Paulina Porizkova Reveals the Harsh Lesson She Learned About Her Body as a Young Supermodel

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Paulina Porizkova has been one of the most vocal celebrities in Hollywood discussing hot topics that many people didn’t want to touch for ages. Now, she’s revealing a harsh lesson she learned early on in her modeling career and how she’s refined it in a way that makes her feel empowered about her body.

The 59-year-old fashion icon spoke appears in a new documentary, Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue, that discusses the legacy of the magazine’s founding editor. Porizkova made her first appearance in the issue at the age of 17 in 1982 — and she was topless. She wore only a green bikini bottom with her left arm gracefully covering her chest as she posed for the camera with a soulful gaze. (You can see the photo here.)

While the moment could have been salacious, it was Campbell who taught her a lesson about not being objectified in her career. “This is what Jule taught me: When you have a bikini on, all you have to do is embrace your body and who you are,” she said in the film, via People. “There’s such a sense of freedom to that.”

It was a much different view from what Porizkova was taught in the early days of her budding career, it was tough to navigate because she didn’t have “a say in how” she was portrayed.

“Now, when I put myself out in a bikini or nothing, that’s my choice,” she explained. “To me, it’s objectification or celebration. Can it be both at the same time? I don’t see why not. We have been taught that our bodies are valuable if they’re pretty, so then if you exhibit that body, you are ‘technically’ objectifying yourself. But you’re also celebrating yourself.” It’s a complicated idea to sort out, but Porizkova learned how valuable it is to have a voice when she’s hired for a fashion campaign.

Porizkova’s 2022 memoir, No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, recalled the numerous times she was harassed on set as a young model. She is worried about the current generation of models and wants to empower them to speak up. “I suspect there is another, darker reason for having seventeen-year-olds hawking anti-wrinkle cream,” Porizkova wrote. “Because a girl doesn’t know to say no. A girl does not know her own power. A girl does not know her value. Because she wants people to like her, she puts up with things she never should have.”

With Porizkova leading the way, today’s young models have someone to look up to, someone who is fighting for them. It’s a way for her to pass along the wisdom that Campbell gave her decades ago in her first SI Swimsuit issue.

Before you go, click here to see celebrities who have spoken out about being sexualized too young.