Cynthia Ann Crawford is an American model and actress. Her years of success at modeling made her an international celebrity that has led to roles in television and film, and work as a spokesperson. Take a look below for 30 more fun and fascinating facts about Cindy Crawford.

1. Crawford was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on February 20, 1966, the daughter of John Daniel Crawford and Jennifer Sue Crawford-Moluf.

2. She has two sisters, Chris and Danielle, as well as a brother, Jeffery, who died of childhood leukemia at age 3.

3. She has stated that her family has been in the United States for generations and that her ancestry is mostly German, English, and French.

4. By appearing in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2013, she discovered that her ancestors included English nobility and continental royal families of the Middle Ages and that she was descended from Charlemagne.

5. In her sophomore year at high school, she received a call from a local clothing store regarding modeling work, only to discover that it was a practical joke set up by two of her classmates. However, the following year another store hired a number of high school girls, including Crawford, to work for them (including a fashion shoot).

6. In her junior year, local photographer Roger Legel, whose duties included photographing a different college girl to be that week’s coed in the DeKalb Nite Weekly, asked to take her picture for the publication; the result was Crawford’s first cover.

7. The photo and positive feedback she received were enough to convince her to take up modeling.

8. She entered the Elite Model Management’s Look of the Year contest at 17 and was the runner-up. Elite Model Management in Chicago then started representing her.

9. Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in 1984 as valedictorian.

10. She earned an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University, which she attended for only one quarter.

11. She dropped out in order to pursue a full-time modeling career.

12. After working for photographer Victor Skrebneski in Chicago, Crawford moved to New York City in 1986, and signed with the Elite New York modeling agency.

13. During the 1980s and 1990s, Crawford was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways and in fashion campaigns.

14. She was repeatedly and frequently featured on the cover of many magazines, including Vogue, W, People, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Allure. A partial count in 1998 totaled over 500 appearances.

15. Crawford has walked the runways for Chanel, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Todd Oldham, DKNY, and Valentino.

16. In 1987, Crawford appeared during the opening credits of the Michael J. Fox film “The Secret of My Success.”

17. Three years later, she appeared alongside top models Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz and Naomi Campbell on the cover of the January 1990 edition of British Vogue magazine.

18. The red Versace dress which she wore to the 63rd Academy Awards in 1991 had a major influence on fashion, and many copies and fakes of the dress were produced.

19. In 1992, Crawford, through GoodTimes Home Video and her company Crawdaddy Productions, made an exercise video with Radu Teodorescu named Cindy Crawford: Shape Your Body; although criticized by some for being unsafe, it was hugely successful and led to two equally lucrative followups.

20. In July 1988, she posed nude for Playboy magazine in a shoot by photographer Herb Ritts.

21. In October 1998, Crawford returned to the pages of Playboy for a second nude pictorial, again taken by Ritts.

22. Crawford has consistently ranked highly on lists of the world’s sexiest people. She was ranked number 5 on Playboy’s list of the 100 sexiest stars of the 20th century.

23. Crawford quit full-time modeling in 2000 and now appears only occasionally in fashion magazines. She continues to provide celebrity endorsement for a variety of projects.

24. Crawford has stated that she regularly receives certain cosmetic procedures, including Botox and vitamin injections. She first saw a plastic surgeon at the age of 28.

25. In 2005, Crawford launched a new line of furniture under the “Cindy Crawford Home Collection” name. The collection is manufactured by HM Richards Inc. She assisted in the creation of the line by consulting on the features, colors, or styles that fit the needs of families or reflected her own tastes.

26. In 2009, Crawford was one of many celebrities to be photographed by Deborah Anderson for the coffee table book Room 23, produced by philanthropist Diana Jenkins. In addition to appearing in the book, Crawford was the cover model and wrote the dedication.

27. In September 2017, Crawford, along with models Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Carla Bruni, closed the Versace spring/summer 2018 fashion show, which was an homage to the late Gianni Versace.

28. In January 2019, Crawford, along with her husband Rande Gerber, Mike Meldman Jeff Shell and Jay Sures announced they would purchase the Hollywood deli, Nate ‘n Al, to keep its doors open after three generations of family ownership.

29. Crawford was married to actor Richard Gere from 1991 until their divorce in 1995.

30. She married businessman and former model Rande Gerber on May 29, 1998. They have two children, son Presley Walker Gerber (born July 2, 1999) and daughter Kaia Jordan Gerber (born September 3, 2001).