was my brother's name. Whatever Jeff came to this earth to do, he did it already. He did it and now he's in heaven and you'll do your thing and then you'll go to heaven. So it was a loss for us, but it wasn't presented in this just terribly tragic way. And I think that really helped us go on with our own lives. And of course there were times that was sad and we saw our mom cry. I think it was much harder for my father because he had to go to work three days later. 

Kit Hoover:

Gosh can you imagine?

Cindy Crawford:

No, no. And I think also even for me, I remember going to school and no one knew what to say to me. They knew my brother died, but no one knew what to say because I think when it's hard for people. When my husband's father died, so many people are like, oh, I lost my father too. And that is helpful, but you don't know what it's like for my husband maybe. And what I always say is, I can't imagine what you're going through. I can't. And it's like, I'm here if you want to talk. It's that simple. Acknowledging loss is kind of a lost art. And then just giving the person opportunity to say thank you and move on or thank you and yes, I want to talk about it.

Kit Hoover:

And grief doesn't leave you, it just changes. I feel like the generation that we're in with a lot of us losing parents and everything, that it feels very relevant. I love you talking about your mom. She sounds incredible. Have you always been close with her?

Cindy Crawford:

Yes, a hundred percent. And I'm very blessed because she was young. She was 16 when she got pregnant. 

Kit Hoover:

Wow. 

Cindy Crawford:

Yes. And then married, I always say when I say married and pregnant at 16, not necessarily in that order at 16. 

Kit Hoover:

Whoa. 

Cindy Crawford:

Yes. And she had my sister at 17, me at 19, and then my other sister at 22, and then my brother at 23. And then she'd lost a child by the time she was 26, considering how young she was, she really had, I think just a very good natural instinct and was a great example of what unconditional love from a mother looks like. It was also good. I had the balance of my dad who rewarded accomplishment, achievement a little bit more. So maybe I got more of my drive from him and it was nice to have that balance. But I've always had an amazing relationship with my mom, and she's my friend now, but she was my mom. She is like, you're going to have other friends. I'm your mom. And I think our generation of parenting, we kind of wanted to be the cool parents maybe or our kids’ friends. But I would always be reminded of my own mother that she wasn't the cool mom and she wasn't trying to be my friend, but we are friends now.

Kit Hoover:

I feel like the exact same relationship with my mom bug. And everybody says, how do you get it? I'm like, oh, no, no. She was not my friend growing up. No. Now she's my best friend. There's no one. I love respect more. She's my moral compass. She's my pace car. How often do you talk to your mom?

Cindy Crawford:

Oh, I talk to her at least once a week.

Kit Hoover:

I was thinking about how young she was when she got pregnant, and I was thinking about you in high school and you talked about getting bullied in high school. What happened? What did these nasty girls do?

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, I mean, it's so funny because probably getting bullied in high school is a rite of passage, and it wasn't a physical bullying, but there was mean girls. I mean, that's a real thing, right? And I'm sure you've experienced it as well. And I saw my daughter experience it, but for me, when I was 15 and I got a call from one of the clothing stores in my little hometown, and they said they wanted me to come in to meet them about modeling for them. And so I put my hot curlers in and put my makeup, well, makeup, whatever makeup, my Mary Kay makeup that my mom had put on, and I went into the store and I asked, oh, I'm here for the modeling interview or whatever. And they said, what? We don't know what you're talking about. And I was like, you called me and said you wanted to model for them. And they're like, no, we don't know what you're talking about. And I walked out of the store totally humiliated, and I saw these two mean girls from my high school on the corner just laughing their butts off and it was devastating. But I will tell you, it was pretty fun going back to my 10th year high school reunion and seeing 'em, it's like maybe they planted that seed. Who knows? 

Kit Hoover:

How do you like them apples? Yeah. When it was happening, Cindy, what did you do with those emotions? Did you tell your mom about it or your sisters?

Cindy Crawford:

Oh, absolutely. They were just like, yeah, there's mean girls in the world.

Kit Hoover:

You were valedictorian of your high school class. Were you complimented more for your smarts or your looks?

Cindy Crawford:

I think we were complimented more on our efforts and things we did. The way you look was just not a big thing in my house. My mother wore, she just was not a makeup person or a hair person, so I didn't grow up with a lot of vanity, of course, around puberty. And you start looking at Teen Vogue or something and you would look and try to get your Calvin Klein jeans or your Gloria Vanderbilts or whatever you wanted to more.

