Paulina Porizkova on Embracing Wrinkles Despite Being ‘Terrified’
Paulina Porizkova recently opened up about how she feels about aging in a Today show episode.
The 59-year-old spoke about being “so scared of wrinkles” and why we should “embrace” them instead.
“At the age society says, ‘Women, go to pasture,’ we’re saying, ‘No, not so fast.’”
Paulina Porizkova is all about embracing aging—she routinely bares it all to call out anti-aging culture and normalize the “wrinkles and sags” that society tends to criticize. Recently, the supermodel appeared on an episode of the Today show to open up once again about aging and wrinkles in a candid conversation with Savannah Guthrie.
Guthrie introduced the 59-year-old, recalling her “wonderful” career as a supermodel and “beauty icon,” before discussing the way Porizkova now ventures to “change the conversation around aging and beauty.”
At the beginning of their conversation, Guthrie noted that Porizkova is “leading the way” at “59 years old,” to which Porizkova responded, “I’m almost 60! I’m two months from 60, and I’m so excited. I have never been so thrilled about a birthday in my life.”
She continued: “I’ve paid my dues. I’ve raised my children, I’ve had a family, I’ve been the wife, I’ve done everything society expected of me and you know what? It’s my turn.”
Guthrie praised Porizkova’s outlook and her fight against the pressure to “look young.”
“I feel like we’re so scared of wrinkles,” Porizkova replied. “Have you noticed that? We’re so terrified of wrinkles because I suppose wrinkles make us no longer relevant, no longer hot, no longer desirable, and as women, that has been sort of our calling card—it tags along with us for such a long time.”
“I keep looking at wrinkles—mine, yours, any woman that I see—and I think, ‘It’s your map of life. I see how you are as a person. Why would you want to erase it?’” she wondered. “Why do we make wrinkles on the same par as acne?”
Porizkova then pointed out that acne and wrinkles are two of the most common reasons people visit a dermatologist. However, while “acne is a disease,” Porizkova emphasizes that “wrinkles are the signs of privilege that you’re alive.”
“They’re badges of honor!” Guthrie responded.
“Why eliminate them? Why not embrace them?” Porizkova asked in response. “And I understand why—because society tells us that they don’t want us once we become wrinkled.”
Porizkova then briefly opened up about finding love, how getting older has allowed her to experience this type of relationship at this stage of her life, and how “wonderful” it is that we get “smarter” with age. “And our faces show that we have lived and that we are smarter.”
That’s why Porizkova is so glad to now be partnering with Estée Lauder as a global brand ambassador to advocate against ageism. “I’m so thrilled that Estée Lauder has discovered this same beauty that I keep seeing in me,” she expressed.
“Working in conjunction with them, I get to spread my message wider that we are the best we’ve ever been and we should not be dismissed,” she added. “At the age society says, ‘Women, go to pasture,’ we’re saying, ‘No, not so fast.’”
We’re inclined to agree with Porizkova on this one—and we can’t wait to see how she inspires us next!
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