Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, $98, and overalls, $298, ralphlauren.com; Converse sneakers, $50, converse.com.
"I was terrified," Carolyn Murphy says of her introduction to modeling in the early '90s. Spotted by a scout at 15, the self-described "bookish tomboy" from a Southern military family took some time to come around to the idea. "I'd gone to Paris after 11th grade, then came to New York during my senior year and lived with [Ford Models founder] Eileen Ford during spring break. She was fantastic, so maternal. She had wanted me to stay and finish school there, which was wonderful, but I was terrified of New York City. I didn't understand the business so much."
Murphy went home to Virginia—the first of several stops and starts to a career that has spanned 26 years and scores of magazine covers and campaigns. At 41, she is still one of the highest-paid and most in-demand models in the industry. The turning point, she says, occurred during a trip home, when she picked up a copy of Harper's Bazaar and saw photos that David Sims had shot of Kate Moss and Emma Balfour. "I was floored by the way these women looked because they were edgy, they were cool," Murphy says. "It was the way we dressed. It was artistic. It wasn't that glamazon of the '80s, so I felt less intimidated. I identified with it." Next thing she knew, "I'd plucked my eyebrows, dyed my hair aubergine, and was on a plane to New York."
Since then, Murphy's chameleon-esque girl-next-door beauty (she quickly ditched the purple hair) and unassuming charms have won her a host of admirers—including photographers such as Mario Testino and Steven Meisel and designers like Calvin Klein and Karl Lagerfeld. "The '90s was really weird and wild," she says. "When I first started modeling, I was like, 'How do I become more of an extrovert?' I was super shy and quiet. But I guess over time I cultivated a way I can connect with people. You kind of gain your fashion family."
And as fashion families go, Murphy's is tight knit. "I remember sleeping over at Karl's place—I had a green face mask on with my glasses and bad pseudo-silk pajamas and was eating roast chicken," she recalls. "When he saw me he was like, 'I want that too!' There I was putting a mask on Karl Lagerfeld and eating chicken in his kitchen."
But perhaps the most enviable thing about Murphy's career is that she's built it on her own terms. "I always ran away," she explains. "I went back to Virginia. I moved to Costa Rica and had my Jane Goodall moment. There were monkeys everywhere; they're like the pigeons in Manhattan. I probably should've joined the Peace Corps."
Valentino blouse, $1,890, valentino.com; Sonia Rykiel jeans, $670, shopBAZAAR.com; Jennifer Meyer necklace, $2,600, coming soon on shopBAZAAR.com; Jennifer Zeuner rings, $220-253, jenniferzeuner.com; Shinola watch, $575, 917-728-3000.
Hair: Peter Gray for Wella Professionals; makeup: Brigitte Reiss-Andersen; manicure: Tracylee for Dior Vernis; prop styling: Todd Wiggins.
In addition to modeling, Murphy has been exploring another side of fashion, as women's design director for the Detroit leather and watch brand Shinola. She's also busy being mom to Dylan, her 14-year-old daughter with ex-husband Jake Schroeder. "I stress to her that a lot of what you see in magazines isn't real," she says. "If there's a zit, a bag, a little extra thigh, they'll be like, 'Don't worry, we'll take care of that.' "
Though she's based in New York, Murphy also has a home in Southern California, where she keeps a 25-year-old horse and a brood of chickens, the latter of which she refers to as her "ladies." The model's West Coast retreats are a big part of her 360-degree approach to beauty, health, and wellness. Her regimen is extensive: alkaline water; eight to 10 hours of sleep; biodynamic vegetables; frequent sauna sessions; Estée Lauder Youth-Dew; power crystals; and Transcendental Meditation (boyfriend Lincoln Pilcher's childhood friend taught the couple the technique). Murphy has also worked with an energy healer for the past 20 years: "She's one of my secrets to staying sane." But she balks at the idea of being branded an authority on the subject. "I don't want to get all hoodoo guru about it," she insists. "I gave birth to my daughter in the living room, but I'm not saying everyone should do that."
On the inevitable topic of aging, Murphy admits, "I don't love exercise. But since I turned 40, my daughter has started to point to the tops of my thighs and say, 'What are those dents?' " She recently traded her trademark baby-blonde mane for a tamer (but still tawny) hue. "Being über-blonde may sell, but I wasn't feeling good because my hair was fried and falling off." Growing older requires a certain degree of letting go that Murphy has found liberating. "It's partially being like 'I don't give a shit anymore,' " she says with a smile. "If I'm not making myself happy, I'm useless—I'm useless as a mother, I'm useless as a girlfriend, I'm useless as a fashion model."