Kit Hoover:

Oh! I wanted the Gloria Vanderbilts so bad. 

Cindy Crawford:

I had my Gloria Vanderbilt.

Kit Hoover:

Oh my God, remember the velvet one? Yes. Wait, not necessarily your family. I love that. My family, by the way, was the same. Not that I'm some beauty, but nothing was ever focused on looks ever. I remember when I won silly Homecoming Queen, and I'm only sharing that story because I left to go run the track meet and it was never mentioned again. It just wasn't, you were celebrated for your hard work, your grit, your toughness, your kindness. But did the outside world compliment you more on your looks or your smarts?

Cindy Crawford:

Even modeling? It's partly about the way you look and there's a skill to it as well. But there is a thing as being photogenic, right? You can see a beautiful person and their beauty doesn't come through a picture or you can see sometimes some models will walk in and literally you won't think other than that, they're usually five 10 and then all of a sudden there's this incredible transformation and they're photogenic. So I guess once I started modeling even then it was like, oh, I had this weird mole and I didn't look like the blonde Cheryl Teague's, like Christie Brinkley type. That was the generation before me.

Kit Hoover:

Okay, so now college is in your sights. You got a full scholarship, incredible, to Northwestern for Chemical Engineering. Tell me about the first semester and walking into that chemistry class.

Cindy Crawford:

One of my professors, the first day I was pretty much the only girl in, he's like, I think you're in the wrong class, honey. And then I was like, oh, I'm going to prove this guy wrong. And that was the first time that I felt judged by my looks in a negative way that people were making assumptions about me based on my looks. And I was like, oh, okay, this is interesting. But I took it as a challenge as well.

Kit Hoover:

Well, in the nineties supermodel doc, you talked about this, then you got into modeling pretty much it's still a young age after that, after you left college and you went abroad and you're doing all these shoots, you said there was a time when all of a sudden you thought, wait a minute, I'm not ready for this. What happened that you were like, you know what? I got to take a beat on all this.

Cindy Crawford:

So I had started modeling in high school, but in Chicago, and I was doing catalog, and then I would drive home at night and do my homework and go to homecoming on the weekend and things like that. So it was just like my afterschool job. It wasn't this whole lifestyle. And then I got my scholarship to Northwestern, but I had that summer in between when I started and my agency wanted me to go to New York. And when I went to New York, they wanted me to go to Europe. And just a couple things happened in Europe. One was they had asked me to cut my hair for a job. I had said no. And they said, well, come anyway. And then the hairdresser took my hair into a ponytail and snipped it off.

Kit Hoover:

I saw that in the dock. I was freaking out.

Cindy Crawford:

I literally, that's why I probably have never had short hair since then because the one time I did it, I didn't vote myself in. So I was traumatized by it. And then I remember being at a dinner with some Italian photographers and some models that were older than me and one girl was up on the table dancing, and I knew that I was not ready to play in that game yet. And then I went to on another photo shoot, and we were shooting actually this beautiful spa in Bermuda, but they wanted me in the steam shower. And at one point I was like, can you let me out? They were shooting through the door and the photographer wouldn't let me out. And I ended up passing out in the steam and I thought, this is crazy.

Kit Hoover:

How old are you at this time? 

Cindy Crawford:

I was 18 just out of high school, and that's when I called my mother and I'm like, get me back my scholarship. I need to come back. And she did. She got me reinstated and I went to Northwestern, but was still modeling in Chicago. And then when I was 20, I had two more years of adulting and building up my confidence and finding my voice that when I moved to New York at 20, honestly, I don't have any of those kinds of situations that happened after that because I learned that I could say no, and it wasn't worth anything to let that happen to me.

Kit Hoover:

Did you have great friends from high school or your childhood that you still keep up with? Or when all that was going on in your life, were they part of this journey with you?

Cindy Crawford:

I still do have friends from high school that when I go back to Chicago, they'll come in and we all got together at someone's like Little Lake cottage. Oh, fun. Yeah, I love that. It's funny, we did a trip to Cabo once. I had two girls trip back to back, one with my Chicago friends and then they left and my LA mommy group came and my Chicago friends had been there before I got there and I got down there and they're all like sunburned, drinking beer, playing beer pong, whatever. And they go, and LA girls come and everyone's got sunscreen and wearing hats and sipping rose. And I just thought, I love both worlds and I feel comfortable in both now, but I think when you start, and again, I know you know this, you come from this little humble beginnings and then you're catapulted into this other world. It takes a while to figure out how to integrate them. And I think that probably at that time, I don't know if my friends would've really understood. It was like, what are you complaining about? You're in Bermuda, you took the Concord or something like that. And it does sound like a very privileged problem. So of course they had a good moral compass, but they wouldn't know how to help me navigate that.

