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Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford (born
February 20, 1966) is a former American model. Known for her trademark
mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers
throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the
90s. Her success at modeling made her a celebrity that has led to roles in
television and film, and to work as a spokesperson.
Crawford was born in DeKalb, Illinois, the daughter of Jennifer Sue
Crawford-Moluf (née Walker) and John Crawford. She was discovered at the
age of 16 by a newspaper photographer. He noticed Cindy at work during her
summer job of detasseling corn and took a picture of her. The photo and
positive feedback she received were enough to convince her to take up
modeling. She entered the Elite Model Management's Look of the Year
contest at 17 and was the runner-up. The Elite modeling agency in Chicago
then started representing her.
Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in 1984, as valedictorian. She
won an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern
University, which she attended for only one quarter. She dropped out in
order to pursue a full-time modeling career. After working for
photographer Victor Skrebneski in Chicago, Cindy moved to Manhattan in
1986; she was signed with the Elite New York modeling agency.
In 1987, she briefly appeared during the opening credits of the Michael J.
Fox film The Secret of My Succe$s.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Cindy Crawford was among the most popular
supermodels, and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, and in
fashion campaigns. She was repeatedly and frequently featured on the cover
of many magazines, including: Vogue, W, People, Harper's Bazaar, Elle,
Cosmopolitan, and Allure. A partial count in 1998 totalled over 400
appearances. Crawford also appeared in many fashion campaigns during her
career, including those for Gianni Versace, Escada, Revlon, Ink. She has
also worked for Omega, Maybelline, and Clairol.
The inaugural issue of George, a short lived political magazine in the
1990s, featured Crawford dressed like George Washington on the cover. In
2005, The American Society of Magazine Editors listed it as the 22nd best
magazine cover of the last 40 years.
Crawford is just over 5 feet 9 inches (177 cm) tall, with brown hair and
eyes. Her measurements are 34"-26"-35". Crawford's trademark is a mole (or
"beauty mark") above her upper lip. She is so closely associated with this
physical feature that she appeared in an advertising campaign for
chocolates featuring commercials wherein she "licked off" her own mole.
During the beginning of her career, the mole was removed from many of her
earlier modeling pictures, including her first Vogue cover. Her
resemblance early in her career to model Gia Carangi led her to being
known as "Baby Gia".
Crawford has also been on TV and in films. From 1989 to 1995, Crawford was
host of MTV's House of Style. In the mid-1990s Crawford starred in famous
Pepsi and Pepsi Stuff advertising. In 1995 Crawford broke into movies as
the female lead in the movie Fair Game. Her performance was panned by
critics-- Leonard Maltin commented "In her acting debut, supermodel
Crawford makes a good jogger." The film was also a financial failure, with
expenses of $50 million and $11 million takings at the box office. In
2001, she costarred as part of an ensemble cast in The Simian Line. Again
the film was not successful or critically acclaimed, but Crawford's acting
was not criticized. She has had several other minor acting jobs over the
years.
In July 1988, she posed nude for Playboy magazine in a shoot by
photographer Herb Ritts. In October 1998, Crawford returned to the pages
of Playboy for a second nude pictorial.
Crawford has consistently ranked highly on lists of the world's sexiest
people. She was ranked number 5 on Playboy's list of the 100 Sexiest Stars
of the 20th century. A 1997 Shape magazine survey of 4,000 picked her as
the second (after Demi Moore) most beautiful woman in the world. In 2002,
Crawford was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People magazine.
Even in her forties she claimed #26 in the 2006 Hot 100 issue of Maxim
magazine.
Fashion designer Michael Kors summed up her impact:
“ 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. ”
Crawford quit modeling in 2000. She continues to provide celebrity
endorsement for a variety of projects. In 2005, Crawford created a line of
beauty products with Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh called Meaningful Beauty for
Guthy-Renker. Crawford has admitted to regularly receiving certain
cosmetic procedures, including Botox and vitamin injections. She first saw
a plastic surgeon at the age of 29.
In 2005, Crawford launched a new line of furniture under the "Cindy
Crawford Home Collection" name. This collection is manufactured by HM
Richards Inc., and is sold through many retailers including Art Van
Furniture and Rooms To Go. She assisted in the creation of the line by
directing the designers to include certain features, colors, or styles
that fit the needs of families or reflected her own tastes. She also has a
furniture line with Raymour & Flanigan and will launch another home goods
line with J. C. Penney in late 2009.
Crawford was married to actor Richard Gere between 1991 and 1995. She has
been married to Rande Gerber since May 29, 1998, with whom she has two
children, Presley Walker (born July 2, 1999) and Kaia Jordan (born
September 3, 2001). She currently resides in Malibu, California.
Her brother died at a young age from leukemia, and Crawford has made
childhood leukemia a focal point of her charity work, donating proceeds of
her calendars to medical research. She is also an honorary board member of
the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
In 2007, Cindy became an official supporter of the Ronald McDonald House
Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of
RMHC. Crawford is on the Honorary Committee of the California Wildlife
Center. |
