Cheryl Rae Tiegs was born in rural Breckenridge, Minnesota, to Theodore and Phyllis Tiegs on September 25, 1947. When she was 5, her family relocated to the sunny Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra. Cheryl attended public high school, where she played violin in the orchestra and first put her bright smile to use as pep rally leader.

Following the advice of a friend, Cheryl auditioned for and was cast in a few television commercials and landed the cover of Glamour in 1964. The exposure led to many offers, so Cheryl set off to New York City in hopes of finding success as a professional model. She eventually scored photo shoots with fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle. However, it was the 1978 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition that changed her career. The now-infamous photograph, which featured Cheryl in a seemingly innocent white swimsuit, embodied her perfect combination of girl-next-door innocence and inherent sexuality and led to spectacular opportunities. Cheryl became one of the most in-demand models of her day, landing the cover of TIME and a lucrative $1.5 million contract with CoverGirl.

In 1980, Cheryl stepped outside of modeling and published The Way to Natural Beauty, and began using her name and knowledge of fashion to create a signature line of casual sportswear for Sears. Considered one of the pioneers of celebrity-endorsed apparel and credited with bringing sex appeal to the 100-year-old chain, Cheryl was featured a second cover for TIME in 1984.

At 47, Cheryl made a visible comeback in 1995 when she posed for SI for her fourth time. She also reentered the fashion business with a new line of womenswear (sold exclusively on QVC), as well as a line of wigs and hair accessories for Revlon. Most recently, Cheryl showed of her acting chops alongside Chloë Sevigny with a cameo role in 2004's controversial The Brown Bunny.