Born in Ayr, Scotland, on Septmeber 4, 1976, Kirsty grew up loving art, taking to drawing and painting inspired by the work of Dali and Picasso.

When she was only 14 her mother tragically passed away, and Kirsty lived with her grandmother until scoring her lucky break signing with a modeling agency in Glasgow, hopping across the pond to establish herself in the U.S. After being "discovered" by Patrick Demarchelier at 19, Kirsty scored a slew of covetable editorials, as well as covers for Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Allure, and began booking some of the biggest designer shows. Kirsty solidified supermodel status when she landed advertising campaigns with brands like Chanel, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, and Victoria's Secret. In 1996, Kristy was even named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People.

At 23, after meteoric success in a relatively short amount of time, Kirsty shocked many when she announced her plans to quit modeling to further her education in art school. "I'd rather be remembered as a famous painter than a famous model, so I'll have to start the ball rolling now," she famously admitted. Kirsty gradually faded out of the fashion scene to focus on her work and her goal to establish an art gallery. Kirsty also set her sights on motherhood, giving birth to her daughter Violet in 2004 with rocker husband Donovan Leitch.

But Kirsty certainly hasn't turned her back on modeling completely. She appeared in the 2004 Gap maternity ads while pregnant with her daughter, and has made several surprise appearances on runways on-and-off over the years. Most recently, Kirsty opened the Spring 2010 shows for Aquascutum and Twenty8Twelve, and is even set to sit with Tyra Banks on the judges' panel for an upcoming season of America's Next Top Model.