Linda Evangelista, 58, recalls being pressured into taking NUDE photos when she was just 16 years old – as she admits harrowing moment almost made her ‘GIVE UP’ modeling

Linda Evangelista has candidly revealed how she was pressured into taking nude photos when she was just 16 years old.

The Canadian, now 58, made the shocking revelation during the Apple TV+ documentary The Super Models.

She said she “freaked out” after she was asked to strip for a modeling contract in Japan.

Elsewhere on the show, Evangelista also claimed that her ex-husband Gerald Marie mistreated her during their five years of marriage.

In the upcoming series, Evangelista revealed: “It’s ironic that my parents let me go to Japan when I was 16 with a modeling contract.

“They wouldn’t let me go on the school ski trip, but they let me go to Japan. »

She continued: “When I arrived in Japan, the first thing they asked me for was nude photos and they wanted to take all my measurements, take off my clothes.

“They made a composite and it had my measurements on it and I didn’t want to take my clothes off.

“I panicked a little. I should never have gone alone.

The beauty, who enrolled at a local modeling school at age 12, concluded: “I went home. I kind of gave up.

Meanwhile, the model claimed her ex-husband, now 73, abused her during their five years of marriage.

She was married to Marie between 1987 and 1993 – during which time he was the European head of Elite Model Management.

Discussing their relationship, Evangelista said: “I learned that maybe I was in a bad relationship.

“Leaving an abusive relationship is easier said than done. I understand this concept, because I have lived it. If it was just a matter of saying, “I want a divorce, see you soon”… that doesn’t work like that.

“He knew not to touch my face, not to touch the money maker, you know?”

She continued: “I married him when I was 22 and I dated when I was 27 and he let me date on the condition that he had everything.” But I was safe and regained my freedom.

In 2020, Marie was accused of rape and sexual misconduct by seven women, with Evangelista admitting she believed their claims while praising their “courage and strength”.

She went on to reveal that they gave her the “courage” to speak out but that their allegations “broke my heart”.

Evangelista said in the documentary: “Through the power of all these women coming forward, God bless them all, it gave me the courage to speak out…

“I would like justice to be done. I wish assholes like this would think twice and be afraid and I wish women would know that they are not alone.

In a statement to Apple TV+, Marie denied the abuse allegations and said he “never committed any act of violence.”

MailOnline has already contacted Marie’s representatives for further comment.

The Apple TV+ documentary series sees the queen of the catwalk talk about her illustrious career alongside fellow models – Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington – as the legendary stars reflect on how they came to dominate the industry of fashion.

However, the four-episode project also covers many of the struggles women face – including Evangelista’s battle with depression after suffering a rare reaction to the procedure known as CoolSculpting, designed to shrink her cells adipose, but which rather made them enlarge.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, project directors Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bill revealed how the mother-of-one could be seen “processing her emotions in real time, on camera” as she reflected to his ordeal.

Roger spoke about filming Linda’s emotional confessional, saying: “It was such an emotional interview… She was saying she deserved it and I was like, ‘No, you don’t deserve that.’ was how she felt. She was so honest about it.

Separate interviews were conducted with each model, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their lives and the iconic careers they’ve had, and Evangelista’s candid confessional became so moving that the entire team sobbed.

Roger, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 2009, explained: “Larissa and I were in tears, as was everyone on the team. It was like an emotional interview from start to finish, we were crying the whole time. I’m surprised we got nothing.

“She was blurting out so many things that she had never talked about before. You see her feeling guilty and reacting in real time on camera, and it was an incredible interview.

Evangelista spent six years “in hiding” after her rare reaction, and previously told Vogue she was “so depressed” she “hated herself” after being “permanently deformed” and “brutally disfigured.”