Supermodel Kathy Ireland has talked about her incredible life.
The 61-year-old beauty, who thrived as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover girl in the 1980s, has turned into a massive product mogul.
She has a Fashion 360 line for HSN and her fragrance collection as well as her Kathy Ireland Worldwide licensing brand and Ireland Pay credit card processing company.
The siren told People she is happy to be in her 60s.
‘One of the things I love about getting older is maturity,’ she insisted. ‘I just learned to enjoy the adventure more, and there’s no fear, and that I’m so grateful for.’
And Kathy said becoming famous was an accident.
‘It was never my plan — it caught me by surprise. The look of the moment was changing in the ’80s when I started.’
Glam gal: Kathy Ireland is still a top model. The 59-year-old beauty who thrived as a cover girl in the 1980s, was seen posing in her designs for HSN this week
This was 40 years ago: The siren seen in an ad for a piece of gym equipment
These days new models ask her for advice.
‘I’m hesitant about encouraging anyone to get into that profession for many reasons,’ she said adding it is ‘an industry that can attract a lot of people of questionable character.’
Her mentor was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue founding editor Julie Campbell.
‘She came from the sports world and it had a different feel than traditional fashion,’ Ireland said.
‘Traditional fashion is wonderful, but from a sports perspective it felt like camaraderie. And Julie really set that tone — it was eat, go enjoy the sun. I watched her fight for the integrity of her brand, and there were so many business lessons for me during that process.’
She also discussed the ‘gift of rejection.’
‘I certainly didn’t appreciate it at the time,’ she noted.
‘But it was powerful when we started our company and people would slam doors in my face or say things like, ‘Well that’s a stupid idea.’ It didn’t destroy me or stop me. ‘No’ meant, ‘Now we’re talking and I’ll come back tomorrow and maybe your circumstances will have changed. Maybe you’ll be in a better mood.’ ‘
She continues, ‘We can learn from criticism. We’ve got to be humble enough to recognize people will have good advice. They might not deliver it in a kind way, but we’ve got to be able to hear it and take it apart and discern if there’s something to learn from it, while not letting it harden our hearts.’
This comes after she opened up a second location for her Kathy Ireland Recover Center in August 2022.
The mom of three has devoted herself to running her Kathy Ireland Worldwide company, which as of 2021, has made a grand total of $3.1 billion in sales
Ireland at the 49th Annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Awards Dinner at Fairmont Century Plaza in May in Los Angeles
The mom of three has devoted herself to running her Kathy Ireland Worldwide company, which as of 2021, has made a grand total of $3.1 billion in sales. Her other passion is focused on charity work and philanthropy.
Ireland was a big supermodel in the 1980s, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit three times and acting in films. She has since become a design powerhouse.
The entrepreneur opened her first recovery center last year in 2021 in New Hampshire.
To continue to offer assistance to those suffering from mental health issues and substance abuse disorders, Kathy opened an additional location in West Virginia.
The former supermodel posted a photo of herself posing next to a sign that stated, ‘Kathy Ireland Recovery Centers.’
She added a caption to her post, explaining the purpose and to announce the official second opening.
‘Each of us has, will, or is engaged in the war on addiction. It is not a health crisis that anyone can avoid confronting in some form,’ she typed out. ‘We welcome all to the opening of kathy ireland Recovery Centers, Williamson.’
The supermodel began her career in modeling when she was scouted as a teenager, and appeared on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover three times
Throwback: Kathy’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover was awarded the Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover of all Time
The official website states, ‘These rehabilitation programs serve individuals and families struggling with mental health and substance use disorders (SUDs).’
The mom of three also explained that, ‘Expanding our company’s health advocacy into the area of mental health and substance use disorder has been a long-held top priority goal.’
For years, the philanthropist has been dedicated to helping those battling with addiction and other health needs.
During an interview with USA Today, Kathy opened up about her other work with Let’s Talk Interactive, a telehealth solution to assist those who need access to healthcare.
‘It’s bringing telemedicine to a lot of people,’ she explained to the publication. ‘It’s throughout the world, which is exciting.’
She also talked about the war on the opioid crisis. amid her interview with USA Today. ‘This is a battle that can be won. There is hope. There is victory.’
Kathy has put a lot of her time and devotion to charity, such as the March of Dimes, City of Hope, and Feed the Children. Earlier this year, she also launched Music Funds The Cure for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Following her modeling days, Kathy became CEO of her own brand licensing company in 1993, which began with a basic pair of socks.
According to Today, the business mogul now, ‘designs and markets some 17,000 products.’
Dedication: She opened up a second location for her Kathy Ireland Recover Center in Williamson, West Virginia
When it comes to being successful in the industry, the author explained to the publication that some of the keys are to, ‘consider others as more important than yourself,’ and, ‘all that you give is all that you get.’
At the age of 16, Kathy was scouted and shortly after, became a prominent face in the modeling world.
Aside from appearing on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover on more than one occasion, she has also shown up on covers for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Forbes.
Her 1989 Sports Illustrated cover became a top selling magazine, and was awarded the Greatest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover of all Time during the magazine’s 5oth anniversary event.