Elle Macpherson biography
Rise to fame
At age 17, while on holiday in the United States, Macpherson was discovered by Francis Grill and signed to Click Model Management. Macpherson became an international star through her appearances in
Elle magazine. She appeared in every issue for six straight years. During this time she married (at age 21)
Elle creative manager Gilles Bensimon. Eventually she gained even more exposure through
Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She appeared on the cover a record five times, (1986, 1987, 1988, 1994 and 2006). Rising in popularity, her exceptional body measurements (36-25-35) were the reasons for her nickname "The Body"—a tag that was to become her brand. She also released a series of successful calendars and modeled for lingerie giant Victoria's Secret.
By 1986, her popularity had increased sufficiently for Time (magazine) magazine to run a cover entitled “The Big Elle”. The Government of Australia offered her a post on the tourist commission as an unofficial ambassador.
On , the post office of Antigua and Barbuda issued a sheetlet of eight different $1.20 postage stamps with images of Elle Macpherson (Scott catalogue 2241) — the first time that any post office had issued stamps to honour a Super Model.
Modeling career
After she was signed to Click Model Management, Macpherson appeared for the first time in australian TV ads. She soon gained popularity, but what definitely launched her career is her covers of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. During her modeling career, "The Body", as her nickname tells, became one of the most famous and successful supermodels of all time. She modeled for lingerie giant Victoria's Secret, graced covers for Time Magazine, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue (magazine) and Playboy magazine just to name a few. She walked runways for famous designers such as: Versace, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Valentino SpA, Prada and many others. She was one of the four owners of the Fashion Café, along with fellow '90s supermodels Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.
In 2008, Macpherson has signed up as a global brand spokesperson for cosmetics manufacturer Revlon and will feature in print and TV advertising campaigns.
She is now signed to New York Model Management.
Acting career
Macpherson made her movie debut playing an artist's model in the 1994
Sirens (film), which starred Hugh Grant, Sam Neill, Tara Fitzgerald, Kate Fischer and co-starred Portia de Rossi, as another model. Macpherson gained 9 kilograms (20 lbs.) and her breasts grew to brassiere Bra sizes. She surprised fans and critics by appearing unabashedly in numerous nude scenes, earning her top billing for the film above more established actors (in fact, all the female characters in the movie appeared nude at least once).
Soon after
Sirens, Macpherson appeared nude in
Playboy magazine. She chose for the pictures to be published in all countries except Australia, as she didn't want her parents to see them. At the time she posed for
Playboy, Australian magazines
Women's Day and
New Idea published shots from the shoot. They were also featured on current affairs programs
A Current Affair and
60 Minutes (Australian TV program). Macpherson also published two calendars in which she appeared in see-through tops.
In 1999, Macpherson appeared in five episodes of the United States sitcom
Friends as Joey's roommate and girlfriend, Janine Lecroix. (The actress had been named in an earlier season as someone Chandler would picture during sex.) Macpherson went on to film
Batman & Robin (film) with George Clooney,
Jane Eyre (1996 film) with William Hurt and has also appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Sarah Jessica Parker in
If Lucy Fell. Her most controversial acting to date is the Showtime Cable Network miniseries
A Girl Thing. In it she plays a woman experimenting with bi-sexuality. Macpherson appears in several nude love scenes with costar Kate Capshaw.
Business endeavours
Macpherson launched her own lingerie line called "Intimates" in 1990. Since then, it became very successful in the United Kingdom and in her native Australia. The lingerie was also modelled by the top twelve in
America's Next Top Model Cycle 10. The lingerie is sold around the world and in Australia in department stores such as Myer and David Jones Limited, internet retailers such as
The surfwear company Hot Tuna appointed Macpherson in 2006 as Executive Director to their board.
Extortion attempt
On 12 July and 23 of 1997, William Ryan Holt and Michael Mischler burgled Macpherson's Los Angeles home while she was away on business in Chicago. The pair stole an estimated $100,000 worth of jewelery, $6,000 in cash and 15 nude photographs.
Shortly after the burglury, Macpherson was contacted by telephone, by the thief, who threatened to release the photos on the Internet if she did not give them $60,000. Macpherson called the police, who set up a sting operation. After the pair realized that law enforcement had been called, they increased their demand by an additional $20,000. The duo was arrested on 4 August 1997.
Mischler, 29, was charged with two counts of burglary and six counts of extortion. He eventually pled guilty to one count of attempted extortion and one count of burglary. He received a six year, eight month sentence.
Holt, 26, a former United States Air Force service member and a military inmate on parole, was charged with two counts of extortion. He eventually pled guilty to one count of extortion and was sentenced to one year in jail. After completing his sentence in the Macpherson case, he was returned to military custody where he served out the remainder of his military sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Personal life
Macpherson married Gilles Bensimon in 1985, but the couple divorced as Macpherson's career escalated in 1989. She was then rumoured to be dating comedian Norm Macdonald (comedian), around the time he was promoting the movie
Dirty Work (film).
