On her 60th birthday, it’s safe to say Linda Evangelista is back!
The ’90s supermodel – who once famously announced she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 – has done it tough in recent years.
Among a series of personal traumas, which drove her into seclusion, were two battles with cancer and a cosmetic procedure that left her “brutally disfigured”.
There were times she thought she might not make it to seven decades, so she relishes every moment.
“I’m worshipping getting older,” says the Canadian fashion icon, whose milestone birthday is on May 10. “I’m going to enjoy this moment. My dream at this point is to be a grandmother. I want to live long enough to make that happen.
“If I’m being honest, I’m on horrible cancer meds that make my life miserable and make my body miserable, but I’m grateful to be alive.
“Having cancer twice puts everything else into perspective and puts you in a happier place. It makes you realise how precious everything is.”
Linda defined the fashion era of the ’90s. She was one of a handful of “supers” who – like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington – were so well known, just their Christian names were enough for people to recognise them by.
With a net worth estimated at $67 million, few thought it was remarkable when Linda all but disappeared from public view 10 years ago. She was, they imagined, enjoying the fruits of her life’s work and happily parenting her son Augie, who was born in 2006.
But in 2018, a routine mammogram revealed she had breast cancer.
Linda underwent a double mastectomy “because I did not want breast cancer to kill me”. Still, subsequently, doctors diagnosed her with cancer of the pectoral muscle. Following that, she went on to endure multiple rounds of chemotherapy that left her feeling “half dead”.
Her health troubles didn’t stop there. In 2021, Linda revealed a cosmetic procedure in 2015 called CoolSculpting had left her “permanently disfigured”. The procedure aimed to eliminate fat cells. Instead, it left her with bulges around her chin, thighs and bra areas,. She claimed it left her permanently deformed.
The former catwalk queen sued the company for $84 million and in 2022, the lawsuit settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
For a time, Linda continued to live like a recluse. But thanks to a groundswell of support from her fellow supermodels and the fashion industry in general, she has gradually made a comeback, most notably at last year’s Met Gala. And in March, she dazzled the crowd at a Shiseido beauty event.
“I became tired of hiding,” she explains. “I wanted to live again.”
It will likely be a few years before she gets her wish to become a grandmother. Augie, who she shares with former boyfriend, French businessman François-Henri Pinault, 62 (who is now married to Frida actor Salma Hayek), is 18.
Seven years before she welcomed her son, who she calls “my heart, my light”, a stillbirth six months into a pregnancy left Linda utterly heartbroken.
“I always wanted to have a lot of children and I was not able to,” she shares. “My body, as a miracle, had one.”
As she enters her seventh decade, Linda finds herself using fewer beauty products rather than more.
“I was growing tired of all the steps and letting them dry to put the next step on,” she explains. “I think there are great products out there now that are multitasking.”
When it comes to injectables, she adds, “I support all of it – I support the right to choose. I dabble in Botox, but I don’t do filler. Two years ago now, I got all my filler dissolved.
“I do a little bit of everything. We owe it to ourselves to be healthy and taking care of ourselves translates into looking good.”
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