Elle Macpherson, dubbed “The Body” in her native Austria due to her flawless figure, has celebrated her 40th birthday. Elle was born on March 29, 1964 and was discovered on a Holiday in Aspen, Colorado, by modelling agency Click. Throughout her career she has fulfilled many roles, including modelling and acting. She has graced the covers of major magazines and as an actress she had roles in two of 1997's bigger-budgeted cinematic affairs: Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, in which she played Batman's love interest; and Lee Tamahori's The Edge, in which she played the love interest of both Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. Antigua has even issued eight official postage stamps bearing her image.

Today, Elle, who has two sons, Flynn and Aurelius, by Swiss financier Arpade Busson, is still active on the fashion scene. However, aware that both modeling and acting gigs for women tend to diminish rapidly as they age, Macpherson has taken measures to extend her financial solvency well into the future. The former Victoria's Secret model is chair of the Australia-based lingerie label Elle Macpherson Intimates, which she has groomed into a $10 million enterprise. Wading deeper into the business end of the fashion industry, Macpherson also lent her name to a line of sportswear and "fun/youth-oriented intimate apparel" for Montgomery Ward. In between acting classes and physique maintenance, she further expressed her entrepreneurial bent by founding the burgeoning Fashion CafT chain of concept fantasy eateries, sharing the responsibilities and rewards of restaurant ownership with fellow models Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell.