Susannah Taylor interviewed supermodel Christy Turlington to talk rediscovering running, staying radiant at 46 and her charity, Every Mother Counts
On Exercise...
ST: Congratulations on running the London marathon. Have you always been a runner?
CT: I rediscovered running about 4 years ago. I grew up very sporty, and I used to love running. When you are young, you run and it's play, and when I was in my teens and early 20s I would do it because I felt I should exercise as I was modelling. However coming back to it again - not so much for exercise but for a cause - became something suprisingly fun to do, as if I were a child again. It has become a social outlet for me too.
ST: Do you still practise yoga?
CT: Yoga is a life practice so I will always do it - it will be with me forever. I practise it a few times a week and I do a series of poses in a class in my neighbourhood in New York. I’ve done many styles of yoga over the years and I love them all; usually convenience limits me as to which style I do but the one I currently do is Hatha yoga with a Vinyasa style.
On her charity Every Mother Counts..
ST: Your charity Every Mother Counts supports women worldwide in pregnancy and childbirth. How did you come to starting it up?
CT: I had my first child about 12 years ago and I had a childbirth complication which opened up my eyes to a tragedy happening all over the world on a daily basis. My complication led to a post partum hemorrhage and I learnt that 289,000 women die every year around the world from complications with pregnancy and childbirth and that it was the most common killer in the world.
I started to get educated on it and I thought about what I should do. Then I jumped in and made a documentary, and Every Mother Counts was born. Primarily the point was about awareness - so people know about it and what can be done to prevent it. Then, though, many people learnt about it and they wanted to contribute money and so we became a non profit status charity in 2012, and from then we started fundraising. We are a small organisation but want to have a big impact so that we can have a direct connection to the places in the world that need the most help.
On wellbeing...
ST: How important is looking after yourself and wellbeing to you? Have you always looked after yourself even at the peak of the supermodel era?
CT: I would say so. I admit that I was a smoker in my teenage years and early 20s, but even then I was also practising yoga. I have always been pretty balanced in my approach to wellbeing.
ST: What supplements do you take?
CT: I take Imedeen every day. I started taking them around two years ago. I was never a big vitamin taker, although I went through a real phase of taking omegas when I was pregnant. I can only do two pills a day so I get the rest of my nutrition through food. I will take Imedeen every morning, it’s simple and the benefits are amazing – I have dry skin so it’s very complimentary to everything else I use. I try to put as much into my skin from the outside or inside that I can.
ST: What do you do to relax from everything going on in your life?
CT: I am a pretty active person and on my weekends I will go for a run or do yoga. I don’t ever just put my feet up, that’s not relaxing to me. My kids are active and we play sports and we go to see sports. My daughter rides and I find relaxation from being with them doing things like this.
MORE GLOSS: 8 ways to get the most out of your run
On Food…
ST: What is your take on nutrition? Do you follow a particular way of eating?
CT: I tend to be attracted to healthy food naturally, but I’m not really rigid and I definitely don’t limit myself. I prefer to eat things that are fresh – they taste and look better and make you feel better, however I am also realistic and I also travel to remote parts of the world where I have to make do with what I have to eat wherever I am. When in Rome, eat what the Romans eat!
ST: Do you eat organic?
CT: I try to. If I prepare my own food I will eat organic, but when you go to restaurants it's very important to keep track of everything so I’m not militant about it.
ST: Do you juice or make smoothies?
CT: I do juice from time to time but in New York you can get such great juice out and about that I also buy it. I do make smoothies for my kids though which I find is a great way of getting all the nutritious things in. My husband is a big juicer.
On beauty...
ST: Do you have facials?
CT: Not very often - I try to have one once or twice a year. Living in a city I feel you get a load of dirt packed in your skin that you need to remove from time to time. My skin is very dry, so in the winter I do intense moisturising - nothing exotic as I don’t have a lot of free time, but I layer on moisturiser.
ST: What is your skincare regime?
CT: I’m really pretty low maintenance. I wash my face in the morning and at night, then I use the Blue Therapy range from Biotherm . I need something very emollient so the richer and more natural based the better. I love the Biotherm Blue Therapy Serum in Oil and eye cream. If I try something I will use it for a while so that you can see maximum benefits from it.
ST: What is your attitude to ageing?
CT: I would say that I don’t worry about it - it’s not something I particularly worry about, as I’m a real believer in what’s going to happen naturally and if I feel good I tend to look good. I’m not that concerned with avoiding a natural transition in life - I’m here today and I will be there tomorrow so I go with the flow.
Follow Susannah at @STaylorGTG