#80s supermodel

The two major films she was wanted for and why they didn’t work out

By Reichan Pendragon | Feb. 17, 2026; 1:25 p.m.

In the 1980's, Janice Dickinson was on top of the modeling world. Having graced the covers of prestigious magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle, everyone wanted a slice of the self-proclaimed "first supermodel". With it becoming the norm that models like Cindy Crawford, Christie Brinkley, and Iman would dabble in acting here and there, some may wonder, Why didn't Janice Dickinson? She actually tried.

According to Dickinson (in a 2015 conversation with actor Daniel Baldwin & singer Chloe Jasmine whilst on the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother), pioneer filmmaker Steven Spielberg wanted her for the 1981 continuance in the Indiana Jones franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for the role of Indiana’s love interest, Marion Westwood, however, she was told the role would go to Spielberg's wife, Amy Irving. That role was later given to Karen Allen. 

Janice had a small cameo in the 1983 drama Exposed, but she played a model who had no lines, so when she was approached in 1988 to legitimately act in the science fiction romantic comedy Earth Girls Are Easy alongside Jim Carrey, she jumped at the opportunity. According to Janice, she had about four scenes with Carrey, and was so excited to see herself on-screen. So when Janice invited all of her friends to the premiere, it was to her surprise she had been cut out of the movie. She described it as a 'big let down' considering producer Tony Garret never told her that her scenes had been cut. 

But that didn’t stop Janice. In 1991, she had been sent the script to the Garry Marshall romantic-comedy Pretty Woman to play the lead role of Vivian Ward (later captured by Julia Roberts). "At the last minute I caved, because it was in front of just a handful of people," Dickinson told Lauryn and Michael Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential podcast Him & Her. Dickinson recalled her fathers words of discouragement, "You'll never make it."

Cindy Crawford, 1988