Christy Nicole Turlington was born on January 2, 1969, in Walnut Creek, California, and grew up in nearby Danville. Her father was from England and her mother from El Salvador. She has two sisters, Erin and Kelly. As a child, Turlington was passionate about horses, and her father encouraged her to enter local riding competitions. It was there, at the age of thirteen, that she was spotted by photographer Dennie Cody. Advised of her natural talent, her parents reluctantly agreed to let her try out for a photo shoot. She was subsequently hired by a local agency and given a hundred dollars an hour for her work to promote Emporium Capwell stores. The campaign was a great success, and shortly thereafter New York modeling scout Eileen Ford commissioned her to appear on the Paris catwalks. Although this venture was unsuccessful, Ford went on to promote her in New York, where she worked with photographer Arthur Elgort. This led to an appearance in Vogue, but thereafter Turlington returned to her family home to finish her education. She was to hit the big-time two years later when she appeared on the cover of the Italian edition of Vogue.
Although Turlington is considered to be one of the five original supermodels, along with Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Claudia Schiffer, Turlington has always eschewed the supermodel label. She built her career by modelling for Chanel, Christian Lacroix, and Gianni Versace, and has appeared on the covers of nearly a thousand magazines. In 1989 Turlington became the face of Calvin Klein perfumes, and has also been the face of Maybelline cosmetics, earning millions of dollars. Some of this she invested in the unsuccessful Fashion Café.
When fashion became hot in Hollywood, Turlington was there. Though she only made one film as an actress (Conflict, with Simon Pegg and Justin Theroux), she appeared in a number of documentaries about the fashion industry, including Unzipped and Catwalk, and starred as herself in Robert Altman's mockumentary Prêt-á-Porter. She also featured in a music video with George Michael.
Turlington has had a lifelong interest in yoga and has successfully produced a book and a series of videos on the subject, along with a yoga clothing line. In 1999 Turlington graduated from New York University with a degree in Comparative Religion and Eastern Philosophy, though she is a practicing Catholic. Her philosophy includes a strong concern for animal rights; she has appeared in a promotional campaign for PETA with the slogan 'I'd rather go naked than wear fur'. Her other charitable interests include Fashion Targets Breast Cancer and the American Foundation for El Salvador, to which she donates all the proceeds from her calendars. She also campaigns against smoking, having watched her father die from lung cancer. A former smoker herself, Turlington has been diagnosed with emphysema.
In 2003, Turlington married the actor and director Edward Burns, who starred in Ray Bradbury adaptation A Sound of Thunder with Sir Ben Kingsley; U2 singer Bono gave her away at the wedding. The couple now have two children, Grace and Finn. Turlington had previously been romantically linked with Jason Patric, Christian Slater, and Roger Wilson.
YUDDY
