In case you missed it, 57-year-old model and writer Paulina Porizkova posted a topless photo of herself in underwear, looking out a window on Instagram. Accompanying the photo was an inspirational message which she shared in the caption.
In the caption, she expressed comfort in her own skin and pride in her experiences and wisdom, which she considers real beauty despite not being visible on the outside.
“The New Year is yawning wide open,” she began. “I’m greeting it bare. Because I have nothing to hide. I’m finally comfortable in my own skin. I don’t need armor when I’m already armed with my experiences and the wisdom they’ve brought. All the really good stuff is crammed into this body and invisible on the outside. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It’s what keeps me standing tall and proud – even when undressed.”
Paulina Porizkova added humor to her message on Instagram with hashtags about aging, #betweenjloandbettywhite and #greypride, acknowledging her age between Jennifer Lopez and Betty White. Her heartfelt post and bare-faced selfie show a different perspective on beauty and confidence, which she has been promoting through her platform.
She wrote on the first morning of 2023, a message of embracing her unretouched and unfiltered self, even with a hangover from spending time with friends and her son.
The caption went on, “2022 began with me being immersed in writing my book and in my past. It ended with the gratification of my book reaching you all, and your reactions to it. Sandwiched in between, there was a new life: travel, modeling work as an older woman, and making new friends wherever I went. A beautiful and perfect blend of the new and the old.”
“In 2023, my hopes are to be able to let go of the past. To quit trying to live in it for comfort – even though it hurts and will keep hurting as long as I sit there. The unknown ahead is scary. So scary, that the pain of the past is preferable. This is what I want to conquer next. My fear of the unknown. To boldly go where I have never been before.”
Porizkova’s confident and self-loving attitude stems from her life experiences and challenges, starting with her teenage years in the modeling industry.
She tackled age-focused beauty norms early on, which she reflects upon in her 2022 book “No Filter”.
Porizkova aims to uplift others rather than tear them down by complimenting them, as she shared in a story at the end of 2022, accompanied by a topless beach photo on Instagram. She mentioned that friends told her years ago that her superpower is making other women feel beautiful.
“I understand 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. Is it shallow? Is it superficial? Maybe. But who cares when the result is a heartfelt smile and a little extra bounce in the step,” she wrote.
Porizkova continued, “Every woman is beautiful in her own and unique way. Why not celebrate it?”