From a young age, Carolyn Murphy has lived a life of wanderlust. Her father's military career bred impermanence and caused Murphy to collect hometowns rather than settle in one. Raised between Florida, Virginia and various locations overseas, her mother enrolled her in a local modeling school at age seventeen. Murphy was immediately spotted by agents from all over the world and sent to Paris upon graduating from high school.

However, Murphy did not initially spring at the chance to become a full-time model. When offered the opportunity, she instead moved back to Virginia to pursue her undergraduate degree in art history and American literature in 1993. The need to pay her way through school brought Murphy back in front of the camera, at least part time, in New York City and Japan. That need blossomed into much more as fashion editors and photographers quickly fell under Murphy’s spell. An appetite for her chameleon-like qualities grew, and by 1995 she landed her first cover of French Vogue with Mario Testino followed shortly thereafter by an exclusive contract for a Prada advertising campaign shot by David Sims.

Continuing her career full time throughout the 90’s, Carolyn became a muse to Calvin Klein and photographed with the designer in an iconic photo for VOGUE by Annie Leibovitz.  She later joined Justin Chambers in the fragrance ad for “Contradiction” as well as numerous ads for CK. She also appeared in ads for every major designer including Gucci, Celine, Dolce Gabanna, Versus Versace, Valentino, DKNY and many more. In 1998, Carolyn played the role of “Dubbie” in a film by Barry Levinson called “Liberty Heights” alongside Adrienne Brody. In 1999, the fashion industry honored her career; she took home the award for “Model of The Year” from the VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards. 

Perhaps most notably, Murphy became the spokesmodel for Estee Lauder in September 2001 and signed one of the most coveted contracts in the beauty industry. In her ongoing 15-year partnership with the brand, she has appeared in over 100 campaigns across fragrance, makeup and skincare. She has fronted campaigns for some of the brand’s most iconic products and currently endorses the cosmetic giant’s Double Wear and Revitalizing Supreme+ franchises.

To date, Murphy has graced over two dozen covers of the international editions of VOGUE as well as TIME, W Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, Allure, Marie Claire and Town & Country.

The multi-hyphenate mogul and perennial in-demand supermodel recently styled an Interview magazine editorial feature (which she also starred in) photographed by Mikael Jansson, and returned to her runway roots in 2016, first at Atelier Versace during the couture, and later at Tom Ford, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren during New York Fashion Week.
Off-duty, Murphy lives in New York and is a devoted mother to her daughter, Dylan Blue, and enjoys taking classes on creative writing and art. She is keenly interested in and supports various organizations that benefit the well-being of children, animals, organic food supply, urban gardening and causes related to land preservation and surfing.