Background

Ethnicity: Cindy is of German, English, and French descent and also has Danish, Irish, Welsh and Scottish roots.

Cindy Crawford was born Cynthia Ann Crawford on February 20, 1966, in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, into the family of John Dan Crawford and Jennifer Sue (Walker) Crawford-Moluf. She has two sisters, Chris and Danielle. Cindy's brother, Jeffery, died at the age of 3 of childhood leukemia. John and Jennifer, Crawford's parents, divorced after Jeffery's death.

Education

Cindy studied at DeKalb High School, graduating from the educational establishment as valedictorian in 1984. Later, she enrolled at Northwestern University on an academic scholarship and studied chemical engineering there. However, Crawford remained at the university for only one quarter before leaving it in order to pursue a full-time modeling career.

Career

In 1982, while working during the summer detasseling corn on a nearby farm, Cindy was spotted and photographed by a local news photographer. The following year, she entered the Look of the Year modeling contest (later renamed Elite Model Look), held by Elite Model Management, one of the largest modeling agencies in the world. Her status as a finalist secured her professional representation, which quickly generated modeling assignments.

After finishing DeKalb High School, Cindy entered Northwestern University. However, she would soon leave the educational establishment to pursue a modeling career full time.

It was in 1986, that Crawford settled down in New York City to pave the way for herself as a professional model. Touted as "Baby Gia" in reference to her resemblance to late top fashion model Gia Carangi, Crawford immediately secured work. Her big break came, when she was chosen as the cover model for the August 1986 issue of Vogue, the leading fashion magazine, whose decision not to airbrush out the beauty mark above her upper lip - which many industry professionals deemed a flaw - set a new industry standard and ensured her eventual trademark.

In July 1988, Cindy became the first modern fashion model to appear nude in the men's magazine Playboy. In 1989, Crawford signed a four-year, multimillion-dollar contract with Revlon, which gained her international recognition. Later, she was featured with fellow models Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Tatjana Patitz on the cover of British Vogue (January 1990). The cover, featuring a group of several top models, gained them significant prominence, and the models were chosen to again appear together, this time in the pop singer George Michael's Freedom '90 music video. Also, at the time, Gianni Versace hired Crawford, Turlington, Evangelista, and Campbell to simultaneously walk the runway to the video at his couture show (1991), eliciting a standing ovation from the audience. The monumental event is believed by many industry professionals to have marked the official debut of the "supermodel" - a top fashion model, who appears simultaneously on the covers of the world's leading fashion magazines and is globally recognized by first name only.

Besides being a notable fashion model, Cindy is also known for her business savvy and is widely considered to be the first model to diversify her career by venturing into multiple industries. She established her own production company, Crawdaddy Inc., to exclusively manage her career, and, in 1992, she released the first installment in her fitness video trilogy, which sold millions.

In 1995, Cindy was featured in a major advertising campaign for PepsiCo, Inc., and was named the top-earning model in the world by the United States publishing and media company Forbes. The same year, she made her acting debut in the movie Fair Game. Cindy also appeared in the fashion documentaries Unzipped (1995) and Catwalk (1996), among several others. From 1989 to 1995, she hosted the fashion television show House of Style, which held a 50 percent male audience.

In October 1998, Cindy again posed nude for Playboy to promote her ABC television special Sex with Cindy Crawford, which examined sexual attitudes in America. The show, however, received poor ratings. In 2000, Crawford retired from full-time modeling, having appeared on hundreds of magazine covers and walked the runways of the world's top fashion labels, including Chanel, Valentino, and Christian Dior.

In the early 21st century, Crawford launched a string of signature products. In 2005, she joined hands with famous Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh to create her own line of beauty products, which she sold as 'Meaningful Beauty.' She also launched her furniture line, 'Cindy Crawford Home Collection.' In 2009, Crawford launched her own home goods line with J. C. Penney Company, Inc., a chain of departmental stores.

After retirement from full-time modeling in 2000, Cindy has appeared only occasionally in fashion magazines and continues to do so now. Crawford and her daughter Kaia appeared together on the cover of the April 2016 issue of Vogue Paris.

During her career, Cindy has authored or co-authored several books, including Cindy Crawford's Basic Face: A Makeup Workbook (1996), About Face (2001) and Becoming (2015).

It's also worth noting, that, in 2016, Cindy was made a spokesperson for Acqua Minerale San Benedetto in Italy. In January 2019, Crawford, along with her husband Rande Gerber, Mike Meldman, Jeff Shell, and Jay Sures announced they would purchase the Hollywood deli, Nate 'n Al, to keep its doors open after three generations of family ownership.

Achievements

• 

  Beginning in the 1980s and continuing through the 1990s, Cindy Crawford was America's most celebrated fashion model and one of the most famous in the world, embodying the rise of the "supermodel" as a late-twentieth-century cultural phenomenon. She rose to fame with her athletic build and all-American looks.
  
  Cindy signed multi-million dollar endorsements with Revlon and Pepsi.
  
  Crawford is also known for appearing as Kate McQueen in the movie Fair Game and for hosting MTV's House of Style for six years. In addition, she gained prominence for her exercise videos, including Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body Workout, Cindy Crawford: The Next Challenge Workout and Cindy Crawford: A New Dimension, as well as Mini-Muscles with Cindy Crawford and the Fit-wits.
  
  It's also worth noting, that, after posing twice for Playboy, she was ranked number 5 on the magazine's list of the '100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th century.' In 1997, she was selected as the second most beautiful woman in the world by the magazine 'Shape.' 'People' magazine also listed her as one of the '50 Most Beautiful People.'

