Former swimsuit model and actress Kathy Ireland recalls her supermodel life and how she maintains a balanced lifestyle while running a success company.
By Bonnie Siegler
“Beauty is something everybody has,” says three-time Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, Kathy Ireland, who readily dismisses the thought that she has retained her youthful and vibrant looks. “Oh that’s all due to photo re-touching and good lighting,” laughs the 55-year-old mother of three. “I’m grateful when people are kind because I’ve never thought of myself as beautiful,” she says. “My mom is beautiful, our daughters are beautiful, Elizabeth Taylor had beauty that could take your breath away. And Naomi Campbell is an incredible beauty who I worked with years ago.”
The Uber-successful entrepreneur who manages her own lifestyle brand – Kathy Ireland Worldwide – and just united with Canadian company, Isodiol in CBD products derived from hemp, says, “I’ve seen so much damage both emotionally and physically where women fight to gain what they perceive as beauty. The truth is that’s not beauty – that’s an illusion.”
Ireland threw modeling a curve with her piercing green eyes and curvaceous 5’10” swimsuit physique during her teens and 20s recalling that “modeling is a fantasy…Usually, it’s an unattainable look – a look of the moment. I’m definitely not skinny and never have been. For me, I’ve always thought that beauty came from within. If there is a beauty must, it’s to laugh often. What some people might call a wrinkle – to me, that’s a line of character and I’d never trade those laugh lines. They’re happy memories of moments in the present and the past.”
Although she was a vegetarian from ages 9 to 19, Ireland admits that she’s not as fanatical about her eating habits these days, as she was years ago. “I don’t have the greatest of willpowers,” she laughs. “If I want to eat a chocolate chip cookie, I will. I just increase my aerobic activity the next day. It’s a subconscious thing – being in touch with your body and your metabolism, and knowing what you can and cannot eat.”
Nutritional staples around her Tuscan style five-bedroom home in Santa Barbara, California, which she shares with her children and physician husband, Greg, includes lots of seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables. Bananas, apples and a myriad of fresh berries are always in great supply in her sprawling kitchen. “Our youngest, Chloe, has been experimenting and making wonderful smoothies with guavas, star fruits, mangoes, pineapples and yogurt. They’re great on-the-go breakfast meals. I try to get my nutrients through my foods,” though she does supplement with vitamin D and B12. She pauses, but then giggles. “I love sweets”, she unabashedly exclaims. “So I have candy somewhere in the house all the time. It’s so silly because I hide it and I know it’s there.” The “IT” factor includes M&Ms, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Junior Mints and Hershey’s chocolate.
But rather than delete her hide-and-seek candy game from her life, Kathy candidly talks about shedding extra pounds that occasionally creep up on her. “Wearing black really helps,” she says with a smile. “Seriously, I’m too rebellious to conform to any one person’s ideal but for health reasons, if I want to shed pounds, I’ll cut out the carbs and sugar. I know there are healthy carbs in our fruits and vegetables but I can give up bread and cookies for a while. And yes, it’s a conscious decision I have to make because I want to be healthy.” She wants to be healthy now and for the future. “I love the outdoors so I go biking, hiking and surfing whenever possible. I want to be able to do those activities when I have great grandchildren. Doing that at age 100 sounds really fantastic!”
Attractive surroundings are keys to Kathy not only for outside activities, fashion and home décor, but also within the decorating style of her own house. She is a firm believer that colors strike a mood, an attitude, an emotion, a feeling.
“We are definitely impacted by the sense of vision,” she concurs. “And we can just do wonders with a splash of color. My personal rule is don’t be afraid of color – unleash your personal style.” So the question begs – what color is your mood today? “I’d say blue but not the sad thinking of blue, but a sky blue. Looking at the sky that goes on and on for eternity is beautiful. And seeing it be the bluest of blues – that’s where I am today.”
While all of Kathy’s days are not sky blue, she strives to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle every single day. Her modesty and frankness are becoming. She is steadfast in her faith, beginning each day and ending each evening with a Bible verse. “That’s part of my life support system,” she admits. “Faith gives me patience, it gives me wisdom and it equips me to handle whatever is going to hit me that day. I know there are days when I’ll have failures but I’m grateful for all the failures I’ve had in my life because they are powerful lessons. I tell our children that if you’re not failing, chances are you’re not trying hard enough. Don’t let fear stop you from trying. I’m curious by nature and like to learn. I’m also relentless and when people tell me I am, I take it as a compliment. I audition for my job every single day…it never ends. I didn’t enjoy all the rejection during my modeling days – and there were many sad blue days – but I learned to have conviction for what I’m doing, and I am willing to fight for it.”
