GODDESS GRACIOUS
After I interview Elle Macpherson for this cover story, I catch up with a group of journalist friends (not an oxymoron). They all want to know what Elle is like. That is, of course, the universal question everyone asks after anyone normal has met anyone famous. What are they like? What are they really like?
For the famous person, this means every interaction is freighted with a significance that is abnormal — an impossible test they must pass every time, lest word spreads after a bad day that the celeb is actually a terrible person. So before we go on, I’ll get it out of the way. What is Elle Macpherson like? You know, really like? She’s great. Really, really great.
Elle Macpherson has been famous for a very long time. A model for four decades and counting, she holds the record of five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, has acted in films and television (including Friends), hosted and produced television shows and made millions in business. She is a household name here and overseas, yet over the years she has managed to remain inscrutable — mysterious, even.
Macpherson was born Eleanor Gow (Macpherson is the surname of her stepfather) in. They divorced three years later but remained firm friends. She subsequently had a relationship with financier Arpad Busson that lasted from 1996 until 2005. They have two sons, Flynn and Cy. Macpherson was later married to billionaire Jeffrey Soffer. The pair announced in 2017 they were splitting, and since then she has been linked with Andrew Wakefield, a controversial figure for his anti-vaccine views.
