BIO

Cindy Crawford is known to the world as one of the original supermodels who defined that pivotal moment when fashion models became stars in their own right.

Crawford used her fame as a springboard to launch a career that has spanned over two decades and resulted in an exceedingly successful and trusted brand representing beauty, fashion, fitness and home. The DeKalb, Illinois native’s staying power in a notoriously fickle industry can be credited to her consummate professionalism, keen business savvy and dedicated approach to every endeavor. These attributes, combined with her timeless beauty, earned her long-term, global contracts with the likes of Revlon, Omega and Pepsi.

Crawford was discovered by a local photographer while a student at DeKalb High School. At age 17, she was a finalist in Elite Model Management’s Look of the Year Competition and still went on to graduate as valedictorian of her class. She studied chemical engineering as a scholarship student at Northwestern University before the building momentum of her modeling career took her to New York. Since then her all-American face with the iconic beauty mark has graced over 1,000 magazine covers worldwide, including Vogue, Elle, W, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Allure.

"At the peak of her modeling career in the 1990s, Cindy was cover gold," recalls Linda Wells, Editor in Chief of Allure. "She managed to appeal equally, though differently, to women and men as a friendly, sexy, thoroughly American beauty."

"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," recalls Michael Kors. She walked the runway for everyone, from Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel to Ralph Lauren and Dolce Gabbana and was featured in countless ad campaigns for virtually every top fashion designer, including Versace and Calvin Klein. She was one of the first fashion models to pose for Playboy at the height of her career and collaborated with her friend, the late Herb Ritts, to shoot the photos.

Soon after, MTV came calling, asking Crawford to host "House of Style," a new show that merged the worlds of music and fashion. With its coverage of everything from the voyeuristic and fun (accompanying Crawford on a swimsuit calendar shoot or shopping at Sears with Duran Duran) to the more serious (anorexia among models), House of Style became a huge hit. It also gave Crawford, who hosted for six years, a voice and a presence beyond the pages of magazines.

Crawford went on to create, produce and star in best selling exercise videos with personal trainer Radu, and with Sonia Kashuk co-wrote "Cindy Crawford's Basic Face", a successful instructional make-up book. These projects honed Crawford’s entrepreneurial spirit, leading her to enter into a series of strategic partnerships which have proven to be extremely successful.

The first among them, Meaningful Beauty, is a line of skincare products created with Parisian cosmetic surgeon Jean-Louis Sebagh. Dr. Sebagh, referred to as the "Youth Guru," is world-renowned for his concept of "Age Maintenance" – preserving the youthfulness of skin with highly specialized products. With offices in Paris and London, Sebagh has spent decades treating some of the most famous faces in the world. The collaboration with Crawford was the first time Sebagh’s products were available to an audience beyond his private practice. Crawford engineered the match between Sebagh’s brains and the marketing expertise of Guthy-Renker, the California-based direct response giant. Meaningful Beauty quickly became one of the company’s best-selling beauty lines.

Crawford is also busy expanding her hugely successful Cindy Crawford Home collection, which grosses over $250m annually in retail sales and includes rugs and accessories. The furniture collection originated as a partnership with Rooms To Go and is now carried at 7 retailers across the United States and Canada.

Most recently, Cindy formed a partnership with retail giant JCPenney and in the fall of 2009 launched Cindy Crawford Style at JCPenney, a home furnishings and accessories line that includes bedding, bath, kitchen, and windows. Despite the challenging economic climate in which it launched, Cindy Crawford Style quickly became an anchor in the store as customers readily responded to the core principles of Cindy's brand – offering stylish products at a great price. Cindy Crawford Style was the most successful launch of all new brands at JCPenney in 2009, including apparel. Currently there are plans underway for Cindy to expand into other areas of the store in 2010.

Looking forward, Cindy plans on continuing to develop her home business as well as expanding her range of categories in the beauty industry.

Cindy lives in Malibu with her husband Rande Gerber and their children, Presley and Kaia.

PERSONALLY

When I was a young girl in Illinois, I never could have even dreamed about a life like mine. I would like to acknowledge and thank God for the incredibly good fortune I’ve had. I am blessed with a wonderful, healthy family and a career that has given me the opportunity to experience so many incredible things as well as opened the door to countless opportunities – past, present and future.

My intention behind the creation of this website is to share with you some of the things I've done, some of the things I’m currently up to, and a little of what I’ve learned along the way.

Here’s a little of what you don’t see in the pictures:

Childhood Ambition:

A teacher, then the first woman president, then a nuclear physicist, though I wasn’t even sure what a nuclear physicist did. I just knew I wanted to do something different.

First Job:

Babysitting, working in the cornfields and working in a clothing store in DeKalb – my duties included dusting and refolding shirts after customers came in.

Proudest Moment:

Giving birth to both my children at home in my bed.

Favorite Place:

Malibu – that’s why we decided to move there. I love hearing the ocean – it is very therapeutic.

Biggest Challenge:

Being patient.

Balancing Career and Family:

Well, every single day is a juggling act: kids, work, exercise and, oh yeah, don't forget the husband! The key for me has been to be very organized, punctual, good at prioritizing, and developing an ability to say "no" sometimes. Modern life stretches us all a little thin.

My goal is to try to be fully present in every moment – to really be connected to whatever it is I'm doing, even if it's waiting for the carpool.

The Best Part of Being a Mom:

I was fortunate that during my whole life I felt loved unconditionally by my mom. Being a mom now myself has given me the opportunity to share that feeling with my own children. I've always known I wanted to be a mom, but it's even better than I ever could have imagined.

The Hardest Part of Being a Mom:

The hardest part of being a mom for me is being unsure about whether I'm making the right parenting decisions: do you let them cry it out at night or not? Start pre-school at 3 or 4? Crawl into bed with us or walk them back to their own room? Make them stick it out with karate lessons or say it's okay to quit? We all try so hard to do everything right because we want the best for our kids. Unfortunately, sometimes there is no right or wrong, which leaves us with our Mother's instinct – and sometimes that's scary!

Advice to Aspiring Models:

You wouldn't believe how often I'm asked for advice on how to get started in the modeling industry. I tell everyone the same thing, so here it is:

If you are interested in modeling, take time to research a few agencies in the largest cities near you. Most modeling agencies have one day a week or month where they have an open call. Call the agencies and schedule an appointment. If the first agency tells you "no", keep trying! The first agency I went to wasn't sure about me and they especially wasn't sure about my mole! The agencies will give you the straight talk and let you know the best photographer for a test shoot.

I'm not a big advocate of modeling schools. They will always take your money, even if they don't see any real potential.

Good luck, but also remember that there are a lot of other fulfilling jobs out there and only a tiny percentage of the people that try out for modeling are actually able to earn a living in the business.