Cindy Crawford

But life hasn't always run smoothly for the all-American model who was born on February 20, 1966 to a modest family in Illinois. Her childhood was marked by the death of her younger brother from leukaemia, and when she was 16, her world fell apart when their father walked out on Cindy and her mother and sister.

Cindy was a promising student and dreamed of becoming a scientist, a doctor, or a teacher, but as she grew up it became apparent that she was no ordinary Mid-West girl. Stunning looks and a curvy physique would soon transform her from girl-next-door into catwalk goddess. Her first break as a model came in 1982 when she landed the Elite Look of the Year award.

Along with Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer, Cindy was destined to become one of the key players in the golden age of the supermodel. She helped change the history of fashion forever, as public attention shifted from the designers and their clothes, to the women who wore them.

A keen businesswoman, she once said: "I see myself as the President of a company whose main product is Cindy Crawford". Contracts with Revlon and numerous other high-profile clients ranging from Omega to Pepsi Cola, means she is said to be worth at least $23 million, with others putting the figure closer to $50 million.

In 1991, Cindy met and fell in love with one of Hollywood's most desirable leading men. Suave, silver-haired Richard Gere was 18 years older than her and famous for his media-unfriendly approach to fame. But despite their differences, the couple fell in love and were married in 1991.

Cracks began to appear in the façade of Cindy's fairy-tale existence, however, when, amidst press rumours about the nature of their marriage, the couple decided to separate in 1995. An attempt to change direction professionally was scuppered by the failure of her first film, Fair Game in 1995, in which she starred alongside William Baldwin, and she was later to experience other failures with the bankruptcy of her Fashion Café business venture and Revlon's severance of her contract.

Happily married to restaurateur Rande Gerber, Cindy is mother of little Presley, who was born in 1999, and Kaia Jordan, born in 2001.