Paulina Porizkova is still incredibly gorgeous at the age of 55. But the Czechoslovakian born stunner is admitting that it is so difficult not to confirm to society’s standards of beauty. In a candid Mar. 18 Instagram post, she revealed she was bullied by other girls as a teen for being “ugly,” and just a short time later the features that other kids tormented her over became what made her the toast of the modeling world. Paulina also admitted she’s “vain” as she ages naturally without cosmetic procedures and is fighting father time, wanting to remain “pretty.”
Paulina showed a photo of herself after getting a plasma pen treatment, which is a non-invasive skin tightening and rejuvenation device used to treat wrinkles and sagging skin. She had small red dots above and below her eyes and down to her upper cheeks. Paulina had her hair pulled back, with just the grey roots surrounding her face visible. Her complexion still looked so free of lines, though her piercing blue eyes appeared forlorn.
“I’m keeping this strictly about physical looks — that’s the conversation here,” she told her followers. “We all know real beauty is so much more than that — but that muddies this specific conversation. And here is a shot of me after a plasma pen treatment- cause I’m vain and want to be pretty.”
Paulina then recalled, “When I was 14, and terribly bullied in school, I thought it was because I was so ugly. That is what I was told. I was told I looked like a moose, a plucked chicken, a drunken giraffe, and a dirty communist. (What does that even look like?). All comments were made by girls. Had I had the access to plastic surgery, I would have gotten my lips plumped, my teeth capped, shave down my square jawbone, breast implants and liposuction on my thighs, and I would have given my soul to be a cute 5’5 or so.” Paulina stands at a trim and statuesque 5’10”, which was the standard for high end models.
“A year later, at fifteen, I became a model in Paris, a model of what other women were supposed to aspire to look like. I wanted desperately to fit it. But soon I was rewarded for exactly the parts of me I thought I hated. And that taught me an invaluable lesson. I hadn’t changed. People’s opinions had,” she explained.
Paulina went on to walk on runways for major designers, appeared on the cover of Vogue and other fashion and beauty magazines countless times, and rocketed to mainstream stardom when she graced the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover for two years in a row, in 1984 and 1985. Paulina then went on to become the face of cosmetics and fragrance brand Estee Lauder in 1988, landing at the time was a the highest paying modeling contract, pocketing $6 million for the position.
Paulina Porizkova seen in a 1988 Estee Lauder ad taken at Claridge’s Hotel. Photo credit: Shutterstock.
The mother of two then explained, “But I was incredibly lucky. What happens to women who never get society’s approval of their looks? They are forced to give up or become fighters. And you cannot blame or judge either side, because this societal structure was set long ago, and it has grown over us like cataracts, clouding our vision to true beauty.” Paulina has been highly outspoken on the topic ageism, especially as it pertains to women over 50.
Paulina has been open about the subject of aging naturally without cosmetic surgery, and how that can be a painful process, especially for someone who was once regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world. She took to her Instagram on Feb. 11, 2021 and shared a comment someone left in a previous post that read, “Honey just go get some work done you are not aging well, all the other old supermodels are doing it why not!?! You are spending all this money on products they are not working, just do it! Lower face lift, some filler and Botox it will make you feel great! Then you will find a nice man!!!!” Paulina lost her late husband of nearly 30 years, Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, in Sept. 2019.
Paulina responded in the caption, “This is the kind of crap us, seasoned women, have to deal with all the time. We’re told to be grateful for getting to be older (considering the alternatives) and simultaneously we’re shamed of daring to age.” She then added, “I’m trying to show you what an aging public figure woman has to deal with on a daily basis. Any wonder not many of us now haven’t had work done? Any wonder that visible aging is now a ‘brave’ choice for a woman in the public eye?” Paulina is still so stunning, and it’s just so sad that people would feel the need to tear her down over her decision to simply age gracefully.