Kit Hoover:

Yeah, your world was so different. It was such a different time. Yes. Jump to New York. The modeling career takes off. You and I were on MTV around the same time. You were a little bit ahead of me. Cindy House of Style was the greatest show of all time. There would never have been anything like that on the air, mixing fashion and music and celebrity. What do you remember about that show?

Cindy Crawford:

First of all, MTV, I mean, I'm sure you remember where you were the first time you saw MTV, right? Unless you're kind of our generation, you don't understand what a big impact MTV had on our generation. And then I remember getting the call from the producer, Elis Belaini, and my modeling agency was like, why would you do that? They paid nothing. And I just thought, I don't know. I felt like this could be interesting. I can talk. It's going to help me develop a different skillset. And so I did it and the first show was so bad, but it wasn't what…

Kit Hoover:

Happened on the first show.

Cindy Crawford:

They had no teleprompter for me and I had never really done any. Did you go to broadcasting school or anything like that? 

Kit Hoover:

I studied communications in college, but similar to you, you're just thrown in and expected to go, which I think is the best way to learn. But yes, no, there was no formal training.

Cindy Crawford:

So I just sound very monotone. And I also, as we went on with House of Style, I started writing my own script. So they sounded like me and they were easier to memorize, but in the beginning I just said what they told me to say, it was really bad. But you see me getting better over seven years and me feeling more comfortable and me finding my voice and myself in front of the camera. The thing about traditional modeling and magazines is you're just like a two dimensional image, but MTV gave me an opportunity to be myself and show my sense of humor. It was just fun. And then I got to meet so many incredible iconic people like Lenny Kravitz and well, I knew the guys from Duran Duran, but Sheryl Crow and Tracy Allman and Will Smith, I mean so many people when they were babies too. We all grew up together.

Kit Hoover:

There was something so magical about the time I was watching Cindy, an old interview from House of Style you with Mark Wahlberg and he's literally wearing gap pants.

Cindy Crawford:

Yes, big.

Kit Hoover:

A Michigan sweatshirt. And he was like, the M is for me. And then you had the guy from the Red Hat Chili Peppers with his rings, and you were so present. To go back to your word in the moment, what was the most challenging part for you doing that show?

Cindy Crawford:

I love music, but I am not a music librarian, so I'm kind of like, I'm a Midwestern girl. I'm kind of naive. So I remember with Chris Robinson from the Black Crows, he had these plants on his pants that were cannabis, but I did not know what cannabis was. It took me a minute. I was like, what are you wearing? What's on your pants? And he is like Cannabis or something like that. And I'm like, wait. Oh, okay, now I know what that is. We were doing some big thing over in London and anyway, they're like led Zeppelin's coming over and I'm like, which one is he? Because I did not know that Led Zeppelin. I mean, it could have been a person, so it was just…

Kit Hoover:

Good old Led.

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, exactly. But the great thing was that my producer did really, she was passionate about music and fashion, and so we just decided to use my kind of innocence as part of, because it was real. It was who I was and not try to make me like, oh, so the undertones of your music are… No, that's not who I would be. 

Kit Hoover:

Yes, authenticity is king in our business. Yes. Have you always had the ability to laugh at yourself?

Cindy Crawford:

If you asked my husband, he would say no.

Kit Hoover:

Why would he say that? 

Cindy Crawford:

Well, I think we have a different sense of humor sometimes. One of the things that I would say I don't like, and I see this happen a lot in families is the mom sometimes becomes the butt of the joke. I know that well, and already you're dragging the diaper bag or you're cleaning up for everyone. They're all playing after dinner and you're doing dishes or whatever, and then they're making fun of you. And I'm like, no, this is not fun. And I know he would be trying to get the kids going, but sometimes I would feel like it was at my expense. And I'm like, but if I'm not laughing, it's not funny the way I communicate. It's like we all have these bruises that you might not know, so you might accidentally hit one and you're like barely touched you. And I'm like, but I have a bruise there already. I'm sensitive there. So especially in family relationships and close relationships, even though I've been married 25 years, he doesn't know where all my bruises are yet. And so sometimes I'll be sensitive about something that he is like, why did that upset you? Then I'll be able to equate it back to something that from a million years ago or just like an insecurity or whatever.

