Rock Chick at 52: Kate Moss’s Long Romance with the Music World

Everyone is talking this week about Confessions II, Madonna’s 13-minute musical film. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York, is a preview of the singer’s new album of the same name, a sequel to the pop album Confessions on a Dance Floor from 2005. The film connects six different songs into a cinematic work centered on the dance floor as a space of freedom and desire. It is packed with guest appearances and references to music culture, fashion and Madonna’s personal legacy as the Queen of Pop. The costumes were designed by Dolce & Gabbana, with whom Madonna has had business and personal ties for four decades. ( Madonna’s Confessions II video )

In the film you will see Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes Leon, the singer Sabrina Carpenter, with whom she collaborated at Coachella, the actors Gwendoline Christie and Benedict Cumberbatch, and the model Kate Moss, the record-holder for appearances in music videos since she began her career in the early 1990s. Only her close friend Naomi Campbell comes close to her. Vogue even noted that Moss appeared in music videos almost as often as she walked the runways in the 1990s. 5 View gallery Kate Moss and Pete Doherty at Glastonbury Festival, 2005 ( Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images )

Since her debut in a music video for Johnny Cash in 1994, Moss has starred in dozens of clips, including for legends such as George Michael, Marianne Faithfull, Paul McCartney and Massive Attack. Sometimes as a femme fatale or a beautiful woman, and in recent years because of her status as one of the most iconic models of the past century. 5 View gallery Kate Moss at Isabel Marant’s Fall-Winter 2025-26 show ( Photo: Antoine Flament/Getty Images for Isabel Marant )

Her appearance places her among the pantheon of models who successfully crossed over from the runway and became cultural icons. Linda Evangelista, for example. And it was not her looks alone that helped turn her into a living legend, it was the attitude, the human vulnerability, the scandals, the mind-altering substances and the rock and roll. 5 View gallery Kate Moss at Glastonbury Festival, 2007 ( Photo: Rosie Greenway/Getty Images )

What makes Confessions II special is not only the glittering list of participants, but the fact that Madonna uses them as raw material for a broader discussion of fame, aging and their place in pop culture. And at 52, Moss shows us how it is done right. We revisited the unforgettable videos she has starred in over the years, including the iconic clip for a White Stripes hit. And who would star in it if not “Cocaine Kate,” as she was called in the British tabloids at the time?

The White Stripes on the defining clip in Kate Moss’s rise as a cultural and fashion icon, directed by Sofia Coppola in a minimalist style, with a simple and sexy aesthetic for the 2003 song I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself by The White Stripes. ( I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself by The White Stripes )

Primal Scream, in 1997, when she was the biggest model in the world, riding the wave of “heroin chic” and her relationship with Johnny Depp, Moss shot the wild and violent clip for Primal Scream’s Kowalski. Six years later, she returned to film the video for Some Velvet Morning by the band, which blended psychedelia, British rock and bohemian style. ( Kowalski by Primal Scream ) ( Some Velvet Morning by Primal Scream )

Massive Attack, the sensual choreography and artistic cinematography turned the 2016 clip Ritual Spirit into one of Moss’s most elegant and complex portrayals. ( Ritual Spirit by Massive Attack )

George Michael, the late George Michael was among the first to understand the visual power of supermodels as a group, when in the 1990s he cast the supermodels of the era in unforgettable music videos. Two decades later, he cast Moss as the one who would save him in the beautiful 2012 clip for White Light. ( White Light by George Michael )

Paul McCartney, like Madonna’s new video, Paul McCartney’s 2013 video for Queenie Eye is also a star-packed ensemble. Moss’s very presence here reflects the shift from supermodel to celebrity. ( Queenie Eye by Paul McCartney )

Johnny Cash, Moss’s creative connection with Johnny Cash stretched across two decades and two interesting videos. In 1994, she appeared in an artistic clip for Delia’s Gone, directed by Anton Corbijn. Twelve years later she returned to collaborate with Cash, this time in the 2006 video for God’s Gonna Cut You Down, filmed in black and white with a rough, artistic aesthetic. ( Delia’s Gone by Johnny Cash ) ( God’s Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash )

Marianne Faithfull, close friends Kate Moss and Marianne Faithfull, who died last year, collaborated on the 2002 video for Sex with Strangers. Beyond the personal aspect, the clip brought together two women who became symbols of rock and roll, fashion and drugs. ( Sex with Strangers by Marianne Faithfull )

Elvis Presley, many years after his death, Elvis Presley came back to life. Or at least his voice did. In a special 2016 video for The Wonder of You, Moss appeared to mark a new compilation album by Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Throughout the clip, Moss plays a timeless cinematic muse, moving between film noir-style shots and aesthetic tributes associated with Hollywood’s golden age. ( The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley )