Dancing with the Stars Celebrity Biography: Kathy Ireland

Kathleen Marie "Kathy" Ireland was born in Glendale, CA on March 20, 1963 and began modeling before graduating from high school. Ireland joined SI in 1984 as one of their top swimsuit models, getting the cover for the first time on the 25^th Anniversary edition and then again in 1992 and 1994. We know she can "strike a pose" as Madonna would say but I'm still not convinced that she can dance.

Past supermodel contestants have had mixed results on Dancing with the Stars. Season 1 saw Rachel Hunter eliminated in the 3^rd week but Kelly Monaco go on to win the trophy. Paulina Porizkova was so awful in season 4 that she was the first to go. Josie Marin in season 5 had the same fate. However, season 7 saw Brooke Burke take the trophy home followed in season 8 by Gilles Marini coming in a very close second. Dancing with the Stars truly is wide open to any contestant.

Ireland has dabbled in acting but nothing that leaves a lasting impression. Her post-modeling strength has come from her business savvy. Starting with a line of socks sold through K-Mart, Ireland developed her niche into Kathy Ireland Worldwide, a brand product marketing company that sells products at over 50,000 locations in 14 countries. Ireland is also an author of children's books as well as inspirational and self-help books. She has also released several fitness videos.

Another strength that may help Ireland on Dancing with the Stars is her faith. She has reportedly been a Christian since the age of 18 when she read the Bible on a flight. She includes stories pertaining to her faith in some of her books. Anything that gives a contestant source of hope, strength and inner peace can be beneficial. Earlier in the year, Kathy openly discussed her weight gain with Larry King stating that she had gained a pound a year for 25 years. We've seen what the rigors of Dancing with the Stars have done for other celebrities. No doubt Ireland will benefit from the aerobic nature of the rehearsals if she can last long enough.

The latest news from the Ireland camp is the recent injury this past weekend. While surfing, Irelands board bashed her leg and caused a gash requiring 7 stitched to close. She is still expected to perform in Monday's premier.

Clips seen on E!Online show Ireland to be progressing well under the tutelage of Toni Dovolani but no so well as to indicate a front runner. Given the recent injury and some former knee trouble, I'm guessing Ireland will make it to about midway in the season unless there are oodles of terrible dancers in the pack.

To read about other contestants, check out Dancing with the Stars Celebrity Biography: Kelly Osbourne and Dancing with the Stars Celebrity Biography: Donny Osmond

Sources: Wikipedia, www.kathyireland.com, MSNBC