Kit Hoover:

I love learning that there's always going to be new bruises and old bruises and how to communicate it. I think you guys have one of the healthiest marriages. You seem very connected with the kids with each other. Tell me about meeting Randy. Was it love at first sight?

Cindy Crawford:

Well, it was definitely interest at first sight, but it was also great because we didn't meet on a date. We met through a friend and I was dating someone and he was dating someone. So we just met with zero pressure and we ended up going to this wedding together because I was invited alone and he was invited alone. So it was through my agent and my agent was like, you don't probably want to walk in by yourself so you can go with one of these three guys. I knew two of 'em. I'm like, I'm not going with those two. So I picked door number three, but I wanted to meet him first the night before, and Randy had just opened his first bar in New York and I went and we met, but again, I wasn't, it wasn't like my date game and he wasn't on his date game. And then we went to the wedding together and he was late and I was annoyed. So instantly we were ourselves. And again, I think authenticity is probably our theme for today. We were both our authentic self from the very beginning because we weren't putting on our best selves, we weren't really trying to impress each other.

Kit Hoover:

That's gold right there. Yeah. Do you find yourself helping your kids as they date and navigate that you've learned, especially with Randy?

Cindy Crawford:

It's so funny because I think probably the best advice I ever got from my mother is don't give advice unless ask for. 

Kit Hoover:

I need to learn that one. It's also the hardest of life. I'm a work in progress.

Cindy Crawford:

Yes, me too, by the way. So is my mom, by the way. But my mother's other great line is show up, shut up and wear beige. She's like, you just got to show up, shut up and wear beige. And I remind myself that sometimes, especially when it comes to the kids, because the more that I step back and just be available and really try not to give my opinion or I'll say, are you asking for my opinion? Because with my kids, I want them to know if they ask, they're going to get my honest opinion. If you don't want my honest opinion, don't ask. So then they'll ask and I'll be, well, do you want my honest opinion? Then they know it's not good, right? I really try not to overly insert myself because I know for myself, I've learned the most or grown the most when I've made mistakes or figured things out on my own.

Kit Hoover:

You always learn from all of your past life stuff, and you talked about your marriage to Richard Gere that you really learned so much that helped you in your relationship, this long marriage relationship with Randy. What did you learn from that? 

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Cindy Crawford:

I think I met Richard when I was 22, but we got married when I was 25 and we were only married like a year and a half. I learned from Richard how to be famous really, and I'm grateful for that. I watch other people go through it, and if you don't have a good guide, it can be very daunting. And I know you see that, especially when it happens overnight for people. It's like, what is this? And Richard, I think had a very good way of seeing people, but also not letting it control his life. We aren't exactly the same about it, but even deciding, how do I want to handle fame? It's a decision you get to make as opposed to just letting it be thrust upon you. But I would say that's the biggest lesson I learned from Richard.

Kit Hoover:

Did you always know you want to get married a second time? Did you know the proposal was coming?

Cindy Crawford:

I always knew I wanted a traditional marriage and kids. I always knew I wanted kids and it maybe sounds really old fashioned, but that seemed part of having a family that I would want. I didn't know the proposal was coming when it came. I mean, we discussed it, but it was still a surprise on the day.

Kit Hoover:

Do you guys have nicknames for one another?

Cindy Crawford:

No, actually it's funny, he used to call me Princess, but now that's Kaia. Kaia is the princess, but I'm like, well, I guess I'm the queen, but that's not a cute nickname. 

Kit Hoover:

So you're Queen then I'm taking it,

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, and Randy's name is actually, his name is actually Rand, R-A-N-D-E, but his name is Rand, but no one calls him that. So sometimes I call him Rande, but more like, it's like when your mom calls you by your full name when you're a kid, I was Cynthia Ann get over here. So it would be more like Rande. I mean babe, I think it's just simple. Yeah, babe.

Kit Hoover:

Babe's always a good one. How would your kids describe the two of you as a couple, like mom and dad?

Cindy Crawford:

I think, well, it's fun. We just went with Kaia and her boyfriend last night to one of the after parties for the Oscars, and so I know for sure she thinks we're fun and it really is great when your kids get to that age, you go from parent to coach to whatever that next thing is, and you can just go out and enjoy them as their own people and you're not so responsible. I mean, they're a reflection of you, but also they're their own thing. I'm trying to think what Presley would say. I know Presley really, he really looks up to Randy. He really wants to emulate Randy. I don’t know what Presley would say about me. That's funny. I've never really thought about that. What do your kids say about you? 

