Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Kim Alexis embraces aging naturally without cosmetic procedures
Kim Alexis is turning 65 in July – and she's determined to "age gracefully."
The '80s supermodel, who appeared on over 500 magazine covers and posed for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit six times, has been vocal on Instagram about embracing the natural signs of aging. The 64-year-old has written several books about clean eating over the years.
"I have not had any work done on my face," the former cover girl told Fox News Digital. "I am a big believer in staying as natural as possible. I accept and enjoy my wrinkles. I am not here to prove anything. I am going to be 65 in a month … and I earned them."
"I do try to look as good as possible," she shared. "I think we all do, although there are some days when I don't. I just wear my hair in a ponytail, and I don't put makeup on. I'm still a human being, and I'm still me. I have to learn to love and accept myself the way I am."
"I don't disparage other women from doing things," she continued. "Women get very, very protective, I think, of what they choose to do. And when I say I don't want to have any procedures, sometimes it makes them very defensive, and I'm not here to do that. I'm here to set an example of here's how you can look at 65. If you want to join me, fine. If not, do your own thing."
Alexis praised other models from her era, like Christie Brinkley and Paulina Porizkova, who have been candid about their journeys with aging on social media.
"We're all just trying to be our best," said Alexis. "I want to stay active and just try to be my best. It gives me a goal to make good choices towards health, not away from health."
Alexis said having a youthful spirit keeps her moving. Age is just a number, she stressed.
"Figuring out when it was that I started thinking about aging gracefully, I think it was a gradual process," she explained.
WATCH: SI SWIMSUIT MODEL EMBRACES AGING NATURALLY WITHOUT COSMETIC PROCEDURES
"And there's a part of me that still doesn't think I'm old… Part of it, I think, is my mindset, meaning that I still think I'm young, but I see that there are physical things that are changing. A part of me just wants to accept them."
"I'm a very natural person, so I don't like messing around with nature… I like to use what God put on this planet to try and help heal me or keep me at a clean level," she shared. "I'm trying to put good things in my body versus clogging it with things that may cause wrinkles or may cause me to be exhausted or may cause me to have a bad attitude."
"If you look at my skin [from when I was] 18, why do I need a facial?" Alexis reflected. "I want to do my maintenance in a healthy way, not with… things injected in. Part of my mantra is just trying to find clean, healthy things and be natural."
Alexis said that these days, she keeps her beauty routine super simple, focusing on lots of hydration, moisturizing, as well as exfoliating her skin once a week to keep it supple. The star also prefers to keep her silvery strands golden. She prioritizes staying active daily to both look and feel her best.
"I've always been [active] since I was young," she said. "Fitness is something I have to do. [At age 20] I discovered running, and to prove that I was an athlete, I ran eight marathons. . . . I think when I turned about 62, 63, my knee started acting up and a doctor benched me. And so, I had to look around and say, 'OK Kim, you don't want to go back in the pool, because that's just staring at a black line all the time.'
"And I do go once in a while, but going in a pool kind of messes up my golf game, and I do a lot of golf charity events. . . . It messes with my shoulders. . . . So, I've learned to go biking or rowing or the elliptical or taking a class."
"I do free weights," she shared. "I love my little dumbbells. I go in with all the guys over at the guys' section of the gym. I do my dumbbell routine of keeping my upper body strong. My husband and I do leg workouts together maybe once every week or two weeks. Even just getting out every day and walking my dog, I love being outside."
Alexis made her SI Swimsuit debut in 1982. During the decadent decade, she traveled to Kenya, Jamaica, Australia and other beachy destinations with the brand.
"Being in Sports Illustrated for the swimsuits was really great," Alexis recalled. "Number one, I grew up swimming, so I was comfortable in a swimsuit. And when I got interviewed, I sat there in jeans and a t-shirt in a New York City office and got the job without having to expose my body. . . . Being outdoors and being athletic and being in a swimsuit was right up my alley."
Still, the star admitted she wasn't prepared for the newfound attention she received.
"When I started to get feedback from men, I think that's when I realized, ah, I'm hitting a different population," she said. "It's not just the women who are looking at the fashion magazines. It's now the men who are noticing. And Jule Campbell, who was the editor at Sports Illustrated, was kind enough to put our names in the magazine so people could know the name and know the face or body."
Alexis went on to pivot her career to Hollywood. She notably appeared in the last episode of "Cheers," titled "One for the Road," in 1993. It was that moment when Alexis knew she had made it.
"Being on the last episode of 'Cheers' was, in a way, mind-blowing," she said. "I would sit in the back room and listen to the part of the script that I wasn't in. But they kept saying, 'Supermodel Kim Alexis!' I'm like, 'You got to be kidding me.' They keep saying my name. It was like free promotion. That was a blast."
And she didn't leave empty-handed.
"I had everyone sign the script cover of my script, and I still have that," she boasted. "It's very special to me."
Today, Alexis happily calls Arizona home, where she's raised a family. She's been enjoying connecting with fans on social media and giving women advice on aging.
"For people who don't want to look their age, I think it's a mindset," she said. "If you are joyful about life and grateful and kind and giving to other people, I think you have a spark and an attraction that other people want to see."
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