Macpherson has two sons with former long-term boyfriend and Swiss/French financier Arpad Busson: Arpad Flynn Alexander Busson (born 14 February 1998) and Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson (born 4 February 2003); known as Flynn and Cy respectively. The couple got engaged on the announcement of Macpherson's second pregnancy in August 2002. But Aurelius Cy's birth in February 2003 led to tensions, with Macpherson booking herself into Arizona's exclusive Meadows Institute , where she was treated for exhaustion and post natal depression. The couple parted in July 2005.
Love reportedly struck again for the Australian supermodel in November, 2006, when she started dating United Kingdom actor Ray Fearon. But their love story was short-lived, with the couple splitting in April, 2007. Macpherson and Fearon always maintained they were "just friends".
The Hollywood rumour mill went into overdrive again in February 2008, with reports that Macpherson, 44, had begun seeing art curator Vito Schnabel – the 21-year-old son of Oscar-nominated director and artist Julian Schnabel . Macpherson and Schnabel first hit the celebrity radar a month earlier, when London paparazzi caught the couple at 1am as they sat chatting together inside her luxury car.
Pop/Rock singer Billy Joel mentioned in a television interview that he had dated Macpherson in the 1980s ("I was dating Elle Macpherson at the time"), presumably prior to his marriage to Christie Brinkley. The London-based fashion entrepreneur is also rumoured to have dated the late Michael Hutchence, Australian restaurateur David Evans (businessman) and real-estate developer John Hitchcox .
Macpherson considers herself an art enthusiast but doesn't collect for investment, only for personnal purpose. She claims Andy Warhol is one of her favorite painters.
Elle Macpherson in the news
Macpherson's Lingerie Boost - San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco ChronicleMacpherson's Lingerie BoostSan Francisco Chronicle, USA - Nov 5, 2008Model-turned-entrepreneur Elle Macpherson is convinced the current global economic crisis is having a positive affect on her underwear brand -- because ...
read moreSupermodel Elle Macpherson denies romantic involvement with ...
NEWS.com.auSupermodel Elle Macpherson denies romantic involvement with 'drug ...Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Oct 28, 2008Supermodel Elle Macpherson has denied any romantic involvement with a convicted drug smuggler, claiming they are just good friends. ...Macpherson Threatens To Sue Over 'False' Romance Claims WRVAElle Macpherson on relationship with Brian Burgess NEWS.com.auMacpherson denies dating convicted drug smuggler New Zealand HeraldSify - Beanstockdall 188 news articles
read moreHow to buy lingerie for your partner this Christmas - Telegraph.co.uk
How to buy lingerie for your partner this ChristmasTelegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Nov 17, 2008Elle Macpherson, who has built her lingerie label into a £40 million business, believes that the seduction factor is the main reason men choose to buy ...
read moreDebbie Leigh: Spot the difference - Yorkshire Evening Post
Debbie Leigh: Spot the differenceYorkshire Evening Post, UK - 23 hours agoThe girl working on the Mac counter in Harvey Nics looked like Elle Macpherson – but younger and prettier, if you can imagine that? She was around 5ft 9in, ...
read moreDan Abrams Dating Drug Runner's Sloppy Seconds - Jossip
JossipDan Abrams Dating Drug Runner's Sloppy SecondsJossip, NY - Nov 17, 2008... according to Page Six, palling around with Elle Macpherson, the onetime supermodel who photo evidence ties to Abrams since at least the summer. ...
read moreSpurned MSNBCer's Ring Of Media Informants - Gawker
GawkerSpurned MSNBCer's Ring Of Media InformantsGawker, NY - 5 hours ago... also be asked about the network of insider media consultants Dan Abrams has assembled after Rachel Maddow took the Elle Macpherson-dater's MSNBC slot. ...
read moreElle Macpherson sharing her mantra - create happiness - on clothes ...
NEWS.com.auElle Macpherson sharing her mantra - create happiness - on clothesNEWS.com.au, Australia - Nov 5, 2008Elle Macpherson wears her mantra on her sleeve on the school run. Picture: Wenn/Picture Media HER face is her fortune but yesterday Elle Macpherson became a ...
read moreFashion Roundup: Michelle Obama's Victory Speech Dress; Ale...
New York ObserverFashion Roundup: Michelle Obama's Victory Speech Dress; Alexander ...New York Observer, NY - Nov 5, 2008[Vogue UK] Elle MacPherson's lingerie line is doing better in a volatile market than it has...ever. Perhaps Bonnie Fuller knew what she was talking about ...
read moreElle Macpherson: business model - Stuff.co.nz
Stuff.co.nzElle Macpherson: business modelStuff.co.nz, New Zealand - Oct 23, 2008It's 7am in Sydney and Elle Macpherson is on the phone from her London home. Her two sons, Flynn, 10, and Cy, 5, are tucked up quietly in bed, ...
read moreElle MacPherson’s long blonde hairstyle with curls - SheKnows.com
Elle MacPherson’s long blonde hairstyle with curlsSheKnows.com, AZ - Oct 30, 2008Elle MacPherson is wearing her hair in a long “down and dressy” hairstyle with curls while attending the world premiere of ‘Quantum Of Solace’ held at Odeon ...
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