Kathy Ireland… maybe you recognize her? It was hard to miss her between 1984 and 1994, a 10 year streak during which she appeared in every issue of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Not to mention her appearances on countless magazine covers, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar. She was traveling the world by the age of 17, modeling in exotic locations and quickly reached "supermodel" fame.
But, as she revealed on last night's show, she was never truly in love with modeling. Instead, she knew that owning and operating a business was in her future. She wanted to convince people she was not merely a pretty face.
It wasn't an easy road. She traveled around the country trying to sell her products to retailers but began facing more rejection than success. To save money, she booked red-eye flights and even slept in airports!
Now, she's heading up Kathy Ireland Worldwide, a design empire that boasts over ONE BILLION dollars in annual retail sales! Maybe there's some business sense behind the beauty after all…
Questions? Comments? donny@cnbc.com
