The Body

Background:

"For 15 years, I've been playing the same character - which is myself - and I'm bored with 'myself'." Elle Macpherson

Australian supermodel and actress Elle Macpherson, nicknamed The Body, gained international recognition as the regular model for ELLE magazine (every issue for six straight years) and her record-breaking appearances on the cover of Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit issue (1986-1988, 1994). One of the most venerated models of the 1990s, Macpherson was also seen in the films Sirens (1994), Jane Eyre (1996), If Lucy Fell (1996) The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), Batman and Robin (1997) and The Edge (1997). Macpherson is also an unofficial ambassador for the tourist commission in her native country.

Elle Macpherson stands 6' tall and has 36C-24-35 (early modeling career- 1984), 37D-25-36 (after adding weight, 1994 film Sirens), 36D-24-35 1/2 (in 1997) measurements. She was one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" (1995) and Channel 5's "World's Greatest Supermodel." Her private life was linked to French-Swiss financier Arpad Busson (engaged, separated; 1996-June 2005, has two sons with him), actor-director Sean Penn (born on August 17, 1960; dated in 1996), Eric Miller and gallery owner Tim Jeffries (former husband of Koo Stark).

Adding to her modeling and acting career, Elle Macpherson is also a sharp businesswoman. She joined Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell as an original partner in the Fashion Cafe restaurant chain and owns a lucrative lingerie brand, Elle Macpherson Intimates. As for humanity, she has assisted charity programs for AIDS and the homeless.

"Underwear is such an emotional thing." Elle Macpherson


Eleanor Gow

Childhood and Family:

The eldest of four children, Eleanor Nancy Gow, who would later be famous as Elle Macpherson, was born on March 29, 1964, in Killara, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to millionaire parents Peter Gow (rugby team owner; divorced in 1974) and Barrister Macpherson. After her parents’ divorce, Elle was raised by her mother, who later married Neil Macpherson.

Elle Macpherson studied one year of Law at the University of Sydney. In 1985, she tied the knot with the creative director for Elle magazine, Gilles Bensimon (20 years Macpherson's senior), but they divorced in 1989. In January of 2002, she became engaged to her partner of six years, French-Swiss financier Arpad Busson, in the Bahamas, but the couple separated in June 2005. With Busson, Macpherson has two sons: Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson (born on February 4, 2003) and Arpad Flynn Busson (born on February 14, 1998).


Macpherson Intimates

Career:

"I wanted so badly to study ballet, but it was really all about wearing the tutu." Elle Macpherson

18-year-old, 6-foot Elle Macpherson was discovered while on a ski vacation in Aspen, Colorado, and immediately was signed to the Click Modeling Agency. She subsequently was showcased in every issue of ELLE magazine for six years and gained international fame while posing on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She eventually broke the record for appearing on the magazine four times (1986-1988, 1994).

Macpherson’s rising reputation brought her to the cover of Time magazine, which was titled “The Big Elle.” She later branched out her business enterprise by launching exercise videos and a designer lingerie line in Australia and New Zealand in 1991. She also tried her hand at acting, making her debut with a role in Woody Allen's comedy Alice (1990, starring Mia Farrow).

Another film work arrived in 1994. Writer-director John Duigan asked Macpherson to gain 20 pounds for her role in the drama comedy Sirens (alongside Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald). The next year, she appeared in the 1995 TV series "H3O" and then Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 film version of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel, Jane Eyre (with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin and William Hurt).

Actor-director Eric Schaeffer cast Macpherson to play opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Ben Stiller in his romantic comedy If Lucy Fell (1996) and actress-director Barbra Streisand gave her a supporting role in the romantic drama comedy film based on Andre Cayatte's 1958 film, Le Miroir A Deux Faces, The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996, also starring Jeff Bridges). In February of 1996, Macpherson hosted the "Saturday Night Live" show and returned to the silver screen in 1997 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman and Alicia Silverstone in Joel Schumacher's screen version of the comic characters Batman & Robin.

Also in 1997, Macpherson costarred as a supermodel and the wife of an aging billionaire (played by Anthony Hopkins) in Lee Tamahori's action adventure The Edge (also starring Alec Baldwin). She was then seen in writer-director Philip Frank Messina's comedy With Friends Like These... (1998, starring Robert Costanzo) and played a reoccurring role as Janine Lecroix, Joey’s (Matt LeBlanc) roommate, in the popular sitcom Friends. Entering the new millennium, Macpherson was seen in the drama comedy miniseries "A Girl Thing" (2001, starring Kate Capshaw) and Carlo Vanzina's romantic comedy South Kensington (2001, starring Rupert Everett).

An astute businesswoman, Macpherson launched a lucrative line of lingerie called Elle Macpherson Intimates, which is based in Australia. She also teamed up with Montgomery Ward, which hosts a clothing line ranging from sportswear to intimates. Along with fellow supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell, Macpherson formed the restaurant the Fashion Café. More recent, Macpherson reportedly launched the latest Paperlite line from Elle Macpherson Intimates and is planning to release her first skincare products, Elle Macpherson The Body, in the UK.

"Nudity has never been an issue for me - I'm Australian. It's more of a thing in America. I mean people can buy guns, yet it's against the law to be topless on the beach." Elle Macpherson


Awards:

• Glamour's Women of the Year: Entrepreneur of the Year, 2005