Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Celebrity News

    Kate Moss opens up on nervous breakdown at 17

    The British supermodel has revealed all in an honest new interview, revealing she couldn't get out of bed for two weeks

    By Marie Claire
    Published 31 October 2012 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Kate Moss
    Kate Moss
    (Image credit: Rex Features)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    The British supermodel has revealed all in an honest new interview, revealing she couldn't get out of bed for two weeks

    Kate Moss has revealed all in an honest new interview, telling of how she had a nervous breakdown at 17, due to the pressure of her modelling career.

    SEE KATE MOSS'S MOST ICONIC LOOKS

    The British supermodel told Vanity Fair of going topless for one particular shoot: 'I see a 16-year-old now, and to ask her to take her clothes off would feel really weird.

    'But they were like, 'If you don't do it, then we're not going to book you again'. So I'd lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it.'

    You may like
    • Cara My Life in London Cara Delevingne on Designing Her First Collection for Topshop and London's Best-Kept Secrets
    • Emilia Clarke Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
    • Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress

    Under pressure and incredibly young, something had to give.

    'I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts,' Moss explained.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    'It didn't feel like me at all. I felt really bad straddling this buff guy. I didn't like it.

    'I couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die. I went to the doctor and he said, 'I'll give you some Valium,' and Francesca Sorrenti [Moss's friend and mother of Mario Sorrenti], thank God, said, "You're not taking that".

    She continued: 'It was just anxiety. Nobody takes care of you mentally. There's a massive pressure to do what you have to do.'

    What to read next
    • Beauty Moodboard SS27 ’90s Kate Moss, Stevie Nicks and “Digital” Skin—The Beauty References to Inspire You for the Season Ahead
    • Kaia Gerber Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
    • Arsenal player and Lioness Chloe Kelly Chloe Kelly: “I Never Take Playing for My Country for Granted—I Just Want to Give it My All”

    'I was really little, and I was going to work with Steven Meisel. It was just really weird - a stretch limo coming to pick you up from work. I didn't like it. But it was work and I had to do it.'

    Giving a rare insight into her three-year relationship with Johnny Depp, which began in 1997, Moss told how the actor helped her deal with the pressures of her career.

    'There's nobody that's ever really been able to take care of me. Johnny did for a bit,' she told the magazine.

    'I believed what he said. Like if I said, "What do I do?" - he'd tell me. And that's what I missed when I left. I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust.

    'Nightmare. Years and years of crying. Oh, the tears…'

    Shooting down rumours of a drug addiction at the height of he 'heroin chic' era, Kate Moss maintains she never took the drug, adding her thin frame was down to lack of food.

    'At that time I was staying at a B&B in Milan, and you'd get home from work and there was no food. You'd get to work in the morning, there was no food.

    'Nobody took you out for lunch when I started. Carla Bruni took me out for lunch once. She was really nice. Otherwise, you don't get fed.'

    And now? 'I don't really go to clubs any more,' she revealed. 'I'm actually quite settled. Living in Highgate with my dog and my husband and daughter. I'm not a hell-raiser.'

    WATCH Kate Moss & Johnny Depp… 

    SEE KATE MOSS'S MOST ICONIC LOOKS

    SUPERMODELS: THEN AND NOW

    LATEST CELEBRITY NEWS

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    Cara My Life in London
    Fashion Cara Delevingne on Designing Her First Collection for Topshop and London's Best-Kept Secrets
    Emilia Clarke
    Culture Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
     
     
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
    Beauty Moodboard SS27
    Beauty ’90s Kate Moss, Stevie Nicks and “Digital” Skin—The Beauty References to Inspire You for the Season Ahead
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in News
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Vogue World Robots
    Fashion AI Is Shaping the Future of Fashion—Can Creative Thought Survive?
     
     
    New Beauty Launches Romilly Wilde / Cécred / Bobbi Brown
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious
    The Beauty Digest: New Products to Know
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: A Foundation With Infinite Shades, Diptyque Does Bodycare, and the Exhibition Every Beauty Lover Should See
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.