Entrepreneur, swimsuit goddess and mother – there is no end to Elle Macpherson's achievements.
Nicknamed as “The Body”, Elle Macpherson is an Australian supermodel, actress, and businesswoman. She is known as the primary model and founder of a series of business ventures such as “The Body”, a line of skin care products and a lingerie line, “Elle Macpherson Intimates”. Macpherson is a model who has set up a successful long-standing brand which transcends her fame.
Her modeling career began with a television commercial for Tab, in 1982, which established her as a “girl next door” figure in Australia. Soon, Time magazine put her on the cover with a feature entitled “The Big Elle”. Eventually, she gained more acknowledgment through Sports Illustrated magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue. She appeared on the cover five times in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, and 2006. She gained such a huge popularity that Australian government offered her a position on its tourist commission, as an unofficial ambassador.
In 1980, together with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss, Macpherson became part of the new generation of supermodels. She left her agency, Ford Models, in 1994, to work more productively for her own company, called as Elle Macpherson Inc. The company would serve as an organizational and financial base for her later endeavors.
She soon went on for producing her own highly popular series of calendars, and each of them was accompanied by a “making of” television program in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Elle used this success as a springboard for a creating the “Your Personal Best – The Body” series of workout videos.
Later, she diversified her portfolio of businesses, and launched “Elle Macpherson Intimates”, her lingerie collection, in 1990. Intimates met with noteworthy international success, becoming the single best-selling lingerie line in both, Australia and Great Britain. Unlike other models, Macpherson took an active role in the management and development of the company, serving as Chief Marketing Officer, and later, Creative Director. She also led the expansion of a signature maternity bra line while nursing her second child.
The Money Programme, the BBC-TV series aired a documentary that followed Macpherson through her day-to-day business as she continued to develop her international lingerie business. It has been announced by Elle herself that she would expand her underwear line by creating a new lingerie collection, “Obsidion”.
Today, Macpherson's signature lingerie range has gone global. Now, Elle Macpherson is setting her sights on bigger projects that could make her a corporate power player.
