Twiggy who was born Leslie Hornby in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, is often considered the precursor to the supermodel. She was discovered in the mid-1960s when she was 16. She made being skinny cool. Recently, she appeared as a judge on "America's Next Top Model."
Lauren Hutton was another of the original top models. She was the first model to negotiate a major deal with a cosmetics company and modeled for J.Crew when she was in her 50s.
Cheryl Tiegs is shown here at the Vanity Fair/Ermengildo Zegna "Cast Your Ballot" pre-Oscar party in 1999. Tiegs was the supermodel of the 1970s and 1980s. She appeared on several covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and made her first professional appearance on a magazine cover in June 1966 on Teen magazine.
Christie Brinkley was the first model to appear on three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition covers. She first appeared in 1979. Brinkley married singer Billy Joel after appearing in his "Uptown Girl" video and filed for divorce from her fourth husband Peter Cook last July after he had an affair.
Janice Dickenson shown here in 2006, is the self-proclaimed "world's first supermodel." She recently reclaimed past fame after appearing on "America's Next Top Model," "The Surreal Life" and her own show, "The Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency." She penned two books, "Everything about Me is Fake and I'm Perfect" and "No Lifeguard on Duty." She once was engaged to Sylvester Stallone.
Christy Turlington is pictured here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala "Poiret: King Of Fashion" in New York on May 7, 2007. Turlington is married to actor Edward Burns and has two children. She is known for her charity work for cancer, PETA and AIDS. She was a spokes model for Calvin Klein and Maybelline.
Cindy Crawford is shown here on the catwalk at Runway For Life Benefiting St. Jude in 2006. Crawford, who modeled for Revlon, is more than a pretty face -- she was her high school's valedictorian. She was married to actor Richard Gere.
Naomi Campbell is one of the most infamous supermodels, known not only for her beauty, but also her cell-phone throwing tirades. She recently completed community service in New York City as punishment for hurling a cell phone at her former maid. Campbell raised eyebrows with the fashionable attire she wore during her stint cleaning the New York City Sanitation Department.
Linda Evangelista is known for frequently changing her hair color. She was born in Ontario, Canada, and has a star on the Canadian walk of fame. She famously said that she wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. Evangelista is shown here at the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
German model Claudia Schiffer is a spokeswoman for breast cancer and also does work with UNICEF. She was engaged to magician David Copperfield but is now married to Matthew Vaughn and has two children. She recently appeared in an ad campaign to promote tourism for Germany. She is shown here at the Dreamball 2006 charity ball in Berlin on Sept. 21, 2006.
Kate Moss is one of the more controversial supermodels -- initially for her low weight and later for her drug use and often-arrested boyfriend, musician Pete Doherty. She recently started her own Topshop clothing line. She is pictured here with her line at Barneys New York on May 8, 2007.
Tyra Banks is shown here on the runway at The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2005. Banks, the first African-American to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, is now a TV personality having created "America's Next Top Model" and her own talk show.
Today's supermodel Gisele Bundchen is dating Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. She previously dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The Victoria's Secret model just started the "Ipanema Giselle Bundchen Yikatu Xingu" shoe line.
Heidi Klum is also one of the prestigious Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated alumni. She is shown here at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2005. Klum, who hosts "Project Runway," is married to singer Seal.
Paulina Porizkova was born in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) but moved to Sweden as a child. She was the face of Est
Former Cover Girl spokes model Niki Taylor is shown here modeling at the Anne Klein Fall 1995 fashion show in New York. Taylor's successful career has also been plagued by tragedy. She was severely injured in a car accident in 2001 and her sister Krissy Taylor, also a model, died unexpectedly in 1995.
Somalia native Iman is married to singer David Bowie. She is show here at the premiere of "We Are Together" at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. She designed a line of cosmetics for women of color.
Petra Nemcova is shown here introducing the new Saab AeroX Concept vehicle at the GM Style event in 2007. When the tsunami hit Thailand in December 2004, she hung from a tree for eight hours. Her boyfriend, Simon Atlee, was killed. She later wrote a book about the experience and has since been linked to singer James Blunt.
Kathy Ireland became famous for appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Now she has her own clothing line as well as a home decor line.
Australia native Elle Macpherson nicknamed "The Body," was made famous for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.