Giving Back in an Iconic Way
- Supermodel Cindy Crawford, 55, has recreated her iconic ’90s Pepsi commercial shoot for a good cause: to support the children’s hospital that once treated her brother’s leukemia.
- Using the same location as the originaland even the same hair stylistthe wife, mother, and entrepreneur announced that they have already raised $1M through sales of the photos.
- Leukemia develops when the body produces large quantities of abnormal white blood cells. Because they're abnormal, they prevent the bone marrow from producing any other type of cell, namely red blood cells and platelets.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford just recreated her iconic ’90s Pepsi commercial shotcomplete with white bodysuit and Levi’s cutoffs, looking as youthful as everall for a good cause: to support the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison Wisconsin where her late brother was treated for leukemia. At age 10, Crawford, now 55, lost her little brother Jeff to the disease when he was just 3 years old.
Read MoreCrawford says they have already raised $1M dollars for the cause. “I think we nailed it! Such a fun day,” she said, thanking the rest of the team involved in the super fun shoot.
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Cindy Crawford took the world by storm in the ’90s, racking up multi-million-dollar deals for companies like PepsiCo and Revlon and gracing multiple covers of Vogue magazine with her all-American looks and trademark mole above her lip.
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Although school was tough at first emotionally in light of what had happened to her family, Crawford did not let the death of her brother stop her from achieving success, and the intelligent beauty pushed through and wound up being named class valedictorian in high school.
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A Tragic Loss
Jeff was diagnosed with leukemia at age 2, and died at age 3. The tragic loss led Crawford toward cancer advocacy work. She continuously teaches and inspires others to give back, including her husband and children.
"I believe that kids, a lot of times if they see their parents doing something, they either get inspired or they go, 'Oh, that's cool.' And they find their own way [to get involved]," she expressed in an interview with In Style, explaining that she encouraged husband, restaurateur Rande Gerber, 59, to visit pediatric cancer patients for the first time. "And I've taken my children with me since they were little," she added. “What they decide to do with that now that they're young adults, that will be up to them.”
Daughter Kaia Gerber, 20, and Presley Gerber, 22, both followed in mom’s footsteps and are successful modelsnot to mention the spitting image of their gorgeous parents.
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Crawford’s mother also “played a huge role” in inspiring her charity work, which helped her to process what had happened in her childhood, and how it affected the entire family. Crawford remembers crying all day at her grandparents’ house with her family the day her brother passed.
"That was the beginning of processing it, and going to my brother's funeral, and then having to go back to school,” which was rough for the Illinois native. "That's such a weird feeling to walk back into your classroom. No one knows what to say to you, even the teachers because as a society we are so uncomfortable talking about death and grief."
The Impact of Childhood Cancer on the Entire Family
Learning about Leukemia
Leukemia develops when the body produces large quantities of abnormal white blood cells. Because they're abnormal, they prevent the bone marrow from producing any other type of cell, namely red blood cells and platelets.
Dr. Nina Shah, a hematologist at University of California San Francisco, explains blood cancers in a simple way. "One cell got really selfish and decided that it needed to take up all the resources of everybody else," Dr. Shah tells SurvivorNet, "and in doing so, took up space and energy from the rest of the body."
"In general having a blood cancer means that your bone marrow is not functioning correctly," she continues. "And when your bone marrow doesn't function correctly it means that you can have something happen to you like anemia. Or you can have low platelets, which makes it possible for you to bleed easily. Or your immune system is not functioning correctly."
Common symptoms for parents to look out for include: bruising or bleeding easily, fatigue, bone or joint pain, and loss of appetite.
What is a Blood CancerHow is it Different?
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