Elle was born March 29, 1964, in Cronulla Sydney, Australia. Nicknamed 'The Body', Elle MacPherson is a tall, shy, super model actress. Her real name was Eleanor Gow. 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 and her mother later married Neil MacPherson. Elle then changed her last name for her stepfather's. She studied one year of Law in the University of Sidney. 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. Elle started her professional modeling career in 1981.
At 21, she married Gilles Bensimon, a french photographer and creative manager of the American magazine ELLE. She acquired her super model status when she was photographed for the famous special of swimsuit magazine Sports Illustrated in 1986, and she made the cover three consecutive years.
Confirming her as one of the most recognizable super models of the world, Time Magazine ran a cover story on her career entitled "The Big Elle" in 1986. She was considered one of the 50 most beautiful persons of the world according to People Magazine (1995). She owns the Fashion Cafe with Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. Elle also owns one lingerie trademark, "Elle MacPherson Intimates", where she is president and model, and starred in the gymnastics video called "YOUR PERSONAL BEST WORKOUT".
Elle has also been making a name for herself as an actress. In 1993, Elle made her feature film debut in "Sirens" starring opposite Hugh Grant and Sam Neil. Establishing herself as a talented actress, she was offered a two year multi media deal with Miramax Films. Elle's film credits include a solid roster of roles in Franco Zeffirelli's "Jane Eyre", "If Lucy Fell" opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, Barbara Streisand's "The Mirror Has Two Faces", "Batman & Robin"; and Lee Tamahori's "The Edge", in which she played the love interest of both Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. She is also playing Lauren Travis in a television mini-series called 'A Girl Thing'.
On February 14, 1998, her son, Arpad Flynn Busson was born in New York, New York. The father is Arpad "Arkie" Busson, a Swiss financier. Their home was robbed and valuable photographs were stolen. An undisclosed ransom was demanded for the photographs, and Elle and her husband worked with the FBI to catch the thieves. One of the thieves claimed that he was the father of Elle's baby.
