Cindy Crawford reveals she was bullied in high school in Becoming book excerpt

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Cindy started modeling as a junior in high school in Illinois
She went on to land contracts with Versace, Pepsi and Revlon
In her new book Becoming she said she was bullied by other students
At 15 she was pranked when she received a call to model for a store
When she landed a lingerie ad at 16, the photos were plastered at school

Published: 10:36 EST, 11 September 2015 | Updated: 13:28 EST, 11 September 2015

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Cindy Crawford has one of the most enviable modeling careers in the history of supermodels, ranging from Vogue covers and Pepsi commercials to, more recently, a role in Taylor Swift's Bad Blood.

But in an excerpt from her new book Becoming, shard by Elle.com, the mother of two - now 49-years-old - reveals she suffered from bullying as a teen growing up in a small town in Illinois.

'My very first paying job was a newspaper ad for Marshall Field's wearing some kind of Cross Your Heart bra. It appeared in the Chicago Tribune and within hours was plastered all over my high school,' she said. 'I think some of the kids were trying to embarrass me, but what did I care? I had made $150. Modeling sure beat working in the cornfields.'

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Not always easy: Cindy Crawford writes in her new book Becoming, from Rizzoli New York, that she was bullied as a teen growing up in Illinois; the excerpt was made available by Elle.com

And before she even started modeling, the high school sophomore was the victim of a cruel prank.

'I got a call from a local clothing store interested in hiring me to do some modeling for them,' the catwalker explained in the excerpt from Becoming, which features a photo of Cindy by '90s icon Herb Ritts on the cover.

'I had never dreamed of becoming a model and didn't even know it was a real job,' she wrote.

Already a stunner: The Vogue favorite already showed she had model skills when she was a teenager; here she is seen in 1984

A million dollar smile: Crawford's senior year at DeKalb High School in 1984

'I did read Seventeen magazine and knew who Phoebe Cates and Brooke Shields were, but that was the extent of my fashion knowledge.'

And she tried her best to look right for the part.

'On the day of the meeting, I slid into my best Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, a cowl-neck sweater, and my Earth shoes,' the ex-wife of Richard Gere wrote.

'I set my hair on hot curlers and drove to DeKalb's version of Main Street. I walked into the store and told the girl at the cash register I was there for the modeling job. She looked at me with a blank stare. I asked to see the manager.'

That is when Cindy knew something was wrong.

Young Crawford: The beauty as a child - she has said she had an idyllic childhood in DeKalb, Illinois

Normal: 'I was raised the second oldest child of three girls and a baby boy, in a typical, all-American, blue-collar family,' the Omega model said in her book

Early days of Vogue-ing: 'I did read Seventeen magazine and knew who Phoebe Cates and Brooke Shields were, but that was the extent of my fashion knowledge,' added the Revlon spokesperson

'Several minutes later the manager came out and apologetically told me she didn't know who had called me, but it definitely wasn't her,' the Versace model wrote.

'I felt all the air leave my body. I ran out of the store as fast as I could, only to see two girls from my high school standing on the corner laughing. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.'

But Cindy, who is married to Rande Gerber and calls George Clooney a close pal, would not trade any of it as she felt she had one of the best upbringings.

Now a mega celebrity: The bombshell with husband Rande Gerber in November 2014 at LACMA

'I was born in DeKalb, Illinois, a small town sixty miles west of Chicago. I was raised the second oldest child of three girls and a baby boy, in a typical, all-American, blue-collar family,' she said in her book.

'My father was a machinist, electrician, and glazier. My mother, married and pregnant at sixteen, was a housewife and later worked in a doctor's office.

'My grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins lived nearby, which made our community feel like an extended family. We played softball outside until dark and never locked our doors. We had backyard barbecues and Fourth of July parades. It was a great way to grow up.'

Promoting her tome: The former face of Versace and Pepsi flashed her Becoming book in LA in August

She added it was as wonderful as it seems. 'I loved my small-town upbringing.'

She also had high ambitions. 'For a while I wanted to be a nuclear physicist, and later I dreamed of becoming the first woman president— the two biggest jobs I could imagine. My fourth-grade student teacher dubbed me "Future Miss America," and while that wasn't really a role I aspired to, the idea that someone outside my family could dream so big for me was a revelation. It opened up my mind to possibilities far beyond DeKalb,' she added.

Cindy then detailed her early success.

She reads her own material: Cindy also showed off the book in this Instagram post

A local photographer named Roger Legal took her photo for the Northern Illinois University paper during her junior year.

Agent Marie Anderson then set up another test shoot, this time with Bob Frame.

'That was my first professional shoot. Bob shot me looking very natural, and for the first time I could see a budding young model in the image. When I took the pictures to Marie, she was excited to put me to work,' the Meaningful Beauty mogul said.

Becoming will be release on September 29.