Once upon a time - let's say a half-century ago - the Supermodel was born. A handful of ladies were so beautiful and glamorous and rich and sought-after and imitated that merely being called "models" just wasn't enough. In recent times, however, it became all but passé to merely be a Supermodel. Now we have Supermodels who are actresses, TV personalities, producers and more. Yes, that would mean Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum.

It's not just the beauty and brains, it's what each of these two multi-faceted stars have done with those bountiful God-given gifts - moving their respective careers to higher and higher levels of achievement. The gorgeous friends have so very much in common, including breakthroughs as Victoria's Secret Angels, Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue covers, "Next Top Model" shows and Seal (Tyra dated the singer, and of course, Heidi married him). How do our favorite Supermodelmoguls shape up opposite each other? Take a look:

Pix of Tyra Banks		Pix of Heidi Klum
Tyra Banks Born: 12-4-1973 in Los Angeles, United States Modeling Vitals: 5-foot-10, 128 lbs., 34 1/2-23 1/2-35 1/2		Heidi Klum Born: 6-1-1973 in Bergische Gladbach, Germany Modeling Vitals: 5-foot-9 1/2, 119 lbs., 34-24-34
Reported annual salary: $18 million		Reported annual salary: $7 million
Nicknames: BBQ, Froggy, Ty Ty Baby		Nicknames: The Body, Muffin
Offbeat: Has an extreme fear of dolphins.		Offbeat: Yodeled on David Letterman's show.
High TV Visibility: Creator, producer, host and judge, "America's Next Top Model"; creator, producer, star "The Tyra Banks Show," which is such a hit with young women Forbes says she is "making a credible run at becoming the next Oprah Winfrey for the younger set." Also has at least five more television shows on the way via her Bankable Productions company.		High TV Visibility: Host, "Project Runway," Bravo's ratings phenomenon scored a build of 468 per cent between its debut and second season finale - which ranked as the cable network's most-watched telecast in history. Oct. 18 third season finale promises to be much bigger still. Klum also hosts "Germany's Next Top Model" hit Deutschland version of Tyra's show.
Work Drive Comes From: Lived in a one-bedroom apartment with brother and mother in lower-income section of Los Angeles, which made her frugal and worried about losing everything. "I have a poverty demon," she said.		Work Drive Comes From: Her father. "He worked in a perfume company, but he always did a lot of things on the side," she told Life. "But you know...[Work ethic] is not something you can learn. I've always been ambitious."
Body Image: Initially had to work hard to convince fashion designers she was not too voluptuous for the catwalk. "I represent a body type not the norm for the modeling world. I'm slim, but have hips and thighs."..."A lot of people think I have breast implants because I have the biggest boobs in the business."..."Black women don't have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies. Black men love big butts, and they cannot lie."		Body Image: Encountered some initial resistance: "They said I was too big to be a model."...Commenting to Self magazine about ultra-thin models: "I just thought, 'You know, that's not who I am. I just don't look like that.' I never will be. I'm more big boned that way. I'm more curvy. And that's just the way it is. Now I don't really think about it."...Husband Seal says "women are their sexiest when they're pregnant."
Breaking In: Teased for being skinny as a kid, she started modeling at 15; at 17 went to Paris on advice of an agent and with the support of her photographer/mother Carolyn. She scored a magazine cover two weeks after arriving, and went on to stun the Parisian fashion world by landing 25 shows soon after, including Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar De La Renta and Chanel.		Breaking In: Got her start at age 18 when she and a friend cut a modeling contest coupon out of Petra magazine and sent in a vacation photo of the beautiful Klum. After several rounds, she won the Model '92 contest - then signed a three-year contract with the Metropolitan agency.
Super Modeling: Tyra's credits include covers of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Sports Illustrated. She was the first African-American to grace the SI Swimsuit Edition cover. She's modeled for CoverGirl, Swatch, Pepsi, Nike, XOXO, LensCrafters, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Anna Sui, Liz Claiborne and Richard Tyler, among others.		Super Modeling: Heidi's magazine covers and spreads include Vogue, Elle, In Style, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Jane, ID, W, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Allure, Esquire, GQ, German Elle, Self, Fitness and Grazia. Her campaigns include McDonalds, American Express and Braun, the latter of which led to her famously insuring those legs of hers for more than $2 million.
Men in her Life: Romances have included director John Singleton, NBA player Chris Webber, banker Craig Davis, singer Seal and Italian entrepreneur/retired basketball player Giancarlo Marcaccini.		Men in her Life: Ex-husband hairdresser Ric Pipino. Linked to Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis and then to Flavio Briatore, owner of a Formula-1 racing team. Married Grammy-winning pop star Seal in May 2005.
Children: None so far.		Children: Leni, born May 2004 (father Flavio Briatore); Henry, born Sept. 2005 (with Seal); baby No. 3, a son, due 12-06
Adventures in Performing: Tyra continues to act. Her credits so far include the movies "Higher Learning," "Coyote Ugly" and "Life-Size," the latter in which she played young Lindsay Lohan's Barbie-type doll who magically comes to life. She tried singing, cutting a single "Shake Ya Body," but acknowledged that her pop career didn't work out: "I don't know what I was thinking."		Adventures in Performing: Television credits include guest roles on the series "CSI: Miami," on the Network, "Sex and the City," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Larry Sanders Show." Her film credits include "Blow Dry," "Ella Enchanted" and the cable movie "The Life & Death of Peter Sellers."
Philanthropy: Banks created a leadership and life skills development program she dubbed TZONE for underprivileged girls in the L.A. area. More than 250 girls have reportedly attended. She sponsored camps for the program, during which she gave inspirational pep talks. She is also active on behalf of environmental issues and supports an organization dedicated to helping abused children, called Children+Families.		Artistry: Klum is a designer and painter. She's created her own clothing lines, including one for infants, and has the distinction of being not only a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl - but also a featured designer. A stunning 11,000 piece of her new jewelry line sold in 36 minutes in its QVC debut. Her paintings have appeared in a number of art magazines, and her "Dog With Butterflies" painted sculpture honoring the rescue dogs of 9/11 received widespread media attention when it was dedicated. (She does charity, too, including work for the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.)
Such Good Friends: "When I started as an 'Angel' for Victoria's Secret, Tyra was already an established pro there. During lunch, I'd grill her about the business…Not everyone was, let's say, super friendly, but Tyra was always nice," wrote Heidi, in Time magazine last Spring. "She shared her experience and knowledge with me."		Such Good Friends: Heidi gave Tyra a pair of earrings as a special gift just prior to Banks' final strut before retiring from the catwalk in the Victoria's Secret holiday show last year. Reported cost: $5,000.