You may know the supermodelPaulina Porizkova as a Sports Illustrated cover girl, the former face of Estée Lauder, or as the longtime wife of The Cars frontman, Ric Ocasek. But these days, Porizkova is making headlines for another reason: She's speaking up about growing older in the modeling industry, and making headway as a champion for self-acceptance.
That's why she's recently gotten real about all things age-related, firing back at the harsh online criticism she's received for aging naturally, and reflecting on her own growth as she's gotten older. She's also telling all about how her workouts have changed post-menopause, and sharing her secret to staying in shape. Read on to find out how she keeps fit at 57, and why she says the physical results are just one part of her fitness journey.
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Porizkova has made it her mission to help women accept their age.
John Parra/Getty Images for Sports IllustratedIn her Instagram bio, Porizkova describes herself as an "accidental former supermodel"—a title that gives a nod to her ambivalence about the industry in which she spent nearly four decades working. While speaking with People (the TV Show!) in March, she explained why she always identified as a "reluctant model," saying, "I always felt like being a model was literally being an apple in a still life. You just kind of get polished, placed, be quiet, look pretty… it was a little frustrating to me," she said.
The model's reluctance only grew as she noticed the public increasingly comparing her to stars of a similar age who she speculates have gotten age-defying plastic surgeries. "I felt ashamed to be aging, and then on the other hand you go, 'But, I'm smarter, I'm better, I'm funnier, I'm more patient!' " she continued. "Overall as a person, I'm the best I've ever been. So I'm not ready to be dismissed."
Now, she's embracing her age at 57. "You don't get to dismiss me because I have some wrinkles and sags and gray hair now, when I'm kind of fabulous, the most fabulous I've ever been," Porizkova adds. "In fact, I'm going to just put it out there and go, you know what, this is me at my best. Deal with it!"
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Porizkova says this is her secret to staying in shape, post-menopause.
Sergi Alexander/Getty ImagesDespite her misgivings about the modeling industry, Porizkova recently starred in the 2022 summer campaign for La Ligne and the 2022 spring campaign for Rag & Bone. Fans were quick to praise the model for looking "fabulous" past 50, with many users saying, "she looks good in anything."
Porizkova says that "staying in shape" since hitting menopause has been a greater challenge, but that her secret is simple: putting in "a lot of frickin' work." Of course, having a personal trainer doesn't hurt, either. Porizkova recently shared via Instagram that she found "an amazing personal trainer at my local Crunch, Shelly, who alternates hip PT with strength training,' as part of her workout routine.
She says she has to "work a lot harder" now for the same results.
Michael Loccisano/WireImage via Getty ImagesPorizkova admits that because she travels so frequently, her workout results are inconsistent. She's also had to scale back on doing Pilates due to having what she describes as having "wonky hips."
She views these changes as "drawbacks to aging," but doesn't let them stop her on her fitness journey. "One has to work a lot harder on things that were taken for granted. On the outside. On the inside, however, all the hard work already done is finally paying off," she said in her post.
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She's accepting her age, and all that comes with it.
Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesPorizkova says she noticed a change in how she was perceived by the public around the age of 45. "I would put up photos of myself in bikinis and all of sudden I started getting an influx of, 'Are you a little desperate there, grandma? How about you cover up and spare us the look of your poor, aging body," she said in an interview for StyleLikeU's Defying Ageism series. "I was sort of getting relinquished to the invisible women category," she reflected.
Ultimately, her age seems to have dealt her some crucial wisdom on top of her enduring beauty. "I may not be as strong or as supple or as smooth as in my youth, but I am comfortable with my vulnerabilities, conscious of my weaknesses, proud of my strengths—and best of all, have the wisdom to put it all together and delight in the results," she said via Instagram.
