elle macpherson

Birth Name: Eleanor Gow
Elle MacPherson combines girl-next-door looks with certain va-va-voom physical charms. She hit the big time when she began appearing in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, and became one of the most acclaimed models of the 1990s. She later began acting in movies like Sirens and Batman and Robin.

Called "The Body" in her native Australia, Elle Macpherson's formidable six-foot frame has graced enough covers of Sports Illustrated to make the auburn-haired model-turned-actress synonymous with the words "Swimsuit Issue." Despite a youthful passion for ballet, Macpherson claims she was a classic tree-climbing tomboy as a young girl growing up Down Under. The eldest of four children of a well-off Sydney family, she witnessed her parents divorce at fourteen (born Eleanor Gow, Elle adopted the surname of Macpherson when her mother remarried soon after). Macpherson enrolled in Sydney University's pre-law program (no doubt on the encouragement of her barrister stepfather), but her future in law was cut short after a single year of study when she discovered she had a ready talent for promoting an athletic-yet-voluptuous new standard for print models. A career in modeling had never even crossed her mind before the leggy eighteen-year-old was "discovered" while vacationing in Aspen, Colorado, and was promptly signed to the Click modeling agency. Before too long, the young Aussie became a mainstay at Elle magazine, the pages of which she graced monthly for six years. Macpherson consolidated her staying power at the publication by marrying the magazine's creative director, Gilles Bensimon, twenty years her senior, at the age of twenty-one. Three consecutive years fronting the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and producing a series of exercise videos for the publication proved that Macpherson was equally appealing to the male magazine-buying demographic. Eventually, Macpherson earned the illustrious title of "supermodel," entering the then-elite pantheon of universally familiar models Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, and Cindy Crawford. All the hoopla surrounding her gangbuster modeling career attracted the attention of the ever-vigilant Australian tourism commission. Recognizing in the supermodel a lucrative, and far more fetching, companion emblem of life Down Under to Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan, the commission offered Macpherson a position as a promoter of tourism in Western Australia.

Like countless women who have made a name for themselves by posing for cameras and strutting down runways, Macpherson inevitably turned her attention to acting. Woody Allen handpicked the neophyte actress to walk past the camera in a less-than-challenging party scene in his 1990 film Alice. The fleeting fly-by led to a relatively more substantial role--one that required Macpherson to emote as well as look beautiful for the cameras--in 1994's Sirens. In preparation for her appearance in the pre-World War II drama, Macpherson claims that she gained more than twenty pounds to give her character--a scantily clad, beach-dwelling muse of a freethinking artist--an era-appropriate roundness. Her fattening-up was rewarded with modest critical notice.

Macpherson has since managed to evade typecasting as merely a shapely and innocuous layabout, by appearing as a spoiled debutante in Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 remake of the gothic romance Jane Eyre, and as the object of Ben Stiller's affection in the romantic comedy If Lucy Fell. She also landed the pivotal, if small, part of the woman who dumps Jeff Bridges and leaves Barbra Streisand in prime position to pick up the pieces in The Mirror Has Two Faces. The up-and-coming big-screen star, who was quoted post-Alice as saying, "I think that acting doesn't always follow modeling, and it's a mistake a lot of models make," has since amended her former position, and recently declared, "For fifteen years, I've been playing the same character--which is myself--and I'm bored with 'myself.' Acting is an enormous release for me creatively and emotionally." In possession of a "multi-tier" contract with Miramax that promises plenty of film, television, video, and publishing opportunities, the newly enthusiastic thespian is poised to become a familiar face in multiple entertainment formats.

