Elle Macpherson says: ‘I don’t think beauty is reserved just for youth. Women …

Born in Sydney, Macpherson had what she describes as an easy, simple
childhood. She swam every morning at 5.30am, played netball and lists
debating as one of her “greatest” school achievements. She was house
captain, had lots of friends and loved school. “I was a leader,” she
confirms.

Her parents, though, separated when she was 10 and she moved between her
father and mother. He was a sound engineer who started a shop in his garage
and expanded into a chain of stores; she was a nurse, among other things,
and was remarried to a lawyer.

Macpherson can trace herself through her “three” parents. “My stepfather
taught me commitment, discipline, respect for the world and for difference
of opinion. He taught me the importance of education. The things I learnt
through school have supported me all my life: methodical preparation; making
lists. If I put the work in, usually the by-product is a great result.”

Her mother taught her flexibility. “She went to where her heart was. Do what
you love, love what you do. And then my dad was really savvy and
entrepreneurial, he thought outside the box. He was a bit of a rebel and a
hard worker.”

After winning a place to study law at a Sydney university – which one she
can’t remember – Macpherson deferred and went to model in America. And that
was that. “I just never came home,” she says, and laughs. She launched a
career in fashion and was married to her first husband, a photographer, at
21. She adorned the much-coveted cover of Sports Illustrated a record five
times – hence “The Body” – and, in 1986, Time magazine put her on its cover.

But Macpherson wanted more. Rather than allowing magazines to make money out
of her image, she began to make calendars herself. “I thought, ‘Why am I
doing a calendar for Sports Illustrated? Everybody seems to like the
pictures, why don’t I just make my own?’” And so she did. In 1989, when a
small New Zealand company approached her, to help it break into the
Australian market, she cut herself in on the deal and created what would
become Elle Macpherson Intimates. “I made about £20,000 for the year. And
then we just grew and grew.”

Elle Macpherson at 50 is a very different woman to the supermodel in her
twenties. There was the party lifestyle for a start. “I have done it all.
I’m a girl from the Eighties – what do you think?! I went to Studio 54 and I
met Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol and Diana Ross, and I hung out in that
scene. It was very hedonistic and there was the rise of the supermodel and
the rise of Wall Street and it was very potent and intoxifying and
fast-paced and exciting. I was a part of that movement and really indulged
and enjoyed. And I was there 100 per cent.” Drugs and booze? She laughs.
“Not for the last 11 years.”

Today, Macpherson seems a devoted mother. She mentions her elder son’s
upcoming GCSEs three times, and clears her diary for cricket on Monday and
Wednesday afternoons. She is rigorously organised, although she doesn’t make
as many lists as she did. “I’m streamlining my life. Before it was like I
was in list fog. Couldn’t see the wood through the lists. But there’s a lot
to be said for making lists and the satisfaction of ticking them off.”

Each area of her life is carefully choreographed. “I like to get my nails done
because grooming is important to me, and I use my hands a lot. I get them
done maybe twice a month and I schedule my nail appointment the same way I
schedule a conference call. It has the same importance.”

Would she call herself a perfection-ist? “No. What is perfection? I’m
diligent, but some of the most exciting things in my life have come from
spontaneous mishaps… the beauty’s in the chaos.”

Is she difficult to work with? “Depends on the day,” she says, and laughs.
“I’m Australian so I’m super direct and sometimes that doesn’t go down so
well. I need to massage my tact a bit more and exercise a little bit more
humour…”

How, then, would she describe her sense of humour? “Blossoming?”

Surprises make her laugh. “When something takes us out of ourselves and
there’s that spontaneous letting-go that is so delightful.”

Macpherson used to host a lot of dinner parties – “both with partners and
alone” – but now she rarely socialises during the week. “The kids don’t go
to bed until 9pm or 10pm, and I don’t like to go out before they are in bed.
And that’s OK.”

She and her second husband, Arpad Busson, the multi-millionaire father of her
two sons, separated in 2005 after nine years of marriage, and last year she
married the billionaire Jeffrey Soffer. He lives in Florida and Macpherson
hopes to move there from London. “How cool that I got married when I was
49,” she reflects. “I have three beautiful stepchildren and two children,
and I married the man I love.”

Macpherson is today in Selfridges to promote an “alkalising” food supplement.
She helped develop it with a Harley Street nutritionist whom she met in her
late forties, when she wasn’t feeling her best. “I was getting jet-lagged,
my skin was really dry, I was not feeling motivated and I couldn’t sleep at
night. I started putting weight on around my waist, which was unusual for
me.”

Her supplement is, she says with no hint of irony, a “sort of a gift to other
people”. She now feels nourished on a “cellular level”, but concedes that
“healthy diet, exercise, love, lots of water, having a laugh,” are also
important.

I ask her how she keeps so fit. “Don’t obsess. Keep it simple. Have fun. Do
sport.” In England, she says, we are a little more limited. “We don’t have
mountains to climb, we can’t go skiing, I don’t do road biking here.”
Rather, she walks, runs and works-out at the gym. Whatever happens, she does
45 minutes of “something” a day. It could be acupuncture, stretch, yoga or
weights. “Or going for a walk in the park.”

