Supermodel Niki Taylor is no longer chasing the spotlight.
The '90s fashion icon, once one of the most recognizable faces in fashion, has traded the chaos of international runways for a quieter life in Nashville, where privacy and family now take center stage.
Taylor reflected on the pace of her early career and why stepping back from the glare of fame ultimately brought her something more meaningful.
"I do prefer privacy, and I have always been a bit of a loner," she told People. "I live life at a much more natural pace than I did in the '90s. I'm thankful that I was busy, but I was away from my sons Jake and Hunter more than I wanted to be. With Ciel and Rex I feel like I have had a lot better balance of family and work."
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It's a stark contrast to the double life she led as a teen model, one that blurred the line between normal adolescence and international fame.
"In a way, I was living two different lives," Taylor, 51, quipped, explaining that during her rise to fame, she was appearing in People magazine even as she was still getting written up for detention.
"I was trying to fit in at my high school, but then I would show up on set, and all the other models I looked up to were 10 years older than me. There's no handbook for how to handle that."
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Behind the scenes, Taylor said, she had a tightly-knit support system that kept her grounded as her career skyrocketed.
"I was young enough that I always had an adult with me," she said of flying nonstop to fashion shoots around the world.
"When my dad walked in the room, people took note. He was a strong, handsome but gentle man. And, so, along with him and my mom and manager, Jean, I had a solid support team around me."
These days, the pace is slower, but the work isn't over, according to the fashion icon.
Taylor is still modeling, just on her own terms.
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"My day-to-day is simple," she said. "Being a mom, fitness and working pretty much define my days. Someone once said you spend the first 40 years acquiring and the last 40 simplifying. I still am in love with the fashion business, but I love coming home to my family."
But fame didn't come without a devastating loss.
Taylor's younger sister, Krissy Taylor, a rising star in her own right, died suddenly of heart disease at just 17, at the height of her career.
"She was my best friend. She was my gravity. … Even to this day, I think about her all the time," Taylor previously shared with Fox News in an interview.
The sisters had shared not just a bond, but the runway, walking shows across Europe and landing major campaigns together.
"I don't know how we got through it, but time has helped," she told People. "I think about her often. Like, when I see a lifted truck, sunflowers, an old country song, sundresses, the beach, certain scents in the air. … Yeah, it's often.
"In many ways, Krissy and I had a special bond that was almost like being a twin, even though she was younger than me. I think anyone who knows about Krissy knows that she was my best friend."
