In my first blog post reviewing “About Face: Supermodels Then and Now,” I praised the fair, balanced view of the modeling industry that the documentary presented. My second “About Face” blog post features my 10 favorite quotes from these stunning women—most are inspiring, funny, innocuous. Now for “The Dark Side of Modeling” and the deeper questions about superficial beauty and aging.

Body Image

Carmen noted that when she started modeling and her image was splashed all over coveted covers, she was 5’9″ and weighed under 100 pounds.

Carmen Dell’Orefice

The photographers and fashion editors, even back in the 1940s, promoted the super-skinny look, which, 70 years later, has become the model norm. While my hunch is Carmen came by her teenage gamine look naturally, Carol Alt talks about starving herself to get thin enough for the Milan shows (then again, she claims to have been a size 16 when she was discovered!). China Machada says, “I never dieted. I never exercised.” I knew plenty of models like that: born with a model metabolism. More and more, girls who are not born naturally slender need to think about the extremes that may be required of them to fit in today’s sample sizes. See my blog on the model Crystal Renn’s book “Hungry.”

Especially as we age, the body ideal we see in magazines becomes less and less attainable. “The paparazzi everywhere looking for that one bit of cellulite— collectively it brings us down,” says Christie Brinkley.

Self-Esteem

Paulina Porizkova

Paulina started modeling at 15. She discussed a common problem with girls who start that young: “I was a typical 15-year-old girl as far as being completely insecure, and wanting to seem more grown up than she actually was by smoking and playing really hard and drinking too much. I arrived with girls who were 16, 17. I saw the ones who got into drugs, or became bulimic or anorexic. You see enough of that and you start to feel like it’s normal.” Later she adds, “Modeling doesn’t have anything to do with self-confidence. Working off your looks is pretty much the opposite. So maybe I became beautiful when I stopped modeling.”

Sexual Harassment

“What people called sexual harassment, we called compliments,” explains Paulina. “When a 16-year-old is flattered by a man pulling out his penis in front of her, that’s noteworthy.” (You’ll be relieved to hear nothing like that ever happened to me!)

Isabella Rossellini felt fortunate to have started when she was older (I concur). She says, “It’s harder when you are young. Once you are made up, people forget you are 15 or 16. They think you are a 20-year-old sex kitten.

Drugs

Lisa Taylor’s life, spiraling out of control

Lisa Taylor recounts a low point of her career: “On the cover of The Daily News, there was a story called “The Dark Side of Modeling,” with a picture of me. I knew that’s what my dad would see on his train ride home from work.  It was the 70s—everyone was doing drugs, mostly cocaine. I was so insecure, I needed to do it. It made me feel like I was worth being photographed, that I was somebody.” At the end of the film, Lisa (who has had a low-profile life since), stated: “I did get self-esteem from succeeding in something. I don’t regret anything. I’m just really glad I didn’t die in the process.”

Gia Carangi

Fashion editor Jade Hobson recalls seeing track marks on Gia’s arms during a shoot (Gia suffered a heroin addiction and died of AIDS in the 80s): “I feel somewhat responsible for using these girls when we knew of their heavy, heavy use of drugs. Maybe we exploited these girls, because it gave the photos a certain look.”

Plastic Surgery

Some have, some haven’t. “I did my eyes,” admits former Halston model Karen Bjornson, who revived her career at 50. “It was money well spent, getting the product in shape again. I don’t want to look younger, I just want to look well rested!”

Karen Bjornson

Octogenarian Carmen says her fountain of youth is silicone injections, administered by the same doctor over the years.

Carmen Dell’Orefice, modeling into her 80s

Bethanne Hardison’s secret is an exercise tip: “Planks in the morning!”

China Machada says, “I would never want to do plastic surgery. First of all, I’m a coward.” She quips, “Now that I’m being photographed at 81, I’m not that happy [about this decision]!”

Paulina says, “In your 20s, you are trying to attract a mate. At 50, you don’t need to attract the same thing, so why do you need to look like you are 20? I’m 45; I’m interested in attracting different things now. I have friends looking 20 years younger. It’s not that I don’t feel like I’m being left in the dust, but there’s nothing more attractive to me in a person than confidence and nothing says a lack of confidence like Botox. The only thing you have that is uniquely you is your expression. Change that, and your whole look goes. You may be more perfect, but you’re not you.”

Jerry Hall comments, “We have as role models, people who look scary to small children. They’re taking fat from their bottoms and putting it in their lips. That’s just gross!”

Aging

Isabella Rossellini theorizes: “It isn’t women who want to stay young, it’s the whole society… You keep thinking you’re going to be judged.” Lancome dumped her for a younger woman when she turned 40, claiming advertising is not about reality but about dreams. Ever wise, Isabella comments, “I don’t know if that’s true. I’m an old fox; I know which creams work, which products I want to buy. It’s easier to sell to young people, but targeting them perpetrates this idea that women to be beautiful have to be young.” She continues, “Growing old, nowadays you don’t count anymore. Before, you were a looked up to as a person of wisdom.” The star chuckles about not being invited to the A-List parties anymore. “Now my daughter is!” she adds. “My mom would say, the only way to have a long life is to grow old. She didn’t seem very affected by growing old. Maybe that’s why I’m not either.”

Isabella Rossellini

“I’m 50,” Jerry says, joyously. “That’s something to be celebrated!”

Carmen: “We all have to go sometime, and I want to go with my high heels on!”

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Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova

Being a child of divorce (actually an adult of divorce; I was 21), and happily married (except for small irritations involving multiple dirty towels per day, wet bathroom floors, and an apparent clothes hamper phobia), I was curious to track other “model” marriages and see if Paulina and Ric are the exception; are celebs splitting up more often when their parents’ unions did not last till death did them part? Or are fame, fortune, and hot co-workers (Ric and Paulina met on the set of a Car’s music video) the problem?

Here’s a rundown:

Christie Brinkley – divorced 4 times; divorced parents

Brooke Shields – divorced once (married to writer/producer Chris Henchy); divorced parents

Elle MacPherson – divorced once; divorced parents

Cindy Crawford – divorced once (married to restaurateur and former model Rande Gerber); divorced parents

Linda Evangelista – divorced once; parents NOT divorced

Tatjana Patitz – divorced once; parents NOT divorced

Stefanie Seymour – divorced once (almost twice; married to billionaire businessman Peter Brant); parents NOT divorced

Christy Turlington – no divorces (married to actor/director/writer Ed Burns); parents NOT divorced

Claudia Schiffer – no divorces (married to film director Matthew Vaughn); parents NOT divorced

Heidi Klum – divorced once, likely to divorce Seal (Read About That Here); parents NOT divorced

Kate Moss – married The Kills guitarist Jamie Hince last summer; parents divorced

Seal and Heidi Klum

Looks like I can’t pinpoint exactly why some celeb matches last and some don’t (so much for becoming a fabulously successful Hollywood marriage counselor). Divorced parents don’t help the odds of marital bliss, but clearly the biggest divorce risk factor is being famous enough to be on this list. These models are way over the general public’s 50% divorce rate, while their parents are right in line with it.

Based on the data, the odds aren’t looking great for Kate, but at least she has Paulina for inspiration. A friend’s mom (who knew my fiance well) offered up this bit of advice on my wedding day: “The key to a successful marriage is low expectations.” Brilliant!

Paulina and I recently “chatted” on Twitter and she shared this advice: “Work just as hard at marriage as you would for CEO. And low expectations help.”

To see where I came up with the idea for this post, see the last paragraph of 15 Oscar Winners Who Used to Model