Kit Hoover:

You know what? Probably a whole bunch of the same, strict but fun, but I hope they would say that I'm present and there for them matter what's going on, that they're the priority. I think they always feel like the priority even though I've got a lot going on just like you do.

Cindy Crawford:

Yes. Yeah.

Kit Hoover:

I would say balance is a four letter word. Do you feel like that sometimes there's a homemade dinner and sometimes it's Postmate and every man for themselves?

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, I always say that that thing that women are supposed to, you can have it all, and I think that's true. It's just hard to have it all at the same time and something's got to give. Right. And so sometimes your cookies at the bake sale were store bought or I remember one time I showed up on one of those days where I was trying to do it all and I was shooting a hair commercial, and so the hairdresser had come to my house at five in the morning and put extensions in and put rollers in because I had to go watch Kaia in her little school Christmas show or whatever. And I showed up with gigantic rollers in my hair with a scarf over it. It was raining. And I thought, I am such a good mom, right? Because I got up at five early. She was mortified because she was like, how could you show up at my school like that? And I realized that was one of those times where trying to do it all wasn't the best thing. It wasn't good for anybody.

Kit Hoover:

I love watching your kids shine. I've been able to interview Kaia and see her about, I'm so excited about her new book Club Library Science that she just launched. Are you an avid reader like she is?

Cindy Crawford:

Yes. Yeah, and that's what I always tease her. She'll be like, I think I posted a picture of myself reading the other day. She's like, mom, that's my thing. And I was like, well, where do you think you got it from? I do remember being that age where I was reading more like philosophy. Now I just want a nice entertaining escape book. 

Kit Hoover:

Yes, relaxing.

Cindy Crawford:

Life's hard enough.

Kit Hoover:

And I love what Presley's doing. I saw his great interview he did with Studio 22 all about mental wellness. This needs to be taught as young as middle school throughout for everybody. I wish I had had that going through it. How are you helping him guide him through this?

Cindy Crawford:

I mean, I think obviously our generation sure didn't grow up talking about it, right?

Kit Hoover:

No one talked about it.

Cindy Crawford:

But I also don't think we had so many of the challenges that this generation faces. I think that's an interesting thing about parenting and maybe every generation of parent feels this way, but some of the social media stuff or even texting, is it okay to break up by text? I would say no, but I think that's how they do it now. To me, that seems like bad manners, but I think they're like, you would never do that in person. Or sometimes when I text and I use a period, Kai ais like, are you mad at me? And I'm like, why? She's like, well, you put a period at the end of your sentence. I'm like, because a sentence, I use good grammar and it's just different. We don't know the codes and the vocabulary of their generation, and so sometimes it's hard to parent, but how do we deal with it now?

And I think young women are experiencing it, but young men too. So for Presley, even to just talk about his own anxiety and his own struggles with mental health is brave. And I think just showing him that we're not afraid to go there with him. And I think I was raised with you don't show your dirty laundry in public. I'm not sure that's correct. I think the more we are vulnerable. I know with my girlfriends when I share, oh gosh, I'm having this issue or about parenting or relationship or work or whatever, having other people support me or share as well helps me. So I think that the more we do that as a community, the better because especially social media holds up these completely unrealistic standards of what everyone's life is like.

Kit Hoover:

It's not reality. Well, I just love where both of them are in their life right now and I'm just watching them blossom. Have Kaia and Presley always been close?

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, I mean they're regular siblings and there's those little moments when I remember one time when Kaya just is old enough where she's starting to get into stuff. He's like, I hate you. And she's like, I know Fuez. She called him 

Kit Hoover:

Fuez

Cindy Crawford:

Fuez and yeah, it was so cute. I wish I had that on tape when they had that little baby voices. But yeah, they've always been close and they're also close in age, but when you see when your kids seek each other out totally on their own outside of you and your husband, that is just the best thing.

Kit Hoover:

Cindy, I have an older brother where Irish twins, he calls me Junior because he's six foot two on five feet and we are like this, and that will be Kaia and Presley. 

Cindy Crawford:

You have the same parents and he's six two?

Kit Hoover:

He's six two. Exactly. If I didn't look at my mom as far as you know, I'd be like, something's in the woods. 

Cindy Crawford:

How? Exactly. That's funny.

Kit Hoover:

All right, Cindy, would you like to play a little game as we wrap up? 

