67-Year-Old Lingerie Model Proves Age Ain't Nothing But A Number
Ageless beauty.
Getty Images There are women who look good for their age, and women who just look spectacular. But there's one woman who looks amazing at any age.
Who is Marie Helvin? It's especially awe-inspiring that she's 67 years old... and that she did a lingerie shoot just a few years ago.
Helvin was born in Tokyo, moved to Hawaii at age 4, was discovered on a trip to Japan at 15, and began her high fashion career as a model. She's been modeling (almost non-stop) since the 1970s, and can count Jerry Hall, Janice Dickinson, and Iman as her contemporaries.
In fact, Helvin and Hall spent so much time partying and walking the catwalk together that they were called "The Terrible Twins."
In an interview from 1998, Helvin referred to herself as a freak of nature, saying, "I know I don't look my age but it's not something I aspire to. Sure, I want to look good — it's my job to look good — but I don't necessarily want to look younger. Everybody knows how old I am. If I was going to start lying about my age I shoulda done that 20 years ago."
Now that she's pushing 68, the fact that she owns her age makes her even more beautiful.
"While my body is not anywhere near a 30-40 year old's, it is in good shape and it will give me great pleasure to be so healthy and fit for my age," said Helvin.
Helvin stays in shape by going to the gym, and using the weights and the bike four times a week. She also does a lot of floor exercises.
Eating right and having healthy habits are important factors. She stopped smoking when she turned 40, hasn't eaten meat in 50 years, rarely eats bread, takes vitamins, and fasts (eating one type of fruit or vegetable) one day a week.
She said about her diet, "I’m a size six. I was surprised by the amount of weight I lost since giving up champagne, which is pure sugar! I lost 10lb, which on my small frame is a lot. I had to compensate by adding foods that I’d never had in the past, such as full-fat milk and yoghurt."
She also stopped drinking, adding, "I used to mainly drink in restaurants — I’d eat out five times a week in nice restaurants. I don’t know if I feel better, because I felt good when I was drinking, but I like the clarity. I grew up a child of the 60s trying every kind of drug I could get my hands on. Now, it’s a different kind of high: being focused."
Her discipline and hard work have paid off, as she demonstrated in her 2015 lingerie fashion shoot for Aliza Reger's lingerie line at JD Williams.
Of the photo shoot, she said, “I am thrilled to be modelling the debut collection of Always Aliza. Janet Reger was such an iconic brand throughout my modelling career and it feels great to now be modelling her daughter’s range for JD Williams almost forty years on."
However, Helvin said that the shoot would be her last lingerie modeling job: "But I very much doubt I will accept another lingerie job. This one will be my last. In your 60s it’s just too much — I think I’d rather eat pizza!"
Helvin also opened up about plastic surgery.
She said, "Plastic surgery is a personal choice. I’m not going to say I haven’t done anything, I’m not going to say I have. I’m very honest but I find that when you start talking about things like that it defines you, it becomes everything that’s written."
She's also single and loving it. The model said, "Of course, I hope for love to come into my life. I haven’t been asked out by someone my own age for years. But I like being independent and I enjoy making my own decisions. I love my single life. There are times when I need solitude. For me, the perfect relationship is not living together and not seeing each other all the time!"
The lingerie line has been designed to look beautiful on any woman, at any age, but with her long legs and perfect body, they make Helvin look flawless.
Not every woman at age 67 can rock a lingerie fashion shoot. Heck, not every woman at age 32 can do it. But Marie Helvin has worked hard to be a timeless beauty, and she's an inspiration to every woman.
We're never past our prime, no matter what our age.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She's had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day. Visit her website or and her Instagram.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on June 30, 2015 and was updated with the latest information.