It’s the classic tale of rags to riches, 16-year-old Cindy Crawford from Illinois, was picking corn when a local photographer took her picture for the local paper. Reactions to the photo were so favourable that she decided to try her hand at modelling. In 1983, she entered the Elite Model Look contest in Acapulco, and finished in the top 12 finalists. Deciding to embark on a modelling career for real, she abandoned her university scholarship – in chemical-engineering!
In 1986 she moved to New York, and was offered her first Vogue magazine cover. Appearances on Vogue titles in France and Britain shortly followed. Over the next decade her fresh and sexy American look (with a good measure of old-style Hollywood-style glamour) landed her prestigious campaigns with leading US brands including Gap, Revlon and Pepsi. One of the original Super Models, Cindy was also in demand in other media capacities, appearing in music video clips and working as a MTV host. In 1995, Forbes business magazine named her the highest-earning model in the world, with an annual income of US$6.5 million.
In 1986 she moved to New York, and was offered her first Vogue magazine cover. Appearances on Vogue titles in France and Britain shortly followed. Over the next decade her fresh and sexy American look (with a good measure of old-style Hollywood-style glamour) landed her prestigious campaigns with leading US brands including Gap, Revlon and Pepsi.
One of the original Super Models, Cindy was also in demand in other media capacities, appearing in music video clips and working as a MTV host. In 1995, Forbes business magazine named her the highest-earning model in the world, with an annual income of US$6.5 million.
Cindy famously married – and divorced – American movie star Richard Gere. In 1998 she found more-lasting happiness when she married former male model, Rande Gerber, with whom she has two children.
Today Crawford continues to feature on magazine covers around the world (recently appearances include Vogue titles in Italy and Singapore), continues her long-standing campaign with watch maker Omega and enjoys global celebrity. She supports various charities, mostly notably leukemia, a cause close to her heart having lost her brother to the illness in childhood. But her real job is running her business empire; the Super Model has turned Super Business woman with retail lines in cosmetics and home-wares.
As designer Michael Kors said: “Cindy changed the perception of the ‘sexy American girl’ from classic blue eyed blonde to a more sultry brunette with brains, charm, and professionalism to spare.”
