When modelling broke into the mainstream in the eighties, Elle ‘The Body’ MacPherson was propelled to stardom. She was born Eleanor Gow to an upper-middle class family in Sydney, Australia on March 29th, 1964. Although she was heavily into ballet, she remembers herself as a tree-climbing tomboy. When she was 14, her parents divorced. Her mother soon re-married and Elle adopted her stepfather’s surname of MacPherson. With probable intentions of following in her stepfather’s footsteps, she went to Sydney University to study pre-law.

After a year at university, MacPherson changed career paths. While skiing in Colorado, she was spotted by a New York modelling agent. She decided to stay in the United States and signed with the Click agency in 1981. Quickly climbed through the ranks, she appeared in every issue of Elle magazine for six years straight. This may have been helped by her marriage to Elle’s creative director Gilles Bensimon in 1985. In 1986, she appeared on the front cover of Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the first of a record four cover appearances. In 1989, the same year she divorced Bensimon, she started Elle MacPherson’s Intimates, a lingerie company now worth $10 million. The next year, she made her very brief film debut when she walked in front of the camera in Woody Allen’s Alice.

By 1994, a year in which she made $3 million, MacPherson was among the world’s top supermodels. Needing new territory to conquer, she left Sports Illustrated and moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on acting. For her first major movie, Sirens, she put on an extra 20 lbs. in order to resemble the models of the day. The film was set in Australia between the two World Wars. Reverend Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant) and his wife Estella (Tara Fitzgerald) had recently transferred to Australia to minister the flock. After the church declared ‘Crucified Venus’, a painting by Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill), to be blasphemous, Campion and his wife were sent to convince Lindsay to withdraw the painting. Upon arrival, Campion discovered that Lindsay was living with his wife and three beautiful women, one of them played by MacPherson. Although he considered himself progressive, the amoral atmosphere on the estate shocked Campion. Estella, on the other hand, finds herself draw into their lifestyle. MacPherson’s part required many nude scenes, enough to have her billed above the lead actors. However, the movie stood up on its own. The film featured strong acting from the entire cast, including MacPherson. Although it only had a modest draw at the box office, the movie drew rave reviews that gained MacPherson respect within the film community.

After finishing Sirens, 6’ tall MacPherson worked hard to get back down to 128 pounds. The workouts she developed became part of “Your Personal Best Workout With Elle MacPherson” (1995). The movie quickly went to #1 on Billboard’s Special Interest chart.

That same year, MacPherson, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, and Naomi Campbell started the Fashion Café. Troubles started early when Turlington was unable to attend the grand opening. Although the official reason given was a scheduling conflict, many speculated that her husband, Jason Patric, had influenced her not to go. She pulled out of the company in August of 1997. By that point, the chain had established several locations but was coming under financial and legal hardships. Because of this, Claudia Schiffer pulled out in 1998.

In the meantime, MacPherson continued her movie career. The Mirror Has Two Faces was a movie in which Barbra Streisand starred, directed, co-produced, wrote, and supervised the music. Streisand and Jeff Bridges played Rose and Gregory, two boring professors trying to find love. After Candy (MacPherson) dumped Gregory, he entered a relationship with Rose that was more intellectual than physical. Although MacPherson’s role was small, it still helped move her career forward.

Her role in If Lucy Fell was larger. Eric Schaeffer, who also wrote and directed, starred as Joe, an artist. Sara Jessica Parker (Honeymoon in Vegas, Ed Wood) played Lucy, his friend and roommate. They were both four weeks away from turning thirty. Lucy convinced Joe that if they had not picked up their love life by that time, they would jump off the Brooklyn Bridge together. The target of Joe’s affection’s was Jane (MacPherson), the woman next door with whom he was obsessed. The critics gave this movie poor reviews, mostly because of a weak script. However, many critics were impressed by the quality of MacPherson’s performance.

