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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
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