Cheryl Tiegs

About

Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as America’s first supermodel, Tiegs made multiple appearances on the covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Time magazine.
Her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture.

Tiegs was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, to Phyllis and Theodore Tiegs, an auto-assembly lineman turned funeral director. She and her family moved to Alhambra, California, in 1952. She is of German descent. Tiegs was encouraged to start modeling by a friend. Regarding the start of her career, Tiegs stated,

I started very slowly. I worked part-time in high school and college. I would do anything and everything. I would do fashion shows in the back parking lot of a department store for free. I would work for $5 an hour, which was great money for me at the time. I was thrilled. I just worked hard, and I did anything and everything I could.
As a senior at Alhambra High School, Tiegs posed for a swimsuit ad for bathing suit manufacturer Cole of California; the ad, which appeared in Seventeen, launched her career as a model. Although she enrolled as an English…