Works

More photos

• book

  • Cindy Crawford's Basic Face: A Makeup Workbook

    (In her first book, supermodel Cindy Crawford shares the f...)

    1996
  • Becoming

    (Cindy Crawford chronicles her life and career, sharing st...)

    2015
  • About Face

    (The first language every child learns to speak and read i...)

    2001

• movie

  • Catwalk

    (A camera follows model Christy Turlington through the spr...)

    1995
  • The Simian Line

    (At a Halloween party, an eccentric fortune teller predict...)

    2001
  • Fair Game

    (Max Kirkpatrick is a cop, who protects Kate McQuean, a ci...)

    1995
  • Unzipped

    (One of the most successful designers in high fashion plan...)

    1995

• video

  • Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body Workout

    (This exercise video is hosted by Cindy Crawford and shows...)

    1992
  • Cindy Crawford: The Next Challenge Workout 1993
  • Cindy Crawford: A New Dimension 2000

Religion

Crawford is considered to be a Protestant, but in some articles and interviews earlier in life, she didn't seem very dedicated to the church. One article described her as a "nonpracticing Protestant" and in another article, she described her views as unconventional. She said: "I'm religious but in my own personal way. I always say that I have a Cindy Crawford religion - it's my own."

However, after she had her first child, "the Cindy Crawford religion" sounded a little more like Presbyterian. She told one magazine, that she would raise her children Protestant while still exposing them to Judaism, her husband's religion.

In 2007, she hosted a fundraiser event for the Malibu Presbyterian Church, which was described as her "home church."

Politics

Cindy is often cited as an Independent.

She supported Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008. Despite reports, she denied endorsing Mitt Romney for the 2012 election.

Views

Cindy is a supporter of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). She donates money to medical research of childhood leukemia and supports the pediatric oncology program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cindy tries to do her part to be eco-friendly by cutting down on the number of plastic bags she uses and eliminating plastic water bottles from her home.

Quotations: "I've always found that beauty and confidence are synonymous. If you feel confident, that's what people see."

"It's not like your soul gets older. It gets wiser."

"The face you have at age 25 is the face God gave you, but the face you have after 50 is the face you earned."

"Life is where you're at. Whatever you're doing is enough. You don't need to do everything well all the time. When you live your life like that, it's a huge relief."

"I think women see me on the cover of magazines and think I never have a pimple or bags under my eyes. You have to realize that's after two hours of hair and makeup, plus retouching. Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford."

"I think if people are passionate about something, it could be real estate or biochemistry, and that spark gets turned on in them, everyone's beautiful in that zone."

"If people would treat themselves with the same kind of love they give to their friends, that would be such a great gift we could give ourselves."

"As my mom always said, 'You'd rather have smile lines than frown lines.'"

"I believe that at least 70 percent of parenting goes to the mother. In our house, I'm the one who knows about all the school stuff, helps with the homework, organizes the play dates, and remembers the birthday parties."

Membership

• official supporter and member of celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC

  Ronald McDonald House Charities , United States

  2007 - present

• honorary committee member

  California Wildlife Center , United States

• honorary board member

  Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

Personality

Crawford is known for her intelligence and down-to-earth demeanor.

Physical Characteristics: Cindy is 5 ft 9.25 in (176 cm) tall. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Crawford has a mole above her upper lip, which is her beauty mark.

Cindy first saw a plastic surgeon at the age of 28. Currently, she regularly receives certain cosmetic procedures, including botox and vitamin injections.

Interests

• Traveling, working out, reading, cooking

• Politicians

  Barack Obama

• Writers

  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

• Music & Bands

  Music of the 1990's

Connections

During the period from 1991 to 1995, Cindy was married to Richard Gere, an actor and producer. It was on May 29, 1998, that she married her second husband - Rande Gerber, an entertainment industry businessman and former model. Their marriage produced two children - son Presley Walker Gerber and daughter Kaia Jordan Gerber.

Father:

John Dan Crawford

(born 1945)

Mother:

Jennifer Sue (Walker) Crawford-Moluf

Sister:

Chris Crawford

Sister:

Danielle Crawford

Brother:

Jeffery Crawford

Jeffery died at the age of 3. The cause of his death was childhood leukemia.

Ex-husband:

Richard Gere

(born August 31, 1949)

Richard Gere, in full Richard Tiffany Gere, is an American actor and producer.

husband:

Rande Gerber

(born April 27, 1962)

Rande Gerber is an American entertainment industry businessman and former model.

Son:

Presley Walker Gerber

(born July 2, 1999)

Daughter:

Kaia Jordan Gerber

(born September 3, 2001)

Friend:

Naomi Campbell

(born May 22, 1970)

Naomi Campbell, in full Naomi Elaine Campbell, is an English model, actress and businesswoman.

Friend:

Linda Evangelista

(born May 10, 1965)

Linda Evangelista is a Canadian fashion model and one of the top supermodels from the 1990s.

Friend:

Christy Turlington

(born January 2, 1969)

Christy Turlington, in full Christy Nicole Turlington Burns, is an American model, charity-founder and campaigner, and filmmaker.

Friend:

Tatjana Patitz

(born May 25, 1966)

Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who achieved international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s representing fashion designers on runways and in magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue.

References

• Cindy Crawford's Instagram
• Cindy Crawford's Facebook
• Cindy Crawford's Twitter
• Cindy Crawford's Official Website