At age 54, without a filler of Botox on her face, we think Paulina Porizkova looks as stunning as ever. However, the supermodel revealed on the HollywoodLife podcast that during her most recent 2019 Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit shoot, she couldn’t help but compare herself to “everybody that was 20 years younger.” “I kept going, ‘Shit, I don’t look as good,'” she explained in an EXCLUSIVE interview with HL. “It didn’t give me confidence one bit.” Paulina recalled waiting to board the plane to Kenya for the shoot along with a SI: Swim rookie, and the Porter kept asking where the second model was. “He was looking straight at me, waiting for the other model to show up,” she explained. “It doesn’t exactly boost your confidence.”
At another point during the shoot on the beach in Kenya, Paulina said that while the rookie, Hailey, was being photographed, people were watching her, “ogling” over her. “Then, there I am in a bikini, going out to do my part, and literally, as I walk over to the rock where Hailey was, they look at me, watch for a moment, and I overhear one of them go, ‘Oh, it’s just some old chick doing it now.'” While the situation was obviously incredibly hurtful and rude, Paulina believes that “it’s reality.” “Any woman over 45, that doesn’t make a real freaking effort not to look 45, knows that we turn invisible. It just happens,” she said.
The 54-year-old has famously decided not to undergo any plastic surgery or fillers, rocking her natural wrinkles proudly — most of the time. “When I look around at my peers, and I see how much younger and better some people look my age, I’m totally jealous, but I would really like to acquire the confidence without actually doing some intervention,” she explained. “I feel like reaching out to make myself look younger, I’m losing on the confidence thing. Then, I’m giving in to the standards that people hold us to, rather than paving my own way.”
Paulina had the opportunity to write the “In Her Own Words” statement on the back of her Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Issue in 2018 after posing nude for the issue, which she said was “super confidence-building.” “There, I felt like it was me. That was my words, my brain and I was using my full self.” In it, Paulina revealed she “had nightmares about being once again photographed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue,” and wrote “as far as modeling goes, my expiration date has passed.” However, at the same time, she used her platform to share an empowering message for women everywhere. Paulina was photographed with the word “TRUTH” painted on her bare body, a word she chose not only for herself, but for the other women in the room and beyond. “One word that demanded we gather our confidence. Demand we be seen. Demand we speak. Demand we are heard.”
Be sure to listen to the HollywoodLife podcast to hear more of Paulina’s story, her workout routine, her time on DWTS and more!