Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Top Models

Supermodels: Where are they now?
They made millions strutting their stuff on the runways and flaunting their bods on countless magazine covers. Now these famous former supermodels are running companies, hosting television shows and nurturing families.

Here’s our roundup of what Cindy Crawford, Janice Dickinson,Kathy Ireland, Rachel Hunter and other beauties of yesterday’s fashion world are up to.
Twiggy
Twiggy
Then: The English native rose to prominence modeling as a teen and by the 1960s her fame had spread worldwide. As a dark-eyed, incredibly svelte youth, she gained icon status and earned a coveted title, and she is considered to be a world’s first.

Now: After a relatively short modeling career (find out how long), Twiggy moved on to sing and act on film , stage (starred in a Tony-Award winning play) and TV (starred as a Cockney flower girl with speech problems). She has her own clothing line and was a regular judge on a reality show with another ex-supermodel.
Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Then: Known for her trademark facial feature, the Illinois native was a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and teenage boys’ bedroom walls in the 1990s. Her popularity led to starring roles in several fashion campaigns, to music videos and to a hosting gig on the hippest TV channel of her time. She even married a movie star.

Now: From supermodel to household name. Since quitting the business in 2000, Crawford has been busy creating an empire, with a line of beauty products, home furnishings, a bedding line with a classic department store and charity work.
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley
Then: This long-time CoverGirl made a splash in the modeling industry with three consecutive covers on a popular men’s magazine in the late 1970s and 1980s. She famously married a rocker and appeared in one of his music videos.

Now: She appeared in a now-canceled TV show, launched her own jewelry collection and home fitness products and is an activist for animal rights and the environment. Brinkley, who recently when through a nasty divorce (she has been married how many times?), said finding love isn’t a priority right now.
Janice Dickinson
Janice Dickinson
Then: The Brooklyn native became one of the most successful models of the 1970s and 1980s after winning a national prize. Though it’s much disputed, Dickinson claims to have coined a term important to her industry.

Now: The outspoken former model has appeared on many reality shows in the past several years, including a modeling competition (find out why she was fired), a series about a group of past-their-prime celebrities and her own show. She got some help with her addiction issues on the latest season of “Celebrity Rehab”
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Then: Campbell started her long career as a catwalk model and was hired for high-profile ad campaigns such as the one for this jeans company in the 1980s, eventually becoming part of the “Big Six.” She was the first black model to appear on the cover of a posh magazine.

Now: Campbell has become known for her legal trysts due to her fragile temper, which landed her in hot water again in 2008 when she was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport. Last year, Campbell found herself embroiled in another messy controversy.
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer
Then: German-born Schiffer became one of the world’s most popular supermodels in the 1990s when she landed a high-profile gig and became the face (and derriere) of a fashion brand. She had an unlikely relationship with a famous magician.

Now: In 2002, Schiffer married a film producer who gave her an odd engagement gift. She also has appeared in several films, including a holiday classic.
Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista
Then: Though she hails from another country, Evangelista began to make it big as a model after she moved to Paris to further her career. She became known as “the chameleon of fashion” and for her dramatic hairstyles, including one daring cut that posed a career setback.

Now: In 2007, Evangelista signed a multi-year contract with a noted cosmetics company, and she was just chosen as the new face of a rebranded specialty retailer. She candidly revealed her use of an anti-aging drug.
Kathy Ireland
Kathy Ireland
Then: All-American California girl Kathy Ireland landed features in this men’s magazine for 13 consecutive years. She appeared in several movies and TV shows, including a popular nighttime soap.

Now: When the model mogul put her name on a pair of socks for a discount retailer, who knew it would lead to her own clothing line and a worldwide product marketing company? Ireland also has penned several books for children and busy mothers.
Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Then: The Czechoslovakian looker gained top model status in Paris during the 1980s and garnered attention from U.S. audiences when she appeared on the cover of a sports magazine and in a movie with Tom Selleck.. She topped a beauty list twice and earned what was then the highest-paying modeling contract.