Cindy Crawford:

Okay, sure.

Kit Hoover:

It's called Let's Get Random. Oh, I love this first one. Have you ever been rejected by a guy?

Cindy Crawford:

Rejected by a guy? God, it's been so long that I've been with Randy. I've been with him 30 years.

Kit Hoover:

I'm going to say the answer is no. 

Cindy Crawford:

I guess, no.

Kit Hoover:

By the way, boom, baby. What is in your bedside drawer?

Cindy Crawford:

Oh gosh. Stuff to put on my heels so they don't get all gross. An eye mask, melatonin and on top is always my book. Or now I use a Kindle now because I like it. It has the light inside so I can read without disturbing Randy.

Kit Hoover:

Did you go to your prom?

Cindy Crawford:

I did. I did go to my prom and I wore a great Calvin Klein backless sheath dress while everyone else is wearing gunny sack. I had already started modeling, so I was bringing my best fashion game.

Kit Hoover:

Who was the guy?

Cindy Crawford:

He was my high school boyfriend, that was my boyfriend. He was of course the quarterback and he was my boyfriend for a couple years afterwards.

Kit Hoover:

I can't stop thinking about what…

Cindy Crawford:

I would say at this point. It's like what's next for me? It's this idea of having purpose. I think especially I think for mothers, we had this big purpose for the last 20 years, and of course they'll always be my little purposes, but what next is my reason that I'm getting up every morning?

Kit Hoover:

We're twins in that aspect, not the supermodel aspect, but that's how I feel. Cindy, it's so nice to talk to you and know that you're normal because this is what all my friends and I are talking about. It's a weird transition phase and we're so grateful for it and to have our health in our kids, but it's a little scary. It's a little bit of like, okay, let me just take some deep breaths here.

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, and I think that for me, I also realize it's also okay to just take the deep breath and have fun too. That's part of the next chapter is rediscovering fun for yourself.

Kit Hoover:

My nickname growing up was…

Cindy Crawford:

I did not have a nickname. I called myself, I told my family I was adopted. I just was like, there's no way I could be from DeKalb, Illinois. This is not my life, so I call myself Cindo Crawbardo.

Kit Hoover:

That's the best. I'm going to send you a sweatshirt with that on it. Okay. My current screensaver is…

Cindy Crawford:

Picture of Randy walking on the beach.

Kit Hoover:

That's part again of the being present where you are. Fill in the blank here. Aging is…

Cindy Crawford:

Wow. The first word that came up is scary, but the second word that came up is a privilege because, and I'm sure you have friends too. I have a friend who's just going through some health stuff right now, and actually she got diagnosed right around my birthday and I was like, any feelings I had negative about getting older? It was like, let that go and just, it's a gift. Every day is a gift.

Kit Hoover:

Well, you started your Meaningful Beauty when I think about this, Cindy, you were ahead of the curve on the real beauty game. What is your morning routine and your bedtime routine with beauty? Our listeners are going to want to know.

Cindy Crawford:

Of course, I use Meaningful Beauty because it was created for me, so I'm lucky. In the morning for my face.,I mean, I cleanse and then I do a serum. I do our youth activating melon serum, and then I do a day cream with SPF every day. Even if I think I'm not going to be in the sun, you're always in a little bit of sun. If I'm really feeling splurgy, I put eye cream on, but sometimes it's just like you don't have the time. And then at night cleanse pretty much the same. And then maybe once a week I'll do a peel or get a facial. I really am obsessed with dry brushing if you haven't tried. Oh yeah,

Kit Hoover:

Oh yea, I just talked to Gwyneth Paltrow about this. 

Cindy Crawford:

Yes, I've been doing..

Kit Hoover:

It is so great for the lymphatic blah, blah, blah. Yeah,

Cindy Crawford:

I don't even know what is, dunno

Kit Hoover:

What it does.

Cindy Crawford:

But it just feels so good. Every morning when I get up, I do dry brushing and then I put an oil on and then I let it soak in for a little and then I go to my jacuzzi and I'm so happy I feel alive and you have to get a good hard dry brush and you have to work yourself way up to that. But now when I don't do it, I miss it.

Kit Hoover:

Is there a way, because you got to tell, do you do it down or up towards your heart?

Cindy Crawford:

I do it toward my heart. That's what I was told to do, but yeah.

Kit Hoover:

Oh, I'm going to double back on mine. Okay. Wait, so do that and then do oil and then I got to find a jacuzzi.