The fashion industry has been kind to Macpherson, so I’m not surprised when
she sings its praises. “It has supported me for 30 years and I’m in a
business made by women for women. I find that incredibly supportive,
inspiring and profound to some extent, because there are so many people who
are employed in the fashion and beauty world and I feel that people are able
to use fashion as a way of expressing themselves.”

But when I ask about skinny models, she surprises me. “I think you’ve got
better questions than that one.” Really? “Yeah.” Why? “I think that’s just
one of those passé criticisms that don’t have a lot of merit or meaning.
Jockeys are very small. And? Football players are really big. And? You have
specialised body types for particular jobs.”

I cannot resist asking whether this unusual 50-year-old has had any work done.
During the interview I’ve found myself searching for signs of ageing. “On my
house?” she replies and laughs. “It’s not really my thing. Quite clearly.
Look at this face, it’s very natural.”

Is she happy? “Yes. Fulfilled. Inspired. Motivated.”

Before we part, I ask for her biggest quality and fault. There’s a long pause.
“I can’t think of a witty answer and it needs one.” She laughs again. “I
don’t want to be too earnest.”

The Super Elixir food supplement is available at welleco.com

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Married to Medicine is Confused

I don’t get this show. It keeps tying to change the look and feel, but we are too far into the season to still be searching. They start off jumping from woman to woman, trying to capture the vibe of Mob Wives, which fails. The women are so hateful of each other they’re trying to piece together a show that does not exist. Including kids is lame. Except for Alaura, who should have her own show, not be here with mom.

We are with Dr. Jackie and Dr. Simone. They go from medical speak to Simone having no sex in 10 seconds. Really? The transition is stupid. Have scenes about medicine, then have scenes about sex. Mixing them up makes the show stupid. Actually, it makes Simone look silly and she is not. She is planning a romantic night with her husband, but doesn’t want to factor in sex. Simone needs help, but not from Jackie.

Jumping to Quad, she is meeting potential investors in her dog clothing company. For the love of God. This is ridiculous. The clothes are ugly, even for a dog. That she thinks this is her million dollar idea shows us exactly how dumb she is. “Picture Perfect Pups” is embarrassing. I love animals but come on. This is an unrealistic dream and proves how delusional Quad is. I am laughing at her and I used to laugh with her.

The men wanting to fund this project are only doing it to be on TV and I’d be surprised if it was their money being donated. She asks for 30K and they come back with 25K. She insists on her full ask. Come on. This is complete crap. They agree to 15K up front and 15K when she proves the event is all she says it will be. I call bullshit. We are now jumping to Toya and I am skipping over her because she is an idiot.

Time for Lisa Nicole and Dwight to talk about her line of clothes becoming a fashion empire. Oh. My. God. I can’t. Cynthia is there to help pick models, yet none of the models are from the Bailey Agency? Is Cynthia hard up for money? Is she getting canned from RHOA and trying to keep her face in the game? Lisa speaks too slow, Dwight speaks too much, and I am skipping over this too. This is a waste of time.

We are 27 minutes in and haven’t had Mariah time. I’m bored and the truth of the matter is whether you love her or hate her, Mariah is good TV and pulls this show together. If they can’t get along with her then dump their asses and get some fresh bitches. This show does not work without Mariah front and center. I know it, you know it, and Bravo knows it, so someone better do something about it already.

I caught the first minute of Toya saying she lost a 50K deposit on her house. I went back to look and am again calling bullshit. She lost 50K because she didn’t want to give another 10K? If you’re already losing that much money, wouldn’t you take an additional risk to save it? There is something not kosher about this deal. I’m not a real estate agent, or lawyer, but I know a liar when I see one and Toya is lying.

Simone is at the golf course, planning her romantic night with her husband Cecile. I love this couple and want them to fix what is broken. I hope Cecile gets it on with his wife. A couple shots of vodka and Simone will make it happen. They are shoving more Toya down my throat and I’m skipping it but as I speed over her I’m laughing at how close to the steering wheel she has her chair. Toya is ridiculous.

Time for Quad. Her husband calls her dogs dogs, and she loses her mind. She demands respect for her pups. They’re her kids and she wants them referred to as babies, not dogs. Her husband Gregory is pissed off.  Why would you want this on TV? He is offended, as a Doctor, that she is focusing on dogs when there are people suffering and struggling. Quad has sold herself to him as something she is not.

Quad is mad, Gregory is confused, and I wonder how it is he knew nothing of her plans this whole time. She is explaining it to him like he is clueless. Maybe the lack of communication, partnered with the fact his wife is a fraud, is too much for Gregory. Poor thing. Over to Simone, Dr. Jackie takes Cecile to his surprise and then the boys for the night. The sight of dinner on the golf course made me cry. Damn it Simone.

Simone thanks Cecile for his support and it is sweet. There is no I love you. Over at Jackie’s she is babysitting their two sons. It is scripted, but funny. Michael, the younger son, is hungry and Jackie offers him candy. Candy called “Benadryl”. Hilarious.  We’ve all offered our kids that candy at some point. She serves them popcorn and pickles for dinner. Jackie really is quite a physically beautiful woman.

Cecile tells Simone he doesn’t need lingerie to reboot their marriage, just her. It is sweet and Simone seems to be hearing him, which is nice. Next week we will get some Mariah, but once again she is defending herself. This show is lame. We will get a minute of Mariah because it is the couple’s weekend. I hang on in the hope of getting truth but when it comes to Married to Medicine they’re not keeping it real.

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