Cintillating
PHOTO C OU RT ESY O F A NNE K L EIN
Cindy Crawford, who told Style magazine
in an exclusive phone interview that her
success was a matter of having "the right
look at the right time." She's a photog-
rapher's delight with her natural look,
brunette tresses and brown eyes. This
face has adorned the covers of more
than 300 magazines.
"She's poetry in motion," rhapsodizes
Andrew Giangola, spokesperson for
Pepsi-Cola Company. He explains that
the huge success of this commercial
prompted Pepsi to replay it during the
last Superbowl game — an unprece-
dented decision since Pepsi debuts just
their new commercials during this
game.
According to Mr. Giangola, the Cindy
Crawford/Pepsi commercial will be in-
cluded in a book about the 100 great-
est ads in television. "The great new look
of Pepsi and certainly the great look of
Cindy Crawford was a match made in
heaven," says Mr. Giangola in a burst of
poetic license.
Endorsements are how models make
megabucks. Ms. Crawford's biggest en-
dorsement is Revlon, for which she just
completed a three year contract and
plans on another four year association.
She also endorses JH Collectibles, a
women's bridge clothing line. She kicked
off a world tour promotion last fall and
will be appearing in advertisements for
the spring 1992 collection which were
14 STYLE
shot on St. Bart's.
"Models don't have job securities,"
says Ms. Crawford, explaining the im-
portance of endorsements and con-
tracts. Throughout the interview Ms.
Crawford's statements and concerns
about traditional values made her seem
real and down-to-earth.
She began the interview by apolo-
gizing for not calling sooner but she'd
had a busy month — getting married to
actor Richard Gere and moving into a
new home. She doesn't want to have a
long-distance commuter marriage, so
the couple maintains homes on both
coasts.
"There's no point to being married if
you don't want a life together," she says.
Another top priority is having a fam-
ily. Unlike many Hollywood couples,
the Geres will be married when they
start a family. At the time Style went to
press, Ms. Crawford was not pregnant
although there have been many rumors
to that effect. She would love the preg-
nancy rumor to be true but she would
also like to finish some projects, like an
exercise video, before starting a family.
There's no typi-
She may be famous
cal day in the life
but Cindy continues
of supermodel
to do runway
Cindy Crawford.
modeling. At the
"There's no typical
spring 1992 fashion
show for Anne Klein, week either," she
adds.
she wears a yellow
It may not be
tweed suit outlined
typical but it sure
in pink, with a
pink tank top.
is hectic. On one
Monday in Jan-
uary, she flew from Los Angeles to New
York. On Tuesday, she shot a cover for
Cosmopolitan magazine in the morning
and a cover for Self magazine in the af-
ternoon. The next few days were spent
in Miami shooting the Vogue cover with
other models for the 100th anniversary
issue. The following week she was film-
ing a commercial for Revlon.
Ms. Crawford is modest when she re-
veals how she became a superstar mod-
el. "It's totally a fluke. There's no formula
you can follow," she says. However, she
does describe her look as more attain-
able than some other models. She's not
the super skinny, blue-eyed blonde.
After mentioning her height at 5-feet 9-
inches and her weight between 125 and
130 pounds, she says. "I know it sounds
skinny."
Her look is not the anorexic model,
though, but the curvaceous woman. The
image that Ms. Crawford is known for is
her combination of an all-American girl
who is sexy.
Her no-fuss, amicable personality is
a plus in the fashion model world. She
is not characterized as a prima donna.
Just the opposite—she is noted for her
professionalism.
According to Monique Pillard, presi-
dent of Elite modeling agency in New
York City, Cindy Crawford is a profes-
sional with the highest standards. "Be-
sides her beauty, which everyone sees,
she is an incredibly good model. From
the viewpoint of an agent, she is great
to work with. She never lets you down,"
says Ms. Pillard.
Ms. Pillard has followed Ms. Craw-
ford's career from the beginning and
says that her attitude is still the same.
"As much as she became a superstar
model, she is very much like when she
first started."
Cindy Crawford was born in 1966 and
grew up in DeKalb, Ill. DeKalb is a small
university town about an hour outside
of Chicago. It's famous as the place
where barbed wire was invented. Now,
it's also known as the home of Cindy
Crawford.
After entering a local clothing store
fashion show while a high school stu-
dent, a local photographer asked her to
model. At the fashion shoot, a local
makeup artist suggested she go to a
hairstyling demonstration sponsored
by Clairol in Chicago. Her test photo-
graphs remained in Chicago and were
spotted by a model agent.
The model agent arranged some jobs
for her. Many professionals suggested
she remove her mole but she refused.
She was entered in Elite's Look of the
Year contest and made the finals. She
was asked to leave high school, but she
wanted to graduate. She was class vale-
dictorian.
After high school she followed the de
rigueur model route to Europe. After a
brief, unhappy stint, she returned home
and entered Northwestern University.
She continued to model in Chicago un-
der the tutelage of fashion photogra-
pher Victor Skrebneski. After a few years,
urged on by Monique Pillard of Elite,
she went to New York.
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