MacPherson finished off her year with Jane Eyre. Charlotte Gainsbourg starred as the title character in this 1996 adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte book. Eyre was an orphan raised by her aunt until moving to Thornfield Hall. There, she taught the young ward of Lord Edward Rochester (William Hurt). Eyre was attracted to Rochester, but he brought in the rich and beautiful Blanche Ingram (MacPherson). Although this version was inferior to the 1983 mini-series with Timothy Dalton, it was packed with good acting, especially from Gainsbourg. Many critics considered MacPherson’s casting as Blanche a surprising but good choice.

In 1997, MacPherson continued her string of small parts that play an important role in the plot with The Edge. She played Mickey Morse, the supermodel wife of middle-aged billionaire Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins). To be at one of her shoots, Charles flew to Alaska with photographer Robert Green (Alec Baldwin), whom Charles suspected of having an affair with Mickey. When the plane crashed into a lake, Charles and Robert had to learn to co-operate even as they confronted each other about Mickey. Shot in the woods of Alberta, the movie featured dramatic landscapes and wildlife. The movie also featured excellent acting from Hopkins.

MacPherson’s part as Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend in Batman & Robin was also small, but not as important. This was a good thing, since the movie turned out to be a major debacle. The film was nominated for 11 Razzie awards, including Worst Picture.

This was just the beginning of MacPherson’s headaches. On July 12th and 23rd, 1997, someone broke into her house and trailer. $100 000 in jewellery, some cash, and nude photos were stolen. She then received a phone call threatening to place the photos on the Internet if she did not send $60 000. She went to the police, who attempted to apprehend the thieves. After the first attempt, the thieves got away and they asked for $20 000 more. Michael Mischler, 29, and Ryan Holt, 26, were arrested on July 4th. Mischler was charged with two counts of burglary and six counts of extortion. Holt was charged with two counts of extortion. They both initially pleaded innocent.

The case took a bizarre twist when Mischler claimed to be MacPherson’s ‘boy toy’. His lawyer, Lawrence Young, claimed that Mischler was the photographer that made the stolen pictures. He also announced that he would be using insanity as a defence, claiming any man would go insane if rejected by a woman as beautiful as MacPherson. McPherson claimed that she had never met Mischler and that she took the photos herself for an upcoming book. She then sued Young for $5 million for defamation. Mischler eventually pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion and one count of first-degree burglary. He received the maximum sentence of six years and eight months in jail. However, before his sentencing, he created more controversy by claiming to be the father of MacPherson’s unborn child.

According to MacPherson, the father of the baby was Swiss financier Arpad “Arkie” Busson. Their son, Arpad Flynn Busson was born on February 14th, 1998 in New York. Having understandably soured on Los Angeles, they moved to London.

After sorting out her legal hassles, MacPherson returned to movies in With Friends Like These. In the movie, four small-time character actors competed to be cast in Martin Scorsese’s Capone. Also starring in this movie was Adam Arkin (“Northern Exposure”), Robert Costanzo (City Slickers, Forget Paris), and Beverly D’Angelo (American History X, The National Lampoon Vacation movies). Martin Scorsese, Bill Murray, and Jason Alexander made cameos. The movie appeared at several film festivals and won Best of the Fest at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. However, despite rave reviews, it was not picked up for general distribution.

Also in 1998, MacPherson was one of several prominent models interviewed in Beautopia. This was a documentary about four girls trying to break into the fashion industry. Unfortunately, the documentary reveals very little about the industry itself. Also, it stated that 65% of girls want to become models but never examines why. The documentary was shown at the 1998 Sundance Festival but never moved on from there.

Of all the world’s supermodels, MacPherson is the most financially successful. A 1997 estimate placed her net assets at $40.3 million, making her the richest supermodel. Cindy Crawford was second with $37.7 million. MacPherson is also wildly popular in her home country of Australia. The Australian Tourist Commission made her an honorary ambassador. On March 21st, 1999, she became the first living Australian entertainer to be put on a postage stamp. With her prominence as a supermodel and growing skills in acting, we should soon be seeing more from this beautiful and talented actress.