The supermodel who vanished: Karen Mulder exposed sexual abuse in the modelling industry, then disappeared from public life for 25 years – now she says she was ‘forced into silence’
Karen Mulder, one of the top supermodels of the 1990s, made headlines in 1998 when she gave a televised interview alleging widespread sexual abuse within the fashion industry, naming powerful figures and describing a culture of exploitation of young models. Shortly afterwards she withdrew from public life almost entirely, and for around 25 years she has rarely spoken publicly, fuelling speculation about what happened to her and why she stayed silent for so long.
Now Mulder has broken her long silence, saying she felt "forced into silence" in the aftermath of her original allegations, implying pressure or consequences that pushed her out of the spotlight. She has spoken about the toll the abuse and its fallout took on her life and career, offering her account of the years since she vanished from public view and the reasons behind her prolonged absence.
- Supermodel Karen Mulder alleged sexual abuse in modelling in 1998
- She then disappeared from public life for around 25 years
- She now says she was 'forced into silence' after speaking out
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Karen Mulder was one of the biggest names in fashion during the 1990s, working with top designers and appearing on countless magazine covers. In 1998 she gave a television interview in which she made serious allegations of sexual abuse within the modelling industry, naming several powerful figures in the business. The interview caused a stir at the time, but Mulder then largely withdrew from public life.
For roughly 25 years afterwards, Mulder gave few interviews and stayed away from the public eye, leaving many questions unanswered about what had happened to her and why she had gone quiet. Her near-total absence from the spotlight, following such a high-profile intervention, became a point of ongoing curiosity and speculation among those who had followed her career and her original claims.
This matters because Mulder's original allegations touched on issues of power, exploitation and accountability within the fashion industry, questions that have taken on wider significance amid broader public scrutiny of how the industry treats young models. Her decision to speak again after so long, and her account of why she stayed silent, adds a new chapter to a story that had remained unresolved for over two decades.