Now: Porizkova replaced another former supermodel as a judge on a reality show, but her footwork didn’t last long on a TV competition. Last year she landed a role on a long-running soap opera.
Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Then: Like many supermodels, Tyra Banks broke into the modeling industry with her runway work in Paris and Milan before making it big in the U.S. She was the first African-American woman on the cover of a men’s high-fashion mag, a sports publication and a popular lingerie catalogue.

Now: After retiring from modeling in 2005, Banks focused on her lucrative TV career as host of a reality competition she created and a daytime talk show (remember the bathing suit controversy?). The former model has a number of acting credits, including a stint on a teen drama series.
Kim Alexis
Kim Alexis
Then: In 1983, New York native Kim Alexis became the face of a cosmetics line, replacing this actress and model. She went on to host shows on Lifetime in the 1990s and appeared in the last episode of a classic TV show.

Now: Alexis married a former NHL hockey player and in 2007 announced she suffers from a serious health problem. You can see her now as host of a TV Land series in which older women compete to be the next supermodel
Carol Alt
Carol Alt
Then: Her first big break came when she appeared on the cover of a fashion magazine, but her image on the cover of this supermodel-launching glossy really propelled her into stardom. Alt was hired to promote several big-name brands.

Now: Alt vied for the top job in reality television in 2008 and appeared on the Italian version of a popular dance competition. She has written books promoting her diet lifestyle, and she founded an organic beauty line.
Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen
Then: Christensen was crowned for her beauty in her home country before landing her big break as an “Angel” for a famous series of television and catalog ads. She also was chosen as the face of a cosmetics brand and appeared in a sexy music video.

Now: She started a clothing line in the late 1990s and about the same time uttered these now famous words. Christensen has created a second career for herself as a photographer and raises funds for a good cause.
Rachel Hunter
Rachel Hunter
Then: The blond bombshell hit fame after she posed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She married a legendary rocker in 1990 and had two children with him. Are they still together?

Now: After appearing in a 2003 music video as a bikini-clad mom, Hunter showed off her moves on a reality competition. In 2006, she hosted a reality program where contestants participated in fashion challenges.
Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Tiegs
Then: By the time she was 17, blue-eyed Minnesota native Cheryl Tiegs had already appeared on the cover of a major women’s magazine. A 1970s poster of her in a pink bikini made Tiegs an icon.

Now: Tiegs has since appeared on an HGTV series and was a judge on a reality show that tests contestants' inner beauty. Tiegs, now 63, continued to model into her fifties and developed her own accessory and wig line for Revlon.
Christy Turlington
Christy Turlington
Then: California girl Christy Turlington rose to fame as the representative of an established fashion brand. She landed million-dollar contracts with everything from over-the-counter cosmetics (with an ad campaign that made her famous) to couture. Find out how she was discovered.

Now: From the runway to activism, Turlington has turned her star power toward aiding a humanitarian organization after losing her father to a terrible disease. The author and RED sponsor married a famous actor.
Iman
Iman
Then: The Somali-American landed her first assignment for this fashion Bible, which launched her career as a high-fashion supermodel for brands like Donna Karan and Yves Saint-Laurent.

Now: Iman has become a pioneer in the line of cosmetics for women of color and started a successful clothing line. Last year she joined another fashion pro as co-host of a reality series. She has been married to a British pop star for 18 years.
Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson
Then: This Australian beauty’s legendary covers on Sports Illustrated earned her a much-deserved nickname. Before that, it was a soda commercial that helped propel her girl-next-door look.

Now: Banking on her nickname, the former supermodel molded a very lucrative business career with an intimate apparel line and cosmetics products. She’s also a successful actress, with spots on one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. What’s her newest gig?
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Stephanie Seymour
Then: After an initial blow to the ego, Seymour became a primary model for a soon-to-be infamous lingerie company. But it was two covers for Playboy that sealed her place in supermodel history.

Now: Seymour is still modeling, but a recent photo that surfaced of the supermodel and her son on vacation has caused a scandal. The mother of four dated a leading man before hooking up with a rock star.

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