Aware that both modeling and acting gigs for women tend to diminish rapidly as they age, Macpherson has taken measures to extend her financial solvency well into the future. The former Victoria's Secret model is chair of the Australia-based lingerie label Elle Macpherson Intimates, which she has groomed into a $10 million enterprise. Wading deeper into the business end of the fashion industry, Macpherson also lent her name to a line of sportswear and "fun/youth-oriented intimate apparel" for Montgomery Ward. In between acting classes and physique maintenance, she further expressed her entrepreneurial bent by founding the burgeoning Fashion CafT chain of concept fantasy eateries, sharing the responsibilities and rewards of restaurant ownership with fellow models Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell. As glamour-starved tourists dine on "Elle's Shrimp on the Barbe" and "Naomi's Fish and Chips" at the flagship New York location, new outposts are mushrooming Planet Hollywood-style throughout Asia and Europe. Apart from the demands of being a successful restaurateur, the statuesque actress had roles in two of 1997's bigger-budgeted cinematic affairs: Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, in which she played Batman's love interest; and Lee Tamahori's The Edge, in which she played the love interest of both Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. Macpherson added "mother" to her list of credits, when her first child arrived en scFne in February of 1998.

If you only know Elle Macpherson from her ubiquitous magazine covers, bestselling workout videos and those swimsuit calendars that seem to find their way into virtually every college dorm room, you're only seeing part of the picture. Granted, it's a spectacular view, but there's more to this six-foot Australian beauty than sun-drenched photo shoots in the South Pacific. You see, unlike cover girls who say they want to act, then just take up space onscreen, Elle is serious about her new career. She gained critical acclaim--and 30 pounds--for her 1994 debut in Sirens and has since built a solid career with small parts in Jane Eyre, If Lucy Fell and The Mirror Has Two Faces. (In a stroke of good fortune, her Batman & Robin role was so brief she avoided the criticism heaped upon the rest of the film.) Now the 33-year-old has another serious project in front of her: David Mamet's The Edge, in which she plays the wife of a wealthy billionaire (Anthony Hopkins) and the lover of a fickle photographer (Alec Baldwin). Not only does Elle hold her own alongside these heavyweights, she's the warmest, funniest spot in this otherwise tough, male adventure.

Lately, though, Macpherson has drawn more attention for her personal life than for her professional work. Her Los Angeles home was burglarized and intimate nude photos stolen in what police are treating as a blackmail attempt. Then she and financier boyfriend Arki Busson announced they are expecting a baby. Will these events derail Macpherson's big-screen rise? Not likely. Dedicated to improving her craft, she plans to resume acting after the baby is born. And considering the promise she's shown as an actress, that's welcome news for all.

Is acting a natural transition from modeling?
No. Acting and modeling have nothing to do with each other. It's like saying, "You're a singer, so you should be able to act." Or, who is it who's a great basketball player and can't play golf for shit? They're completely different skills. One is purely emotional; the other is purely physical. One is a relationship between a steel camera--a static piece of machinery--and the model. The other is a relationship between two actors being spied on by a moving camera.

What's the lure for you?
I just happen to like the work. I like preparing for a role. I like reading. I like analyzing. I like literature. I like emotions. I like working with other actors. I like being part of a team. I like getting up in the morning, going to work and coming home at night. I like things being very ordered.

You've worked with George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges and, now, Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins. Have you learned anything specific from these actors?
It's more a kind of general osmosis that you receive when you're in the company of greatness. I feel like I'm kind of an apprentice on my movies. It gives me the opportunity to watch people--the way they deal with situations, the way they behave and the way they handle dialogue or the director.

What types of roles are you looking for?
I choose movies, I never choose roles. I look at the script. I look at the director. I look at the other actors--and then the role.

That makes sense. So, what kind of movies are you looking for?
Well, I don't have a specific thing. I would have liked to do [the upcoming] The Avengers, for example. I'd like to be in a place in my acting career where I could've done that and done a good job. But, I have a tendency toward romantic comedy. I like to make movies I like to watch.

How do feel about your work in The Edge?
You know, Mamet is not a huge writer of female parts. Most of his movies don't even have women in them, so I'm lucky I'm in it at all. It's very difficult with such little scene time to make a strong statement with a character--especially with so little dialogue. It was a huge challenge, and I enjoyed it. And Alec and Tony made me feel comfortable.

