Linda Evangelista's career as a supermodel ended abruptly several years ago when a cosmetic procedure left her "brutally disfigured," but the 56-year-old has made a comeback on the cover of British Vogue.
In preparing for the cover shoot, Evangelista had her face, jaw and neck pulled back with tape and elastics, and she wore an oversized hat with a headscarf to cover her injuries. During an interview with the magazine, she said readers were seeing an edited version of her in the post-surgery photos.
"That's not my jaw and neck in real life — and I can't walk around with tape and elastics everywhere," she said.
Evangelista opened up about how she tried to regain her former appearance after suffering a rare side effect from having fat cells removed in a procedure known as cryolipolysis. Several weeks after the treatment, her face, and other parts of her body, began to protrude.
A doctor diagnosed her with paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, a side effect of the treatment that occurs when the treated area becomes firmer and forms an enlarged mass under the skin.
"If I had known side effects may include losing your livelihood and you'll end up so depressed that you hate yourself, I wouldn't have taken that risk," Evangelista said.
During the interview, Evangelista admitted that while she was learning how to love herself and accept her flaws, she wanted to "create fantasies" for the photo shoot as a way of rediscovering her love for modeling.
"Look, for photos I always think we're here to create fantasies," she said. "We're creating dreams. I think it's allowed. Also, all my insecurities are taken care of in these pictures, so I got to do what I love to do."
Evangelista admitted that for five years, she would only leave the house to take her son, Augustin, 15, to school, but realized she had to start living her life again. She tried various procedures and treatments but none was successful.
"I have incisions all over my body. I have had stitches, I have worn compression garments under my chin, I've had my entire body tightly girdled for eight weeks — nothing helped," she said.
Evangelista decided to stop hiding last year. She went public with the ordeal on Instagram, explaining that her fat cells were increasing, not decreasing, leaving her "permanently deformed." She also announced that she would take legal action against the company Zeltiq CoolSculpting, but both parties later moved to dismiss the case.
"I am so tired of living this way. I would like to walk out my door with my head high, despite not looking like myself any longer," Evangelista concluded in her Instagram post.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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