Macpherson was married to photographer Gilles Bensimon from 1985-89. She had a long relationship with financier Arpad Busson, with whom she has two children: Arpad Flynn (b. 1998) and Aurelius Cy (b. 2003)... Macpherson also appeared in group shots on the SI swimsuit issue cover in 1994 and 2006.

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Quotes: "I wanted so badly to study ballet, but it was really all about wearing the tutu. [On the subject of her early aspirations]"

Elle 'The Body' Macpherson (pronounced /ˈɛl məkˈfɝːsən/; born 29 March 1963) is an Australian model, actress, and businesswoman. She is perhaps best known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s. She is also known as the founder and primary model for a series of business ventures including Elle Macpherson Intimates, a lingerie line, and "The Body", a line of skin care products. According to Forbes, Macpherson possesses assets around £60 million. In 2010, she became the host and executive producer of Britain's Next Top Model.

Macpherson was born Eleanor Nancy Gow, in the Killara neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, and she was the daughter of Peter Gow, a former president of a Sydney rugby league team, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Her mother Frances worked as a nurse before she married. Macpherson reportedly grew up in Killara, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, and she attended the Killara High School. Macpherson is the eldest of four children. Macpherson’s parents divorced when she was 10 years old, and she was moved away with her mother and two siblings. Her mother later remarried, and a clerical mistake in registering at her new school meant that her name was changed from her father's, Gow, to her stepfather's, Macpherson.

By the age of 17, Macpherson enrolled at Sydney modeling agency Chadwick's. Before beginning her college studies, Elle visited the United States with the intent of spending one year doing modeling work in order to earn money to pay for her college education. Macpherson traveled to New York City, where she initially signed up with the Click Model Management company. This became the beginning of a 25-year stay in modelling work.

Macpherson's modelling career began in 1982 with a television commercial for Tab which established her as a "girl next door" figure in Australia. By 1986, Time magazine had already put her on the cover (with a feature entitled "The Big Elle"). By that time, she had also appeared on the covers of Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Playboy.[citation needed]

Already possessing some widespread name recognition, Macpherson cemented her high profile through frequent appearances in Elle, where she appeared in every issue for six straight years. During that time, and at the age of 21, she married Gilles Bensimon, the creative director of Elle.

Eventually she gained even more exposure through Sports Illustrated magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue. She appeared on the cover a record five times: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, and 2006. Her popularity had reached such a level that Australian government offered her a position on its tourist commission as an unofficial ambassador.

In the 1980s, together with Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Paulina Porizkova and Cindy Crawford, Macpherson became part of the new generation of supermodels. In 1994, she left her agency, Ford Models, to work more lucratively for her own company, Elle Macpherson Inc. This company would serve as a financial and organizational base for her later endeavors.