Padma Lakshmi, 54, is the latest star of the world-famous Pirelli calendar.
Along with the likes of US model Hunter Schafer, British actress Jodie Turner Smith, American model Jenny Shimizu appearing in the iconic calendar, the 12 stars of differing ages and nationalities bared all (or nearly all) for the “Refresh and Reveal” theme, captured by photographer Ethan James Green.
Padma, who was the first Indian woman to model in Paris, Milan, and New York and was married to novelist Salman Rushdie between 2004-2007, was elated to model for Pirelli, revealing: “I was very excited, I couldn’t believe it,” adding, “Every time someone says Pirelli, I don’t think tyres, I think calendar! I think beautiful fashion photography and tasteful artistic pictures always exalting the female form.”
Padma’s modelling career started age 21, walking for designers such as Versace and Armani – now in her fifties and exuding an enviable confidence, the former Top Chef host admits: “I didn’t think that a picture like this was going to happen anymore for me, and it’s so wonderful that it has at this point in my womanhood.”
Was it challenging to pose semi-nude given her modest upbringing? Taste The Nation star Padma says no. “I was a model in the nineties, I did a lot of lingerie, and it was difficult when I started because I come from a very conservative orthodox Hindu family in South India, and they were not happy at first.
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“But my mother raised me to always feel comfortable in my body. She wasn’t ashamed of her body in the house; we bathed together. I had a very natural comfortable relationship to my body and other people’s bodies.
We ask if she is passing on her body-positivity to her 14-year-old daughter Krishna, who she shares with her former partner, businessman Adam Dell.
She tells us: “I hope that I do as my mother did and lead by example and feel comfortable in my skin. I think that comes with age. I think that comes with a lot of talking to her. I took her off social media, but it’s all around her and it’s something I think about every day.
“I want her to figure out who she is before other people tell her. It’s something that we should really protect for our children for as long as possible.”
Inspirationally, Padma says: “[Often] we wind up covering our bodies because of how other people make us feel – but that’s not our problem, it’s theirs. Every woman should feel the way I feel in this picture and every man should know what it feels like to be appreciated for what his body is.”
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
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