Cindy Crawford:

Well, yeah, if you or a bath or shower, but am hydrating my skin. I think first you're stimulating and getting your circulation going. And then I put a little light oil on and then leave it on for a few minutes and then shower, but I don't soap it off so it just leaves a little sheen, which I like

Kit Hoover:

Speaking, you said, or bathtub. It made my mind jump. Cindy and the 90s music video Freedom, which you talked about, in the supermodel doc. I was so upset watching it back knowing you didn't want to be in the bathtub,  when everybody else got to be in all these awesome spots with their turtlenecks and stuff.

Cindy Crawford:

I know. I was like, wait, I got the, why did I, first of all, the bathtub didn't even have water in it and I had a bunch of grease on me, but then when I saw it back I was like, okay. It was okay.

Kit Hoover:

Okay. That was cool. Yeah. When you hear that song, if you're driving in your car and Freedom comes on, do you just crank it up windows down and think nobody knows this song better than me?

Cindy Crawford:

I think everyone feels that way somehow. That song comes a lot on if you're at a party, the DJ will play it or whatever, and first of all, everyone looks at me, but everyone loves that song. It was such an anthem really, I think for just being yourself, that freedom of self-expression. He was really ahead of his time with that song.

Kit Hoover:

God, I love him. His jeans and all of that. Yeah, fabulous women. Speaking of that, the Vogue legendary 40 women cover. Oh my gosh, Cindy, was that a powerhouse moment? Whose digits did you get? Anybody who wanted to meet you hadn't met? Take me on the inside.

Cindy Crawford:

Edward Ingal, the editor who just recently left British Vogue. I think it was really everyone's respect and love for him because he's been such a force in fashion. They just had a bunch of hair and makeup people there. Kaia and I got to go together, which was fun. She said, take your mother to Workday. I said, take your daughter to Workday. And of course I knew a lot of the fashion people, but then I had never met Anna Taylor Joy, who I stood next to and I had never met Laverne Cox and everyone. It was like the best girls' day. Everyone was just so happy to meet each other from Jane Fonda who sat with us and had lunch and Oprah. So it was just cute. It was great.

Kit Hoover:

Did you and Oprah double back about the doc? I talked about it on my show, how so much was made of nothing and what a silly thing that got pulled out. Did you guys have a moment to talk about that before or after?

Cindy Crawford:

I mean we had a moment just to be exactly what you said, but really it was other people talking about not what the intention was, but I mean Oprah is a big name, so people like to talk about that.

Kit Hoover:

I feel like y'all have always been super close and so supportive of one other and all of that. And I'm like, I mean I get the moment she was going for, but for that to get pulled out of the doc. It angered me.

Cindy Crawford:

Yeah, because it really what I was talking about was really the way that my agent was treating me also, but when I look at that, I shouldn't have just sat there. It was just a different time. And I think that that was what we were trying to illustrate in the documentary. It was just how much we've all evolved and we should evolve. And I don't think Oprah or I are afraid to talk about how we've evolved. 

Kit Hoover:

You are totally right. The moment was a different time and we can look at what could have been done differently.

Cindy Crawford:

Yes, exactly.

Kit Hoover:

One random question before we wrap up. I have two quick things. The story, Cindy, about when your husband's best friends with George Clooney. George came into a shit pot of money and he gave to me suitcases full of a million dollars to all of his best friends and said, Hey, if one of you doesn't take it, none of you get it. When Randy came home with a duffel bag full of $20 bills adding up to a million, what did y'all do? What did you say? Did you make it rain in the living room?

Cindy Crawford:

Well, the best story I heard from that is some of the guys came home and told their wives, guess what, George gave us $50,000. 

Kit Hoover:

That's genius. 

Cindy Crawford:

That was the best. And the wives were like, yeah, and it's true. George had this whole thing planned and it was just incredible night. And my husband was like, George, I don't want it. And he did say, if one of you says no, then you all say no. And for some of the guys really was life-changing for them. So Randy took it and yes, then he came home with a Tumi bag. But then you have to get security to take you to the bank the next day. And also you feel a little weird walking into a bank with a bag of money.

Kit Hoover:

That's the greatest story.

Cindy Crawford:

But we actually put it into a charity account for our kids and every year they take the interest from that money and they together decide on a charity that they're going to donate it to.

Kit Hoover:

Cindy, last question for you. What makes you happy?

Cindy Crawford:

Wow. Back to the happy thing.

Kit Hoover:

Good point!