No matter how big your role, people are focused on you because of your modeling background. Do you feel the pressure?
People expect a lot more. I think they expect me to be doing more substantial kind of work. But I think what I'm doing is substantial. They say, "You're just doing little roles." I'd like to jump in and be the star, but I have to be realistic about my capacities. The better I get as an actor, the more range I'm going to have.

But you've already displayed a surprising amount of acting skill. You got a lot of praise for Sirens, for instance. Yeah, I did, actually. It's only been more apparent as the years go on. People remember it and talk about it more now. At the time, I got a lot of negative press. I had to deal with a lot of people going, "Yeah, here's a girl who just takes her clothes off for a movie. It wasn't so hard." But as time goes on, people who appreciate good films really respect Sirens. I saw it again the other day, and it was a very good movie. Along with the acclaim comes the media attention--some of it pretty intrusive. In light of Princess Diana's situation, what are your feelings about celebrity? Being a public person doesn't necessarily mean you're a piece of meat for everybody. It's like saying someone has the right to rape you because they saw a nude picture of you. I think that being a public person, you should not have to forego your rights. If you're a regular, everyday person, and someone's following you, making you afraid, you go to the police. You can get a restraining order. Why is it that if you're a public person, you don't have that right anymore?

What was your reaction when the story of the stolen photos first started to break? Were you angry? First, of all, I didn't expect it to be in the press. The D.A.'s office released a lot of information I didn't expect them to release. So, unfortunately, it had to be a public debate as opposed to a private one. But seeing as it's still under investigation, I'm really not in a position to talk about it. Unfortunately.

Although you've been stung by some of the gossip, in your modeling days, the media was almost an ally. People in the fashion industry have used the press a lot more than people in the film industry, because you have nothing to sell except for the image: The image is everything. The image is where you have dinner at night, who you're seeing. It's what car you drive and how you dress. People in the industry sell that, and it creates a dream. There's nothing else. Since I've been acting, I've shied away from that, because it's not interesting to me anymore.

There's no purpose for me to have my every waking moment recorded. I don't particularly like seeing pictures of myself, unless it's related to a movie. I don't like everybody knowing what I'm doing, unless it's related to a movie. I don't like speaking to the press. I never did.
Have you ever felt like you were a prisoner of that image?
No. How could I complain? I'm financially independent, and I'm actually very happy. I'm in no position to complain.

And now you go from media spotlight to motherhood. Are you scared?
It's always been very clear to me that I was going to be a mother and that my purpose in life was to give life. It's always been a thousand percent clear in my head. It was just when. This came as a perfect surprise, and the father of my child and I are just ecstatic. It seems perfectly normal.

So, it wasn't planned?
You know, I could go into the details of my contraception--which I don't use. But I don't think it would be particularly interesting. Or maybe it would be far too interesting?

Of all the supermodels, you were the one dubbed "the Body." What changes did you noticed once you became pregnant?
Well, obviously, your breasts. That's the first thing. The breasts go first, and then the waist and then the butt. Nobody ever tells you that you get a butt when you get pregnant.

Will everything change with the baby? Are you going to get married?
Oh, gosh! Everybody's so concerned about this: This is the '90s!

And you plan to continue working after the baby comes, right?
Yeah, sure. As long as people want to see me in movies, and as long as I find it interesting, I'll keep working. I just made Mom's Up on the Roof, an independent film that comes out in February or March. I shot that during the first three months of my pregnancy. It's a project that Penny Marshall is producing.

Have you set up a plan for being a working mother?
I think things will work themselves out. Arki and my child are definitely the most important things in my life. Later, we'll see how much time I have to devote to my career. I'll wait [until the baby's born], and next summer, I'll probably start working again.

more celebrities...