Which supermodel was nicknamed “The Body” because of her Sports Illustrated swimsuit fame?

Elle Macpherson was nicknamed “The Body” because of her prominent Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue career.

Macpherson appeared on the cover of the magazine five times during the 1980s and 1990s. Her repeated appearances made her strongly associated with the publication and helped turn her into one of the most recognizable commercial models of the supermodel era. The nickname became a durable part of her public identity.

Born Eleanor Nancy Gow in Sydney in 1964, she adopted the professional name Elle Macpherson after beginning her modeling career. She worked in editorial fashion, advertising, television, and film, while also developing businesses outside modeling.

Macpherson’s Sports Illustrated work is sometimes confused with Christie Brinkley’s record of three consecutive covers from 1979 through 1981. Macpherson’s distinction was her unusually frequent presence across the magazine’s covers, rather than being the first model to appear on the issue or the only model associated with its success.