Paulina Porizkova Shares ‘Unflattering’ Selfie, Reflects on Aging With Grace

Supermodel Paulina Porizkova, 60, did something we all dread.

She opened her camera and accidentally filmed herself from an “unflattering angle.” But instead of cringing and quickly deleting the video, Porizkova took to Instagram to share it with the world.

The clip, captioned “Oh… Oops!”, shows Porizkova looking down at her phone and displaying an unexpected upward-facing camera view. The former America’s Next Top Model judge turned the footage into a reflection on beauty and aging with grace.

“So much for ‘Oh, aging is easy for you, Miss Supermodel,’” she wrote in the caption, poking fun at herself. The former Dancing with the Stars contestant used it to make a point about aging with authenticity. “(Aging is) easy only for those who have never cared what they look like, spent a lifetime pursuing noble goals, and are in perfect health," she wrote.

Paulina Porizkova posted an Oops on Instagram.

paulinaporizkov/Instagram

And yet, the legendary model made it clear that this season of life, awkward angles included, is one she values deeply. “I love my age. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I wouldn’t trade it for any other age.”

Porizkova is no stranger to opening up about her vulnerable moments with her audience. After her husband, musician Ric Ocasek, passed away in 2019, she used social media to share both the highs and lows of her grieving process.

In July, Porizkova announced her engagement to writer and television producer Jeff Greenstein. She shared the news with an Instagram clip of the two holding hands, displaying her gleaming ring and the caption, "He asked.”

The pair got together in 2023, and a year prior, Porizkova spoke with AARP about her love of connecting with others through words. The two recently celebrated their two-year anniversary of meeting in February.

For Porizkova, finding love in her late 50s didn’t happen by accident but after years of emotional work and healing. In an appearance on the TODAY show in January, she said, “I feel like I’ve just discovered love.”

But even for someone who once graced the covers of fashion’s biggest magazines, she admits that aging takes courage.

Paulina Porizkova in 1988

Dick Loek/Toronto Star via Getty Images

“Having relied on my looks for most of my life as a part of my personality, this physically aging stuff demands an inner courage I’m still working on. It’s work. But … It is also a privilege of which I am absolutely conscious and grateful,” Porizkova concluded her post.

Fans in the comments section appreciated her candidness. One reader said, “Your posts are so healing. It’s silently giving us constant permission to enjoy the journey and add more grace into our life. Thank you."

Porizkova’s post is part of a growing chorus of female celebrities pushing back on the notion that aging is something to hide. This past spring, model and actor Brooke Shields celebrated her 60th birthday with a series of bikini photos while on vacation. In her Instagram caption, she wrote, “Woke up today in paradise ... and in a new decade of life. This is 60!”