Padma Lakshmi Celebrates Her 48th Birthday in a Bikini, With a Powerful Message About Ageism and Body Positivity

To paraphrase Taylor Swift, Padma Lakshmi is doing better than she ever was. The host and cookbook author celebrated her 48th birthday by posting a picture of herself looking serene in a colorful bikini on a yacht to her social media, accompanied by a powerful statement about beauty, bodies, and insecurities.

“A thread: It takes time to develop as a person. In truth, I feel better about my body now, even after breastfeeding, gravity, etc., than I did in my 20s. I’m not riddled with insecurity anymore. Sometimes in the entertainment industry I don’t think we give women a chance to mature,” she wrote on both Instagram and Twitter, calling out the sexist double standard applied to over-40 celebrities: “Men become distinguished and women become ‘old news.’ I think aging is beautiful. Now in my 40s I eat well and bust my butt in the gym. My home life and my career are doing just fine and I’ve learned to be thankful for what I have rather than focus on what I don’t.” She ended her statement with a simple, “To many more years of learning and growing. ? #birthday #virgoseason”

On Instagram, the bikini picture was accompanied by a shot of Lakshmi and her family enjoying pizza at a restaurant.

The Top Chef host has made eating well and enjoying two-pieces her main side hustle, and we mean that with all respect. A quick perusal of her Instagram will give you all the vacation goals you need:

This wasn’t Lakshmi’s first inspirational tweet of the week. On Tuesday, just after disgraced comedian Louis C.K. performed at New York’s Comedy Cellar last Sunday, Lakshmi tweeted out a list of comedians “who are actually funny” and “haven’t harassed women.”

With that, happy birthday, Padma! Thanks for always keeping it real!

Related: Angela Bassett Shares a Bikini Picture for Her 60th Birthday