Linda Evangelista grew up in Ontario, Canada playing sports with her two brothers. She was tall and very into fashion, so she began to pursue modeling as a teenager. But one disturbing experience almost deterred her from the industry altogether. At the age of 16, Evangelista had the opportunity to spend the summer modeling in Japan, which turned out to be far less than glamorous.

According to the model, no one was there to meet her when she arrived. "I was so lost and obviously I didn't have a cell phone," she told British Vogue. To make matters worse, when she finally found her apartment, it was dirty and her new roommate wasn't particularly welcoming. But the real trouble began when Evangelista showed up for work. "I went to the agency and it was all, 'Take your clothes off, we need measurements,' but they already had my measurements. They wanted me naked and it wasn't a 'Would you do nudes?' conversation, it was a 'You will do nudes,'" Evangelista revealed to British Vogue. "I left and called my mother and she said, 'Get out now and get to the embassy.' So that's what I did, and they got me home."

Thankfully, Evangelista did not give up, and she was discovered by an agent from Elite Model Management while competing in the Miss Teen Niagra beauty pageant. From there she went on to model in New York and Paris, but it was several years before she got her signature cropped haircut and rose to supermodel status.