Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress, and businesswoman. During the 1980s and 1990s, Crawford was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, and fashion campaigns. Her years of successful modeling career made her an international celebrity that have led to subsequent acting and business ventures.
Cynthia Ann Crawford was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on February 20, 1966, the daughter of Dan Crawford and Jennifer Sue Crawford-Moluf (née Walker). She has two sisters, Chris and Danielle. as well as a brother, Jeffery, who died of childhood leukemia at age 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. 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.
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). 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. The photo and positive feedback she received were enough to convince her to take up modeling. 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.
Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in 1984 as valedictorian. She earned an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University, which she attended for only one quarter before dropping out in order to pursue a full-time modeling career. 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.
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Best Sports illustrated Model 100
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Accomplished in her specialty 100
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Beauty and talent in abundance 100
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