Christy Turlington Burns: Model Mom on a Mission

Originally posted on Biography.com

In the '90s and into the early oughts, Christy Turlington Burns’ chiseled features were synonymous with Maybelline, Calvin Klein’s Eternity, the advent of yoga to the American mainstream (remember her 2001 Time cover?), PETA’s anti-fur campaign, and for you pop music addicts, George Michael’s “Freedom! '90” music video, among others.

But these days, Christy, 43, has evolved far beyond modeling and has taken on multiple roles, two of which have influenced the social causes she’s passionate about today: She’s wife to actor and director Ed Burns and mother to their kids, Grace, 9, and Finn, 6.

“I want my children to see as much of the world as humanly possible,” Christy told Bio, adding, “Everyday I learn more and more about myself and the world through [them].”

It’s through her experience as a mother and woman that prompted Christy to focus on issues concerning female equality and health. In 2008, she directed the documentary No Woman, No Cry, which examines maternal health around the world. The project spearheaded her organization Every Mother Counts, which aims to offer convenient access to reproductive health services to reduce maternal mortality on a global scale.

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Considering Mother’s Day is around the corner, how exactly is Christy trying to spread her message? Along with the help of a star-studded cast of moms and her director husband, she’s launched a campaign called No Mother’s Day, which asks every mother in America to “disappear” on May 13—no phone calls, no gifts, no emails, no texts, nada—to raise awareness on behalf of the thousands of women who die each year from childbirth and pregnancy-related complications.

Looking at the trajectory of her life and all that she’s accomplished so far, it seems that Christy has the whole package: looks, brains, love, and compassion. But don’t be deceived: There is an area of her life that she even admits she needs improvement on.
 
“I don’t have the juggling thing down quite as much as I have been given credit for,” she confessed.