CULTURE

Paulina Porizkova Slams a Cosmetics Surgeon Who Said Her Face Needs “Fixing”

by Carolyn Twersky

Paulina Porizkova attends the "Stillwater" New York Premiere
Theo Wargo/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Supermodel Paulina Porizkova is speaking out after she stumbled upon unsolicited advice and criticism about the appearance her own face a cosmetic surgeon had made on Instagram. Over the weekend, Porizkova responded to the doctor’s critiques in a lengthy post on the social media site, preaching about the harm such comments can cause.

In the caption of her post, Porizkova explained while scrolling through Instagram she recently came upon a selfie she once posted, which had been coopted by a cosmetic surgeon to point out all of the work they believed the 57-year-old model needed to get done. Porizkova then went over what the doctor suggested, which included filler, botox, and lasers. She also noted the surgeon’s post has since been deleted.

“This is what an older woman in the public eye gets to deal with. I’m told my face needs ‘fixing.’ It has somehow gone ‘wrong’ by aging,” she said. “Is it any wonder that most of us who have the means will resort to some forms of fixing what we’re told is broken?” Porizkova admitted she’s had a few treatments, including lasers, but in general, she’s trying to “strike a balance between being proud to look my age and still get to feel pretty at times.”

The model ended her note with a suggestion. “Find what you think is beautiful in your friends and point it out,” she said. “The best way to support one another is to celebrate what is already there.”

Unfortunately, though, it seems that many people didn’t get the point of her post, causing Porizkova to follow up with another photo on Monday. She said that there were many comments on her former Instagram that were compliments about how good she looked in the photo. “Thank you all,” she wrote. “But that wasn’t the point of it.” So, to further her point, Porizkova shared another photo, one where she feels her “age is on full display.”

“This is the face of 57 year old woman,” she wrote in the caption. “All the so-called ‘imperfections’ of age clearly visible.” Porizkova admitted the picture maker her, “simultaneously insecure and proud.” She said that while she has “lost the smooth glow and prettiness of youth,” she has “gained character.”

This is hardly the first time Porizkova has spoken out about natural aging. Back in March 2021, the model posed nude for the cover of Vogue Czechoslovakia, a picture that she claims was completely “unretouched.”

“As soon as it came out, Twitter was like, ‘Well, fine, retouch [the photos] and then sure, they’ll look fine,’” she told Page Six of the online response at the time. “It’s like, no, no, n...it was Marie [Tomonova’s] photography! Obviously, you know, you could take a much worse picture than that of me, but you wouldn’t want to see that on the cover, right?”