Posing naked with Sophie Dahl. Lingerie shoots with Jude Law. And told I looked like Val Kilmer! The highs and humiliating lows of my life as a top model by RUTH CRILLY By Helen Carroll Published: 20:38 EDT, 21 August 2024 | Updated: 20:44 EDT, 21 August 2024 e-mail View comments At the height of her success in the Noughties, model Ruth Crilly's distinctive features were plastered over many a billboard and magazine.
She sat astride supermodel Sophie Dahl naked for one memorable campaign (which appalled her mother), was draped over Jude Law in just her underwear for another (which caused a break-up with her then boyfriend, now husband) and featured prominently in Channel 4 documentary This Model Life. But she is far more likely to be recognised in the street now – 14 years after she gave up modelling – on account of her social media career and half a million followers. Under the name A Model Recommends, she was one of the first on Instagram to post honest, unsugary and often humorous reviews of beauty products.
'Pretty much every time I go out, somebody will say "Ruth!" and then I have to really think, "Oh, my God, is it somebody I know in real life, or do they just recognise me?"' she says. 'I ask a few questions to try to work it out, and then mostly they say, "Oh, I'm really sorry, I should have said, I know you from online". Despite her success as a model, Ruth Crilly is far more likely to be recognised in the street now – 14 years after she gave it up – on account.