Ron Asadorian/Splash NewsCindy Crawford is wise beyond her years.
The timeless beauty rings is celebrating her 50th birthday today...sure, no problem, we'll give you a second...
OK, now that the shock has worn off—yes! The brunette stunner who had every girl scrambling to pencil on a makeshift beauty spot in the 1980s and '90s is indeed marking a major milestone.
Over three decades the supermodel posed for the fashion industry's finest photographers and walked the most enviable runways, made Pepsi the sexiest soft drink ever and started her own skincare line. And along the way, she fearlessly confronted that little taboo subject nobody in the modeling world wants to address.
Crawford has admitted that the aging process can be "daunting," especially for a model—but let's just say, if everyone had her attitude about Father Time, there'd be a lot fewer worry lines in the world. Celebrate her birthday with 11 of her most thoughtful quotes on getting older:
1. The body positive:
"I'm actually happier with my body now… because the body I have now is the body I've worked for. I have a better relationship with it. From a purely aesthetic point of view, my body was better when I was 22, 23. But I didn't enjoy it. I was too busy comparing it to everyone else's," she told the Daily Mail in 2007 about being in her 40s.
2. On retiring one day, maybe:
"Every year, I tell my kids I'm retiring. It's a running joke in our family," she wrote in an Instagram caption just weeks ago. "And yet every year, opportunities pop up that really excite me. While it's true that I'm eager to shift my focus a bit to concentrate on my businesses, friends and family—I'm not making any final statements (not all headlines tell the whole story!). I have loved being part of the fashion industry for the past 30 years—and if that time has taught me anything, it's this: never say never."
3. Her anti-aging secret:
"The secret is that there is no secret," she told The Violet Files in 2014. "Do all the stuff we know: Don't smoke, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, find what makes you happy."
4. Looking within for happiness:
"I don't want to look in the mirror every day and be down on myself," she also told The Violet Files. "Look, I'm holding together pretty good, but I don't look like I did when I was 25 or 30 or even 40. What I'm finding for myself is that if I continue to be engaged, to do what I love, that's how I get my self-esteem cup filled. I get a lot of that from my family and work. I'm good at my job. I know I'm a good model at this point in my career. Though some days I feel like I'm too busy or too stressed out, I'm still excited to go to work. That kind of translates from the internal to the external."
5. The real joy of aging:
"I think honestly I am probably the hardest on myself," she said on the FABLife. "It's beautiful as a mother to watch your children grow up and become whoever they're going to be and I think that makes it easier for me to watch myself also getting older."
6. Do unto yourself:
"I don't look at [my friends] and think 'Count their wrinkles.' I look at them and see their beauty," she added. "I feel like that's what we should be doing to ourselves...why aren't we as kind to ourselves as we are to our girlfriends?"
7. Age is but a number:
"The buildup is way worse," Crawford told Yahoo! last fall about the prospect of turning 50. "Once the birthday has come and gone, you're like, 'I'm just the same.' I feel like, our society, and especially being a model, we put such significance on those numbers.... but there's also so much to celebrate about the journey that you've taken, and we're so fortunate to be here, with our health. This is my way of embracing it and celebrating—as opposed to being afraid of the number."
8. (Role)modeling at home:
"I suspect that the way my children learn the best is not from what I say to them but just by watching me and if she doesn't see me being like, 'Oh my god, I look terrible, I have so many wrinkles,' then she won't get that message. I feel like I have to lead by example," Cindy shared with Harper's Bazaar in 2014.
9. It's OK to admit you're not entirely cool with aging:
"Having been a model now for more than 30 years and dependent on my looks for my work, seeing those changes might even be a little bit harder for me," she dished to The Sunday Times last fall. "At times the pressure to live up to the fashion industry's expectations feels overwhelming. I can still pull off a miniskirt and 5-inch heels on set—but probably not in real life."
10. Enjoy the ride:
"Life goes by quickly, and I've learned that decisions made from a place of confidence—rather than one of fear—are the ones that get me to the place I want to be," Crawford wrote in her book, Becoming, which came out last September.
11. Laugh it off:
"I was doing an interview the other day and I'm like, you know, one of the great things about getting older is you're more comfortable in your own skin," she mentioned to InStyle in December. "And then, I was like, maybe because it's a bit looser!"
Nothing like a few smile lines to show that a woman is enjoying life. Happy birthday, Cindy—you remain a beauty, inside and out, for the ages!