Elle Macpherson gets "Beautiful" for CW

Australian model Elle Macpherson holds the Women's Career Award during the Women's World Awards gala in Vienna, March 5, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Supermodel Elle Macpherson is returning to acting with a recurring role on CW's drama pilot "Beautiful Life."

The project revolves around a group of male and female models living together in New York.

Macpherson will play Claudia, the owner of Focus Models, the top modeling agency in New York. She is an '80s supermodel who is still in great shape and runs her business with the efficiency and toughness of a dictator.

She joins Mischa Barton, Ben Hollingsworth, Sara Paxton, Ashley Madekwe and Nico Tortorella in the pilot.

Like her character, Macpherson was an '80s supermodel. In fact, along with Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Paulina Porizkova and Cindy Crawford, she became part of the first generation of supermodels.

In the 1990s, she segued into acting. But after appearing in a string of movies, including "The Edge," "If Lucy Fell" and "Batman & Robin" and after a recurring role on NBC's "Friends" in the late 1990s, Macpherson left Hollywood to focus on her business empire, whose portfolio of products includes workout videos, calendars, lingerie and beauty products.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

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