Karlie Kloss's Real Name: Karlie Kloss

Quick answer: The model is known professionally as Karlie Kloss. British Vogue and The Business of Fashion independently identify Chicago as her birthplace and 1992 as her birth year. British Vogue gives the longer name Karlie Elizabeth Kloss and says she was born in August 1992. This page titles her under the public name.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify her under the professional name Karlie Kloss. British Vogue, in an August 2, 2012, profile, says Karlie Elizabeth Kloss was born in Chicago, Illinois, in August 1992, lived there for three years, then moved with her family to St Louis, Missouri, and later studied classical ballet at Caston's Ballet Academy. The Business of Fashion independently says she was born in Chicago and raised in St Louis, and lists the birth year as 1992. The same BoF account says her career began with a shoot for Scene Magazine Chicago and that Elite Chicago sent materials to Elite New York, which arranged to meet her at 16.

Career highlights

British Vogue says she was discovered at 13 by scouts when she walked in a St Louis charity fashion show, signed with Elite Model Management two years later, made her catwalk debut for Calvin Klein in New York, and also walked for Alexander McQueen, Sonia Rykiel, Valentino, and Gucci in her first season. It records a first Vogue cover for Teen Vogue in February 2008 and later describes her as a Victoria's Secret Angel. The Business of Fashion independently says 2008 was her breakout year, that she left Elite to join Next, walked in 31 shows at New York Fashion Week that year, opened for Carolina Herrera, and closed for Marc Jacobs, and later records campaign work for houses and brands including Marc Jacobs' Lola fragrance, Christian Dior, and Barneys, the YouTube channel Klossy, Karlie's Kookies with Momofuku Milk Bar, a later signing to IMG, and the 2015 founding of Kode With Klossy, an initiative to get girls into coding after she attended a coding boot camp. The same BoF account says French Vogue declared her one of the top 30 models of the 2000s and that she later lived in New York with her husband Joshua Kushner. British Vogue independently says her father is an emergency room doctor and her mother is an artist, and that she has three sisters.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Karlie Kloss or Karlie Elizabeth Kloss are looking for the same model, including the runway work most often associated with her name. This page uses the public professional name.