Rachel Hunter (born 9 September 1969) is a New Zealand born model, actress and reality TV show host, who is a naturalised citizen of the United States. She is best known for her appearance in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her marriage to singer Rod Stewart, which ended in 2006.
Early life
Born in Glenfield, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, her parents divorced when she was still a child. Wanting to be a ballet dancer, she was diagnosed with a rare blood disease as a teenager, which curtailed her dancing ambitions.
Modelling career
As a result, Hunter began modelling by age 17 in 1986, and the same year turned down an invitation to pose for Playboy magazine.
Resultantly persuaded by her aunt to fly to the United States, she signed for the Ford Models agency of New York, landing the Cover Girl cosmetics contract and becoming the spokesperson for the company. But Hunter rose to global prominence after posing as a Sports Illustrated model in 1989. She subsequently appeared on magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan and on the 1994 "Dream Team" cover of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue.
She posed naked for a cover-featured Playboy pictorial published in 2004. She also replaced Penny Lancaster, the wife of Hunter's ex-husband Rod Stewart, as the face and body of Ultimo, a Scottish lingerie house. In 2006, Hunter was replaced by Helena Christensen.
Hunter is signed to Ford Models in New York, Select Model Management in London, and Chadwick Models in Sydney, Australia.
Film and television
Hunter guest starred in a 1997 episode of The Drew Carey Show as herself. Trying to develop a career in acting, she has taken a series of acting lessons and appeared in several independent film, including 1999's A Walk in the Park and 2000's Two Shades of Blue, an erotic thriller with Marlee Matlin. She stars as a lesbian cook doling out relationship advice in the award winning indie film La Cucina (film). She had a brief appearance as a sexy soccer mom in Dennis Dugan's The Benchwarmers (2006) and also played a sultry, bikini-clad mother in the music video for Fountains of Wayne's 2003 song "Stacy's Mom."
Hunter appeared on a 2005 celebrity episode of Lingo, where she and her partner Trista Rehn split $US30,000 for charity. Hunter is an ambassador to The Born Free Foundation, and established the Rachel Hunter Lowland Gorilla Fund. Hunter also appeared as herself in the 2004 Christmas Special of The Vicar of Dibley. She also starred in the science fiction TV movie Swamp Volcano (aka Miami Magma) released in 2012.
Reality TV
Hunter has been a contestant on the United States reality television series Dancing with the Stars and The Real Gilligan's Island, and appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and NBC's Celebrity Circus.
She was a judge on the ABC reality competition Are You Hot? with Lorenzo Lamas. It was cancelled after one season. She appeared on the VH1's sci-fi celebrity reality show Celebrity Paranormal Project. She appeared as a celebrity guest on the first week of the NBC reality competition Phenomenon. She featured in a documentary about bra history & design for Discovery Channel "Bra Wars".
In 2005 she hosted a series of Make Me A Supermodel, a reality show for Britain's Five TV channel. The series was marked by an on going feud between Hunter and contestant Jasmine Lennard. In 2006, she hosted a reality program for U.S. cable TV channel WE, Style Me With Rachel Hunter. Contestants on the show participated in a series of fashion challenges to prove that they "measured up" and were capable of being Hunter's stylist. Hunter, Phillip Bloch and Milica Kastner were judges. The opportunity to style Hunter for the People's Choice Awards and a cash prize was awarded to the winner, Buick Audra.
She was a contestant on NBC's new celebrity circus act Celebrity Circus which premiered 11 June 2008. She stars in the movie A Fonder Heart.
In the late 1980s Hunter lived with rock musician Kip Winger.
At the age of 21, Hunter met rock star Rod Stewart, 24 years her senior, and they were married on 15 December 1990. Together they had two children, Renee and Liam, but separated in January 1999 and their divorce was finalised on 2 November 2006.
Hunter was engaged to ice-hockey player Jarret Stoll and they planned to marry in August 2009, but the wedding was called off.
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