50 facts about Elle Macpherson, “The Body”

50 things you didn't know about model and businesswoman Elle Macpherson.

1. Elle Macpherson is an Australian businesswoman, television host, model, and actress.

2. Elle Macpherson is well known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s, leading to her nickname "The Body".

3. Elle Macpherson is the founder, primary model, and creative director for a series of business ventures, including Elle Macpherson Intimates, a lingerie line, and The Body, a line of skin care products.

4. In 2010, she became the host and executive producer of Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model.

5. Elle Macpherson is an executive producer of NBC's Fashion Star and was the host for the first season.

6. Elle Macpherson was born Eleanor Nancy Gow in Killara, New South Wales in 1964, the daughter of entrepreneur and sound engineer Peter Gow, a former president of a Sydney rugby league team, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, and Frances Gow, a nurse.

7. Macpherson's parents divorced when she was 10 years old, and she moved with her mother and two siblings.

8. Her mother later remarried, and a clerical mistake in registering at her new school meant that her surname was changed from Gow to Macpherson (her stepfather's surname).

9. Elle Macpherson briefly studied law for one year at the University of Sydney.

10. Her sister is businesswoman and environmentalist Mimi Macpherson, born Miriam Frances Gow.

11. Before beginning her university studies, she visited the United States to spend one year doing modeling work to earn money to pay for her law books.

12. Elle Macpherson travelled to New York City, where she initially signed up with Click Model Management.

13. Her modeling career began in 1982 with a television commercial for Tab which established her as a "girl next door" figure in Australia.

14. During the 1980s, Macpherson's profile quickly rose and she graced the cover of major magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, British and Australian Vogue, Time, L'Officiel, Flare and New York.

15. Macpherson cemented her high profile through frequent appearances in Elle, featuring on numerous covers and appearing in every issue for six straight years.

16. In 1985, Macpherson became the longtime face of luxury French skin care company Biotherm.

17. Elle Macpherson garnered more exposure through Sports Illustrated magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue. She appeared on the cover a record five times: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, and 2006.

18. Macpherson walked for designers including Ralph Lauren, Azzedine Alaia, Donna Karan, Nicole Miller, Perry Ellis, Todd Oldham, Calvin Klein and haute couture for John Galliano, Valentino, and Christian Dior.

19. Elle Macpherson shot numerous campaigns for the Victoria's Secret catalogue.

20. In 1999, the twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda honored Macpherson by using her face on a series of postage stamps, the first model to appear on legal tender.

21. Elle Macpherson appeared among other Australian icons during the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, her elaborate float resembling a camera lens and featuring a runway.

22. Along with Naomi Campbell, she co-hosted the Miss Universe 2001 pageant.

23. Her popularity had reached such a level that Australian government offered her a position on its tourist commission as an unofficial ambassador.

24. Elle Macpherson has worked with fashion photograhers including Francesco Scavullo, Mario Testino, Ellen von Unwerth and Steven Meisel.

25. Elle Macpherson received the Style Icon award at the 2006 Elle Style Awards presented by fashion magazine Elle.

26. In March 2008, she signed a three-year deal with Revlon Cosmetics, which named her a Global Brand Ambassador. She has since been featured in print and advertising campaigns for the company.

27. Elle Macpherson returned to the runway in 2010 to close the fall Louis Vuitton show for Marc Jacobs in Paris.

28. In the 1980s, together with Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Naomi Campbell, Pavlína Pořízková, and Cindy Crawford, Macpherson became part of the new generation of supermodels.

29. Elle Macpherson was given the nickname Elle "The Body" Macpherson by Time Magazine after she appeared on their cover.

30. In 1994, she left her agency, Ford Models, to form her own company, Elle Macpherson Inc., which would serve as the financial organizational base for her later endeavours.

31. She soon went on to produce her own highly popular series of calendars, each of which was accompanied by a "making of" television program in 1992, 1993, and 1994.

32. She used this success as a springboard to create the "Your Personal Best - The Body" series of workout videos.

33. In 1990 launched her lingerie collection 'Elle Macpherson Intimates' in partnership with Bendon Limited Apparel. Intimates met with remarkable international success, becoming the single best-selling lingerie line in both Great Britain and Australia. Macpherson took a leading role in the development and management of the company, serving as chief marketing officer and later Creative Director.

34. In January 2010, Macpherson expanded the line, launching Obsidian as a sub-brand.

35. While nursing her second child, she spearheaded the development of a signature maternity bra line.

36. Elle Macpherson has also created her own line of beauty products: "Elle Macpherson - The Body". The line was carried at Boots, and Australian suncare brand Invisible Zinc. She spent a year on the board of directors at Hot Tuna, advising on product development, brand positioning and sales strategy.

37. In 2007, the BBC TV series The Money Programme aired a documentary which followed Macpherson through her day-to-day business as she continued to develop her international lingerie business.

38. In 2009 Macpherson delivered the Keynote Address at the annual meeting of the International Trademark Association.

39. Elle Macpherson has received a number of awards recognizing her business acumen and the success of Elle Macpherson Intimates.

40. Elle Macpherson was named Glamour Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005.

41. Elle Macpherson made her film debut playing an artist's model in the 1994 film Sirens, which starred Hugh Grant, Sam Neill, and Tara FitzGerald.

42. In 1996 Macpherson hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.

43. Macpherson is a European Ambassador for RED, an initiative set up by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise money and awareness for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and to help eradicate AIDS for women and children in Africa. She is also an ambassador for UNICEF.

44. In Australia, she is an ambassador for the Smile Foundation, which helps the families of children with rare diseases and organizes government research grants.

45. Macpherson met French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon in 1984 on a photo session for Elle magazine. They wed in May 1986, and divorced three years later.

46. Macpherson began a relationship with London-based French financier Arpad Busson in 1996. They have two sons together: Arpad Flynn Busson, and Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson. The family lived together in London until Busson and Macpherson's separation in July 2005.

47. Elle Macpherson subsequently began dating Miami, Florida-based hotel heir and billionaire Jeffrey Soffer, son of Donald Soffer, in early 2009.

48. They became engaged in March 2013, and married in July 2013 at the Laucala Resort in Fiji.

49. Besides English, she speaks fluent French and is conversational in Italian and Spanish.

50. She has also modeled for charitable causes including fundraising for 2007 British flood victims, and child welfare group Absolute Return for Kids.