The Incredible Life Of Kathy Ireland, The World's Richest Supermodel

If you only know Kathy Ireland from her famous 1989 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover photo, you'd be surprised to hear that the supermodel long ago hung up her bikini to become a businesswoman. 

A very successful businesswoman, whose company, Kathy Ireland Worldwide, is worth around $350 million, according to Dorothy Pomerantz in a big profile of Ireland in the latest issue of Forbes. 

Celebrity Net Worth recently declared her to be the richest supermodel on the planet, beating out Gisele Bündchen and Cindy Crawford.

Ireland's company, which now designs and licenses products for "busy moms," including furniture, fans, rugs, flooring, has gone through several permutations since 1993. And it'll likely go through many more as it grows.

Kathy Ireland Worldwide, which raked in $1.9 billion in merchandising fees in 2010, is worth around $100 million more than Martha Stewart's holdings in her company. That's a big deal.

Click here to find out how Kathy Ireland became the world's richest supermodel >