Paulina Porizkova is on a mission to silence ageist trolls with stunning Instagram photos. In her latest photo, the mom of two, 57, wore nothing but a tiny pair of bikini bottoms as she stared down the camera with her famous visage. Standing on the beach at sundown with the wind slightly blowing her wavy hair, Paulina covered her bare chest with one hand and held what appeared to be a sunhat in the other. As always, she had a message to share.
“Four years ago, I was on a vacation with friends in St Maarten. We were lounging on the beach, and I brought up the topic of superpowers,” she captioned the pic from that very vacation. “What were our real life superpowers? What did we think of our own and those of each other?” After taking a dip in the ocean, she related, she came back and her two girlfriends had something to share. “’We nailed your superpower’, they exclaimed. ‘You make other women feel beautiful’”.
Paulina recalled that she was “stunned” to hear it. “I had often been accused of the opposite,” she wrote. “My image, I had been told, had been making women feel bad about themselves for decades. But what my girlfriends were saying, was that my presence made them feel beautiful. Looking at me made women feel bad, but hearing me made them feel good.”
The former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model then revealed that she understands “how it feels to be told by someone that you are beautiful to them. And the opposite. So I make a point of complimenting others.” The act of kindness and empowerment, she wrote, comes from knowing that each woman’s unique beauty should be celebrated. “Is it shallow? Is it superficial? Maybe,” she continued. “But who cares when the result is a heartfelt smile and a little extra bounce in the step. Every woman is beautiful in her own and unique way. Why not celebrate it?”
Many of her nearly 1 million followers on the platform agreed. “Oh you do,” wrote Legally Blonde actress Selma Blair. “And you are wonderful and I hope to see you soon!!! Happy holidays and a massive hug.” “It’s 1990 all over again – true beauty never fades,” remarked a fan. “That’s the damned truth! Always has been and always will be!” commented another. And a third summed it all up. “Thank you for not using botox. You are gorgeous inside and out,” they wrote.