Paulina Porizkova’s home burned down shortly after she was featured on the February 1984 cover of Sports Illustrated.
“I was informed that I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated — because, you know, you didn’t find out until the night before. It was a massive secret,” the 57-year-old model recalled to Deadspin on Thursday.
“They telephoned and stated, ‘Guess what? You made the cover of Sports Illustrated. And I believe that night, or the following night, my house burned to the ground, and I lost everything.”
Porizkova, who was 18 at the time, recalled having only a coat, her dog and cat, and her passport remaining.
“I don’t even recall having underwear,” she continued.
The native of Czechoslovakia said that she had to act as if everything was fine when she began doing press after landing the coveted cover.
“I had to go on Johnny Carson and all of these other talk programs and say ‘Yay! Hello, I am this Sports Illustrated model. So, that’s an intriguing balance,” she added.
The model rose to recognition after appearing in the swimsuit edition of February 1984.
The magazine Sports Illustrated
Porizkova, the first woman from Central Europe to headline Sports Illustrated’s legendary swimsuit edition, has appeared twice on the magazine’s cover, most recently in February 1985.
The author of “No Filter” also revealed that she did nothing to prepare her body bathing suit for the camera when she was younger.
“I began modeling at 15 and smoked, drank, and did whatever the hell I wanted well into my 20s,” she said. “That was fairly simple. Life was rather simple at the time. It is a privilege of youth to be able to do such things and get away with it.
Porizkova stated that she “can’t get away with it anymore” now that she’s in her 50s and works diligently to keep her trim physique.
“Remaining in shape, being slim, et cetera, requires a ridiculous amount of effort,” she remarked.
She continued, “This entails vigorous exercise, a low-calorie diet, skin care, SPF application, and supplementation.” “Essentially, the older you get, the greater the maintenance costs.”
While the former “America’s Next Top Model” judge still works in the industry, she admitted that she dislikes the amount of effort required to maintain her beauty.
She explained, “I spend more time maintaining my outer self than I’m actually happy with, but I do so because it’s still who I am, it’s still my job, and it’s still what I identify as.” “Like an athlete, I am required to put in a certain amount of effort in order to do what I do.”
Porizkova is all about body positivity, as evidenced by her frequent topless or naked Instagram photos.
“I am not hiding anything.
I am finally at ease within my own flesh. In January, she commented on social media, “I don’t need armor when I’m already armed with my experiences and the wisdom they’ve given me.”
In May 2021, the fashion icon told Page Six Style that although beauty standards are evolving, there is still more work to be done in the modeling industry.
She stated, “I believe we’ve made tremendous strides in accepting all forms of beauty.” “I believe that size, color, and all of these previously consistent characteristics have now diversified to a stunning degree. So age and ageism are like the final frontier.”
»Paulina Porizkova recalls her home catching fire after landing the cover of Sports Illustrated«