Cindy Crawford

This article is about the former model. For the pornographic actress, see Cindy Crawford (pornographic actress).

Cindy Crawford
Crawford in October 2009
Born	Cynthia Ann Crawford February 20, 1966 (1966-02-20) (age 45) DeKalb, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Model
Years active	1986–present
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Measurements	34B"-25.5"-36" (86-65-91 cm) [2]
Spouse	Richard Gere (m. 1991–1995) «start: (1991)–end+1: (1996)»"Marriage: Richard Gere to Cindy Crawford" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Crawford) Rande Gerber (1998-present)
Website
http://www.cindycrawford.com/

Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an 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.

Early life

Crawford was born in DeKalb, Illinois, the daughter of Jennifer Sue Crawford-Moluf (née Walker) and John Crawford (not to be confused with actor and former Mouseketeer Johnny Crawford, of The Rifleman fame).^[3][4] 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.^[5] 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.

Career

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.^[6] Crawford also appeared in many fashion campaigns during her career, including those for Gianni Versace, Escada, Revlon, and Ink. She has also worked for Omega, Maybelline, and Clairol.

In 1987, Crawford appeared during the opening credits of the Michael J. Fox film The Secret of My Success. Three years later she appeared in the video for George Michael's "Freedom '90" alongside other models Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz and Naomi Campbell. Subsequently, Crawford played the lost love of Jon Bon Jovi in the video for his 1994 version of "Please Come Home For Christmas".

The red Versace dress which she wore to the 63rd Academy Awards in 1991 had a major influence on fashion, and many copies and fakes of the dress were produced.^[7][8][9] In 1992, Crawford—through GoodTimes Home Video and her company Craw Daddy Productions—made an exercise video with Radu Teodorescu named Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body; although criticised by some for being unsafe, it was hugely successful and led to two equally lucrative followups, Cindy Crawford: The Next Challenge in 1993 (again with Radu) and Cindy Crawford: A New Dimension in 2000 (the latter, made with fitness expert Kathy Kaehler and produced not long after Cindy gave birth to her first child, was aimed at new mothers getting back into shape). In 2001, Cindy also made a shorter fitness video aimed at children, Mini-Muscles with Cindy Crawford and the Fit-wits, an animated production featuring the voices of Cindy (who also appears at the beginning in live action), Radu and Kobe Bryant.

Crawford on the cover of the premiere issue of George magazine, 1995.

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.^[10]

Crawford is 5 feet 9 inches tall,^[1] with brown hair and eyes. Her measurements are 34"-26"-35".^[2] 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 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 early 1990s, Crawford starred in the Pepsi and Pepsi Stuff advertising.^[11][12] 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."^[13] 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 many lesser roles guest starring on TV and as supporting roles, often playing herself. For example, in 2000, she was one of the celebrities (along with Victoria Silvstedt, Anna Falchi and Megan Gale) playing themselves in the Italian comedy Bodyguards - Guardie del corpo.

In July 1988, she posed nude for Playboy magazine in a shoot by photographer Herb Ritts.^[14] In October 1998, Crawford returned to the pages of Playboy for a second nude pictorial, again taken by Ritts.^[15]

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. In her forties, she claimed #26 in the 2006 Hot 100 issue of Maxim magazine.^[16]

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.[17]

”

After modeling

Crawford quit modeling in 2000; however, she still appears from time to time in (and on the covers of) fashion magazines in new shoots. 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.^[18]

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.^[19] She also has a furniture line with Raymour & Flanigan and launched another home goods line with J. C. Penney in late 2009.^[20]

Crawford came back to modeling in May 2011, landing the cover of May 2011 issue of Vogue Mexico.^[21]

Personal life

Crawford was married to actor Richard Gere between 1991 and 1995; although they had no children, she cited him as one of the more influential people in her life (after her parents).^{[citation needed]} 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).^{[citation needed]} She currently resides in Malibu, California.^{[citation needed]}

Activism and charity work

When Crawford was 10 years old, her younger brother Jeff - whom she continues to praise as "the fourth most influential person in my life" - died of leukemia. Since becoming a model, Crawford has made childhood leukemia a focal point of her charity work, donating proceeds of her calendars to medical research.^[22] She is also an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.^[23]

In 2007, she became an official supporter of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.^[24] Crawford is on the Honorary Committee of the California Wildlife Center.^[25]

Filmography

Films

• Unzipped (1995)
• Catwalk (1995)
• Fair Game (1995) ... as Kate McQueen
• 54 (1998) ...as VIP Patron
• Beautopia (1998) ...a critical documentary looking at the world of modeling
• Bodyguards (2000) ...as herself
• The Simian Line (2001) ...as Sandra

