Carol Alt Biography

Carol Ann Alt (born December 1, 1960) is an American model and actress.

Biography

Early life

Alt was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of Muriel, an airline employee and model, and Anthony Alt, a fire chief. She was noticed waiting tables in her hometown of East Williston, New York. When she was 18, she decided to try modeling as a summer job to save money for college. She is of German, Belgian and Irish descent.

Career

Alt's first big break in modeling was in 1980, when she was featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine, but she gained real fame in 1982 when she was featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. During the 1980s she appeared on over 500 magazine covers, becoming one the most famous models of her era. Alt was referred to as "The Face" by Life Magazine. During the height of her popularity, she was the face of ad campaigns for Diet Pepsi, General Motors, Cover Girl Cosmetics, Noxzema, Hanes and numerous others. She was the first model to produce her own posters and calendars. As the eighties were winding down, Alt switched from fashion modeling to acting.

Since 1986 she has been in a variety of movies, many of which were Italian productions. Her success in the American market has been limited. In 2004, she had a starring role in a Canadian movie Snakehead Terror. She also played "Karen Oldham" in the TV adaptation of Peter Benchley's "Amazon" (1999). She has also had a few minor television roles, including one episode of Wings and a voice role in an episode of King of the Hill.

She then returned to her modeling roots and taken on a number of model/spokesperson projects, including becoming a consultant with the "Le Mirador" skin-care line and appearing on late night TV infomercials. Alt has written two books, promoting her own raw food diet plans. She has been the cover girl for travelgirl magazine both in 2004 and 2008. After refusing to pose nude her entire career and turning down numerous offers from Playboy Magazine, Alt finally appeared on the cover and in a nude pictorial in Playboy's December 2008 issue. She placed #5 on askmen.com's list of "Top 10 Models Of All Time", behind only Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Gisele Bündchen and Cindy Crawford.

In 2006, Carol Alt was honored as Grand Marshal at the German-American Steuben Parade in New York City, the largest celebration of German-American Friendship in the United States. She was greeted by thousands of fans alongside Fifth Avenue.

Alt was a contestant on NBC's 2008 The Celebrity Apprentice, with Donald Trump, competing for her charity, the Tony Alt Memorial Foundation, which raises funds for scholarships that will allow young adults to continue their studies. She ended up in third place before being fired, but was brought back for the final task of the show and was chosen by finalist Piers Morgan to help him to become the Celebrity Apprentice. Alt raised a total of $40,000 for her charity.

Alt was spoofed in the Family Guy episode, "The Man with Two Brians".

She starred in the Italian TV series Caterina e le sue figlie 2 and in the TV movie Piper, both were aired on Canale5 in 2007. In 2009, she was one of the contestants of the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars (Rai Uno). She's also filming a new Italian TV series called Piper - The series, a spin-off of the successful TV movie of the same title broadcast on Canale5.

In 2008, Carol founded Raw Essentials, by Carol Alt, a skin care and beauty products line with her partners Philip Masiello and Steven Krane. The line is featured on Shopnbc as well as The Shopping Channel in Canada.

In September, 2013, Carol Alt joined the FoxNews team with her own half-hour Saturday afternoon TV show. The show, "A Healthy You & Carol Alt" covers her own experience and knowledge about wellness and longevity. Guest professionals and celebrities complement Alt"s signature tips for maintaining health and wellness. Additionally, each installment of the show ends with a segment called "Ask Carol" where Alt answers questions she receives on Facebook and Twitter.""

Personal life

Alt was married to former New York Rangers player Ron Greschner from 1983 to 1996. As of November, 2008, the former couple are in court, with Alt suing her ex-husband with claims that he failed to divide the profits of an investment the couple made while still married.

Alt has been in a long-term relationship with Russian Alexei Yashin, a former professional ice hockey player.

Films

• I miei primi quarant'anni (English-language title -My First Forty Years) (1987, by Carlo Vanzina), about the life of countess Marina Punturieri, with Elliott Gould and Jean Rochefort.
• Bye Bye Baby (1988)
• Via Montenapoleone (1986)
• I miei primi quarant'anni (1987)
• La più bella del reame (1989)
• Mortacci (1989)
• Donna d'onore (1990)
• Beyond Justice (1990) Co-starred with Rutger Hauer, Elliott Gould and Omar Sharif
• Un piede in paradiso (1991)
• Miliardi (1991)
• Anni 90 - Parte II (1993)
• Thunder in Paradise (1994)
• Private Parts (1997)
• Revelation (1999)
• Snakehead Terror (2004)
• Signs of the Cross (2005)
• Piper (2007)
• Caterina e le sue figlie 2 (2007)

Bibliography