Elle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson is an Australian model and actress best known for her covers on the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  

Born March 29, 1964, Macpherson began her modeling career in the late 1980s. She quickly became one of the most sought-after women in the industry, appearing  on the covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure, Glamour and Elle; she also worked with top designers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior.

She has been recognized for her contributions to the fashion industry with numerous awards and accolades and has been recognized for her philanthropic work, particularly in the area of breast cancer awareness.

Macpherson has also appeared in numerous films and TV shows. She made her acting debut in 1994 in the film Sirens which starred Hugh Grant and has since appeared in a number of other films and TV shows including, Alice, Batman & Robin, The Edge, a recurring role in Friends and more. 

In the early 1980s Macpherson dated Billy Joel who wrote two songs about their relationship. When Macpherson was 21 years old she married Gilles Bensimon, a french photographer who was the Creative Director of Elle. They divorced three years later. She later began a relationship with Arpad Bunson in 1996. They had two sons together — Arpad (born 1998) and Aurelius (born 2003) — and lived in London until they separated in 2005. In early 2009, MacPherson began dating hotel heir Jeffrey Soffer, and they split in 2012. They later got back together that same year and married in 2013. In 2017, they divorced but still live near one another in Florida. 

In 2017 MacPherson was diagnosed with breast cancer after having a lumpectomy procedure. She recently shared that she denied chemotherapy after being diagnosed and she instead took a more “holistic” approach to healing. She says that she is now in “clinical remission” and continuing her healing process.