Oct. 06--DeKalb native Cindy Crawford said her Midwestern roots helped keep her grounded through her three-decade modeling career but she is glad she left Chicago years ago.
Crawford, 49, recently released her memoir "Becoming." She grew up in DeKalb, briefly studied at Northwestern University and modeled in Chicago two years before moving to New York.
In her book, she said a photographer in Chicago told her early in her career that she has a difficult face to photograph. Crawford said the photographer later cut ties with her.
"The reason I wanted to include that story was that so many people have that experience of having someone who has really helped them -- a mentor -- but then, sometimes we have to leave the nest," Crawford told New York magazine in an interview posted online Monday. "Thirty years later, I'm so grateful that he did that to me, otherwise I might have just been complacent and stayed in Chicago."
Still, she said her Midwestern roots helped solidify her brand of the "all-American, sexy girl next door."
"As I started making bigger decisions, it was about access. Even the book -- I could have made it big and expensive. But that's not my audience. That's not me. I'm Midwestern. I always think of my sisters -- could they afford the book?" she told GQ in an article posted online last week.
Crawford is scheduled to discuss "Becoming" Wednesday at The Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd.
