Considered to be one of the 5 original supermodels (along with Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford) and after having appeared on over 500 magazine covers, Christy Turlington has redefined what it means to be a successful model in the 21st century. Born on January 2, 1969 to a British commercial pilot father and Salvadoran flight attendant mother of British descent, Turlington grew up with her two sisters Erin and Kelly in Walnut Creek, California. After working in secondary model markets, Eileen Ford of Ford Models took note of the young beauty, then 16, and offered her jobs in New York, Paris, and other international destinations. While a favorite of `80s designers including Gianni Versace and Azzedine Alaia, Christy quickly rose to fame in 1989 after appearing in Calvin Klein`s fragrance campaign, Eternity. Turlington later became the spokesperson for Maybelline and Giorgio Armani, among others.
The 5`10 model made a name for herself for her off-runway pursuits as well: She was a co-owner of the no-defunct Fashion Cafe; She appeared in George Michael`s Freedom video as well as Duran-Duran`s Notorious video; Turlington played herself in the fashion films Unzipped, Pret-a-Porter, and Catwalk; The Metropolitan Museum of Art`s Costume Institute modeled their mannequin faces after Turlington`s classic visage; the model returned to school in 1994 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Comparative Religion and Eastern Philosophy in 1999 from New York University`s Gallatin School; Turlington is an adamant anti-fur and anti-smoking advocate.
More recent accomplishments include her successful business ventures; An ayurvedic skincare line (Sundari), and her partnerships with Puma on Nuala, Mahanuala, two yoga-clothing lines. Wearing a John Galliano gown, Turlington married actor/director Ed Burns in 2003. The couple now resides in New York City with their two children, Grace and Finn.
