From appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated to working on campaigns with international brands like Chanel and Dior, supermodel Paulina Porizkova has chosen to embrace her age at 57 years old.
In the unforgiving world of modelling, you’re made to believe there’s a ‘perfect’ look – your face and body need to adopt this unrealistically chiseled, airbrushed approach in order to thrive in the industry. You’re indoctrinated to be perfect, and Paulina fell into this world.
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But, as the 57-year-old supermodel tells The Cut:
“At the time, I was just a young girl who was supposed to be perfect, the prototype of a woman. I could never live up to that…”
In an episode of In Her Shoes podcast, Paulina elaborates:
“You were just never good enough.”
Embracing one’s age is a process, Porizkova says:
“You can either take that shame and do something about your face to escape that shame and get things done, or you can work on the shame part. I’m trying to work on the shame part because I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with an ageing face.”
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Embracing age means embracing all of those pores, wrinkles and imperfections, so when it comes down to social media and filters, Paulina isn’t influenced.
Her book, titled No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, was written as ‘a companion for recognising aspects of yourself.’ The book not only tackles the physical experience of ageing, but the real-life challenges that all women face as they age.
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In a post shared to Instagram, Paulina says:
“A tired, but very content 57 year old woman early in the morning- with nothing to hide. Even though now, when my face and body reflects the full experience and character of my life, I’m told I should be ashamed of it. Ageing is not a disease.. It should be celebrated for what it is. Growth and change.”
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Despite Paulina’s positive outlook, she recognises that women do tend to feel a range of emotions when it comes to the ageing process. From grief to shame to betrayal – it’s all there! She was there, too.
“It always feels good when you know you’re not the only person feeling like this…” Porizkova says.
She continues:
“If I wasn’t hopeful about the future, I probably would have killed myself, quite honestly. I’m nothing but hopeful for the future because I feel like I’ve finally come into my power as a full person and I know what I’m capable of.”
As Porizkova embarks on chapter of 57 of her life, she is still learning herself, adapting to change and growing.
She says:
“The reality is I’m really proud and happy to be 57. I think I’m a better woman than I’ve ever been. I’m the best human I’ve ever been … the most powerful and the most forgiving to myself.”
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Featured Image: Instagram @paulinaporizkova
