For the Elle of it

Deborah Johnson finds out how she also manages to juggle motherhood, charity work and running a global business empire.

ELLE Macpherson is posing for pictures, as she has been doing for about the past five minutes. Politely accepting every request about where to stand or how to pose, her pout breaks into a warm smile between shots for the throngs of onlookers gathered around.

As she turns to a different angle, one of her fiveinch Christian Louboutin heels becomes stuck in metal gauze on the floor, causing her to stumble suddenly, dramatically, forward. The rooms gasps almost as one. Offers of assistance flood in , but Elle calmly regains her composure, smooths over her immaculate black suit, ruffles her hair and poses for the next shot.

"They're great for seeing over crowds anyway,"

she laughs, pointing at the offending shoes. "I think I'm about 6ft 5ins today."

Striding towards me, she smiles and extends her hand, her long, wavy brown hair swaying as she walks. It becomes obvious how tall and slim - although far from skinny - she is. The extraordinary length of her legs is emphasised by her tight black trousers and she towers so far above my 5ft 3ins frame I find myself looking skywards to greet her.

"It's really lovely to meet you," she says in her soft Australian voice, with a smile that makes her deep brown eyes light up. There is no getting away from it - even with minimal make-up, and having stepped off a plane barely an hour ago, Elle Macpherson is stunning, and it is easy to understand why she is often referred to simply as The Body, having been given the title by Time magazine in 1989.

"Newcastle is such a lovely place, that bridge outside (the Tyne Bridge) is just like the one back home in Sydney. I only recently found out the one here was the model for the one back home. And so much of the architecture here is like in Australia, too. It makes me feel very welcome," she says, keen to display her knowledge of the North-East, her base for the afternoon as she prepares to address the Entrepreneurs' Forum at Gateshead's Hilton Hotel before boarding a plane back to Vienna.

I'm drawn to the fact she's got quite pronounced expression lines around her eyes and mouth, normal for a woman of her age - she's 45 - but so refreshing when the temptation in her profession is to turn to surgery.

As we chat, any pre-conceptions I may have had about Elle are instantly dismissed. Down-to-earth and open, her demeanour changes entirely away from the camera lens. I never thought I'd refer to a supermodel as being timid, but mother-of-two Elle seems genuinely flattered by the attention.

However, her sweet nature and covergirl looks conceal a steely determination which has seen her at the centre of the modelling world and a multi-million dollar global business with her lingerie range, Elle Macpherson Intimates.

Quite uncommon for a model, I suggest.

"I don't think I've ever been your typical model.

In fact, being a model is not something which I am particularly proud of," she says. "My modelling career has really been a stepping stone. I've always had what you might call an unorthodox approach.

For example, in 1989, I made a licensing arrangement with Bendon (the company which makes the Intimates range) so instead of being paid to front the brand, I would actually be the brand and take a cut from the profits they made.

"Sometimes, when you do a cover shoot for a magazine, you'll end up with about £30 in your pocket. Yes, £30," she repeats, obviously used to people's incredulity at the revelation. "I knew I wanted to do more than just be a face, or The Body in my case, and build it into something more.

"That year, I made about £15,000 from the campaign. I would've made £200,000 if I'd have just fronted it. But that wasn't the point. I wanted The Body to become my business and I suppose you can say my knickers really have helped to change my life," she laughs.

"Also, when I was working for Sports Illustrated (an American magazine) modelling swimsuits, I used to think why are they making so much profit, I should be making those profits'. So I started doing it myself, doing my own swimwear shots. It made much more financial and creative sense."

And that hands-on determination is something she maintains now in running her Intimates range, as well as her Elle Macpherson Body products.

"Well, I have to be that involved, I am the brand," she says. "I am involved in everything. If we look at Intimates, I work on the licensing, I am now the creative director and I work on the packaging, the marketing, I go and sell to the retailers."

Elle comes across as a highly knowledgeable businesswoman and it's not hard to believe she was on the way to a career as a lawyer before being discovered as a model at 17 on an Australian beach.

I remark on her business acumen and how inspiring she is as an entrepreneur. She looks genuinely touched.

"I'm not sure if I'd say that. I do think outside of the box, and I like to push the boundaries," she says.

Aside from her business, Elle is mother to two sons and stresses the fact she is a single parent, something of which she is clearly very proud.

"I am, like so many women these days, a working mother, and you have to find a way to balance your business and your family. It's not an easy question to answer. But I suppose it's similar to finding out how you balance your working life and your spiritual life, your work and your play. It's something you learn," she says.

And as well as being Elle the mother and Elle the businesswoman, she is also the European ambassador for Red, a charity helping to eradicate AIDS in women and children in Africa - "we've raised $100m, and that's just in two years" - and fronts the Smile children's charity. She has also been an ambassador for breast feeding and for raising awareness of breast cancer.

"I only get involved with things I passionately believe in, things which are in keeping with my values and those of my brand," she says. So does she turn down approaches if the brand doesn't fit with hers? She replies almost before the question has been asked.

"Absolutely. It has to be something that really touches me, or I'm not interested. You need to work with like-minded people."

And with that, Elle's entourage - minimal and very discreet, waiting quietly at the back of the room - move in and end the interview. Before I've even had time to thank her, the make-up artist is reapplying her pink lipgloss.

As Elle leaves our interview and strides across the hotel's lobby, gone is the shy woman I've just spent the last 20 minutes speaking to. In her place is Elle the supermodel - serene, poised, and ready for any camera that may cross her path.