Depending on who you ask, Cheryl Tiegs is the first supermodel. If you asks Tiegs herself, she might contradict that distinction. “Someone of course gave me that title,” she told Artful Living in 2017. “I think it’s a way of saying that I didn’t just drop out of sight after a very successful career in modeling; I went on to start other businesses.”
After her many modeling gigs—including multiple covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine—Tiegs went on to collaborate with brands on clothing lines, appear on TV and in a couple of movies, and work with environmental organizations. And these days, she’s living a much slower life and taking it easy after working since she was a teenager. Read on to find out more about Tieg’s life now.
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Along with modeling, Tiegs did something that has only become more common for supermodels over the years: She became a businesswoman. Tiegs had clothing lines with Sears and QVC, as well as a line of accessories with Revlon.
“When I was modeling, most of the girls became actresses, because that was the next logical step. I just decided I didn’t want to be an actress, and I started up these companies,” she told Artful Living.
That said, she did try out some acting, too, but often playing herself, including on Just Shoot Me! and in a voice role on Family Guy. Most recently, she was in 2016’s Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens. Tiegs also did some reality TV, competing on The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012.
Tiegs is an advocate for the environment and was on the board of the Earth Conservation Corps. In the Artful Living interview, she spoke about an impactful experience she had. “There is climate change. There’s no question about it,” she said. “I went up to the Arctic and lived there for about 10 days. I was able to see the Barnes Ice Cap melting. I was able to talk to the Inuits and find out how they feel and how they’re surviving.”
In 2015, she told USA Today while at a Global Green USA event, “The environment is very important to me. I think it’s a train going out of the station and it’s going to take a long time, but we’re trying for no emissions and no waste.” She added, “Look at the cars that are coming out!”
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Tiegs has been married four times, and she has three children. She welcomed her son Zackary Peck, 30, with her ex-husband Anthony Peck, and she welcomed her 21-year-old twins, Theo and Jaden Stryker, with her ex-husband Rod Stryker. Through her son Zackary, Tiegs has two grandchildren.
Tiegs started her modeling career as a teenager, so today, she’s happy to have slowed down.
“It’s the first time in my life when I haven’t had to set the alarm in the morning and get up and go to work,” she told Artful Living. “I’m kind of on sabbatical. I think about writing a book every once in a while, but sometimes I get sick of talking about myself. Today I’m trying to just live in the moment. It’s good to take some time off. I’ve been working since I was 17.”
She continued, “I always knew that at a certain point I would just not set the alarm and instead wake up when I wanted to and do what I wanted to that day. A lot of it is reaching out to friends who never knew where I was because I traveled so much. So I’m just establishing a new kind of lifestyle.”
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