Cindy Crawford:

I think what makes me grateful, I would say, is my health, my family, friendship, community, connection, purpose.

Kit Hoover:

Thank you my friend for coming, spending this hour, Cindy.

Cindy Crawford:

You're so welcome.

Kit Hoover:

The whole reason of doing this is everything we talked about, it's sort of grief, parenthood, what's next? All these feelings you've accomplished so much, but we're also just normal people trying to navigate relationships and all that. So thank you for this.

Cindy Crawford:

No, it's like we get to still grow too.

Kit Hoover:

Yeah. Okay. Thanks my love. Bye. Sweets. 

Cindy Crawford:

Okay, take care. Bye. 

Kit Hoover:

Holy cow. What an interview. Okay, I got to bring in my better half Harper McDonald. Get in here. My producer here. 

Harper McDonald:

I'm here. I'm here. 

Kit Hoover:

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Harper McDonald:

Wow. Okay. So Cindy Crawford is just like us… stars they’re just like us.

Kit Hoover:

She's normal. 

Harper McDonald:

The part that I kept thinking about when she was talking was the kids in their twenties asking for advice and she stops and says, do you really want my advice? Because

Kit Hoover:

What we fail every day. You and I looked at each other making a note. I mean, I give advice when they didn't even ask a question.

Harper McDonald:

No, no, no. They're just literally telling a story and it's like prime opportunity to be like, let me tell you a little something about when I was your age.

Kit Hoover:

So I really want to work on that. I love what she says with her kids older. 

Harper McDonald:

Well, she pauses. She pauses and lets them talk and gives advice when asked. 

Kit Hoover:

Right. 

Harper McDonald:

And then as soon as she says she knows that, they know that it's not going to be good.

Kit Hoover:

I said, Cindy, I'm like, I'm a work in progress my friend. What about what she said, oh, I love this about the emotional bruises. When she was talking about being a real mom and she was like, look, I'm doing the dishes. I'm cleaning up, I'm doing it. And Randy's outside playing with the kids. And then they all start sort of ganging up on mom making fun of me. And she was like, it hurts my feelings. It leaves bruises. I thought that was so poignant. 

Speaker 3:

Well and they're married 30 years. And so to still have these things under the layers that maybe Randy hasn't quite found yet. And she's like, no, they're there. They're there. This is what I feel like. This is what happens to me and my house is I might have one of those things and I'm kind of burying it and not talking about it. And there's a thing that's there, it's there, it's there. And then all of a sudden something comes up and I'm like a level 10 

Kit Hoover:

Totally. 

Harper McDonald:

And my husband's like, where was this?

Kit Hoover:

Dude? You weren't there from one to nine and now you've hit me at a 10. 

Speaker 3:

Now you hit me at a 10.

Kit Hoover:

But to have her say that right?

Speaker 3:

I never envisioned it that way. And it totally makes sense.

Kit Hoover:

I also love how great she was. Hang on Harper's phone ring. My, I also love that when she talked about her girlfriends, she has real girlfriends. This is like a great Midwest, smart as heck woman. And I love when she had her Chicago girls out in Cabo and their sunburned and drinking their beer. And then she has her sort of bougie ish, great LA friends, drinking rose, sunscreen. But she's like, I fit in with both. And I think a lot of women feel like that.

Harper McDonald:

I know. I know. Again, stars, they're just like us!

Kit Hoover:

They're just like us. Barely. God wish. She also, I love her talking about purpose that Cindy Crawford is sort of like, what is my next thing? And I just think that's where we are right now.

Harper McDonald:

And also that it's okay to just be okay where you are and having fun. Yeah, we all don't have to barrel into the next, this is what I'm going to be in the back nine. You can stop and have fun.

Kit Hoover:

And take a bath with your dry brushing. 

Harper McDonald:

While singing freedom.

Kit Hoover:

God, that was a great story. Alright guys, hope you liked this episode of the Coop and we'll see you next time. 

Thank you for joining us, my Chickens. If you like this episode, please give us a five star rating, drop in a great review and tag us at the coop with Kit Hoover as well. You can follow us on social media at the coop with Kit Hoover for behind the scenes content and updates. We will see you next time in the coop. And remember, as my mom bug always says, life is not a dress rehearsal. Make it count. 

END CREDITS:

Today's episode was produced by me, Kit Hoover and Harper McDonald. Our technical producer is Christian Brown, and today's episode was edited by Christian Brown, business Development by Casey Ladd. And a special thank you to all of our sponsors.