Frequently described as America's first supermodel,[1][2][3] Tiegs made multiple appearances on the covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Time magazine.

Although she enrolled as an English major at California State University, Los Angeles, she left college before her junior year in order to pursue her career.

[11][12] Tiegs's break as a model came when she was 17, after the editorial staff at Glamour saw the Cole bathing suit ad.

Bypassing the traditional in-person meeting, Tiegs was booked on a shoot in Saint Thomas with Ali MacGraw, which resulted in her first Glamour cover.

[20] Tiegs posed in 2001 in a bikini for the cover of More, and earned considerable praise for breaking age barriers related to fitness, fashion, and beauty.

In 1979, she traveled to Kenya with him on a photographic expedition to investigate the management and widespread destruction of African wildlife; their journey was documented in an Emmy-winning episode of ABC's The American Sportsman titled "Africa: End of the Game".

[24][25] A doll in her likeness was created in 1990 as part of the "Real Model Collection", which additionally featured Christie Brinkley and Beverly Johnson.

[26] She has also appeared on NBC's Just Shoot Me, Oxygen's Girls Behaving Badly and, in a recurring role, portraying herself in Family Guy.

Her film credits include Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with John C.

[28] Tiegs is the spokeswoman for Renewal: A Time for You, a program created by Deepak Chopra which offers practical advice on healthy lifestyle changes for women in transition.

[36] She also participated in a General Motors environmental program, driving a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle for three months to raise awareness for zero emissions.