Videos

• Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body Workout (1992)
• Cindy Crawford: The Next Challenge Workout (1993)
• Cindy Crawford: A New Dimension (2000)
• Duran Duran: Girl Panic! (2011)

Television

• MTV's House of Style (1989–1995) ...host
• Muppets Tonight!: Episode 5 (1996) as herself as special guest star
• Frasier: "Halloween" (1997) as Dorothy (voice only)
• 3rd Rock From The Sun: "36! 24! 36! Dick!" (1998) as Masha, one of the invading Venusians. The episode aired after the Super Bowl.
• Sesame Street: Elmopalooza (1998)
• The Secret World of... Supermodels (1998)
• Sex with Cindy Crawford (1998) ...a one hour TV special about sex in the United States hosted by Crawford
• According to Jim: "Cars & Chicks" (2002) as Gretchen Saunders, manager of a car dealership
• Headliners and Legends: Cindy Crawford (2004)
• Sunrise (2007)
• Wizards of Waverly Place: "Fashion Week" (2009) as model Bibi Rockford

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Supermodel Cindy". People 39 (17). May 3, 1993. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110291,00.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Profile Storm Models web site
3. ^ "A sweet and sour party at Fashion Week", Newsday.com, September 9. 2009
4. ^ Bio at Geneall.net
5. ^ "13 Famous Valedictorians - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwR2Tlj8. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Television; `Sex With Cindy'; TV special explores the sexual state of the union", by Harvey Solomon, Boston Herald, Sept. 22, 1998, p.56
7. ^ "Un' epoca nel segno di Versace". Corriere della Sera. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1992/novembre/06/epoca_nel_segno_Versace_co_0_9211067246.shtml. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
8. ^ Chace, Reeve (October 2003). The Complete Book of Oscar Fashion: Variety's 75 Years of Glamour on the Red Carpet. Reed Press. ISBN 9781594290015. http://books.google.com/books?id=7PfxAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
9. ^ Urmee Khan (9 October 2008). "Liz Hurley 'safety pin' dress voted the greatest dress". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3167702/Liz-Hurley-safety-pin-dress-voted-the-greatest-dress.html. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 
10. ^ "ASME's Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years", American Society of Magazine Editors, October 17, 2005
11. ^ "Ads and History - Highlights" at Pepsi web site
12. ^ "11 Best Super Bowl Ads Ever" at Entertainment Weekly web site
13. ^ "Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide", by Leonard Maltin, p. 433
14. ^ "Cindy Crawford", Playboy.com, retrieved on March 28, 2009.
15. ^ Rush, George et. al. "IT BARES REPEATING: CINDY IS NUDE AGAIN!", Daily News (online), August 27, 1998.
16. ^ Cindy Crawford of 2006 Hot 100 on Maxim.com
17. ^ "George Clooney steps in to defend Cindy Crawford's husband against sexual harassment claims", by Sara Nelson, mailonline.com (Daily Mail), May 5, 2009
18. ^ Simpson, Richard. "Cindy Crawford: 'My 11 years of cosmetic surgery'". Daily Mail, 24 August 2006. Accessed 14 May 2009.
19. ^ Johnson, Morieka V. "Q&A / CINDY CRAWFORD: Furniture line has 'a lot of me in it'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 15, 2008.
20. ^ Sivaraman, Aarthi. "J.C. Penney to Launch Cindy Crawford Home Goods Line". Reuters, April 3, 2009. Accessed 14 May 2009.
21. ^ "Cindy Crawford Tries Pantsless Trend On Vogue Mexico Cover". http://www.stylelist.com/2011/04/26/cindy-crawford-tries-pantsless-trend-on-vogue-mexico-cover/. 
22. ^ Smith, Nicole. "Crawford raises questions, awareness for leukemia society". DMNews, October 25, 2006. Accessed 14 May 2009.
23. ^ MMRF Honorary Board, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Accessed 14 May 2009.
24. ^ "Celebrity Friends of RMHC". McDonald's Corporation. http://www.rmhc.com/celebrity-friends/. 
25. ^ "California Wildlife Center to host 'party of the decade'". The Malibu Times, July 30, 2008. Accessed 14 May 2009.

External links

• Official website
• Cindy Crawford at Fashion Model Directory
• Cindy Crawford at the Internet Movie Database
• Playboy Interview: Cindy Crawford

Preceded by none	Host of House of Style 1989–1995	Succeeded by Amber Valletta and Shalom Harlow
Preceded by Nick Nolte	People's Sexiest Couple Alive (shared with Richard Gere) 1993	Succeeded by Brad Pitt (no award given in 1994)

Persondata
Name	Crawford, Cindy
Alternative names	Crawford, Cynthia Ann
Short description	American fashion model
Date of birth	February 20, 1966
Place of birth	DeKalb, Illinois, United States
Date of death
Place of death