"I still don’t look in the mirror": Linda Evangelista opens up about botched cosmetic surgery that left her ‘brutally disfigured’

Supermodel Linda Evangelista, recognized as a leading figure in the industry, was featured in an interview by Harper's Bazaar for the cover of their Beauty Issue. In the interview, Linda spoke about how the CoolSculpting sessions went wrong and left her 'brutally disfigured.'

Explaining the damage CoolSculpting did to her body, she shared how she now attends therapy to accept what had happened and gain the courage to look at herself in the mirror. She said:

''I have to go through therapy to like what I see when I look in the mirror, and I still don’t look in the mirror.''

Linda Evangelista opens up about the cosmetic surgery that left her permanently deformed

Linda Evangelista, who was given the title of the "Greatest Supermodel of All Time" in 2008, discussed the cosmetic surgery she underwent in 2015-16 that left her disfigured.

The surgery was a fat-removal procedure under the brand name CoolSculpting. Unfortunately, the procedure did not go as planned; instead, it caused the fat cells to increase in size and harden around her abdomen, thighs, and armpits. As a result, she withdrew from the public eye.

Explaining how she's coping, she said in the interview:

''I have to go through therapy to like what I see when I look in the mirror, and I still don’t look in the mirror. I didn’t want to see myself because I didn’t love myself or like myself.''

In 2018, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a bilateral mastectomy. The cancer returned in 2022 in her pectoral muscle, leading her to undergo chemotherapy.

In the interview, she also spoke about aging, as she is approaching 60. She mentioned that she had dissolved her fillers because she realized she wasn't looking like herself. She also said:

''I don’t care HOW I AGE. I just want to AGE. It doesn’t have to be GRACEFULLY. I really, really, really DON’T WANT to DIE.''

She continued:

''I have still so much to do. I’m finally getting comfortable with myself and with everything, and now I want to enjoy it.”

She then expresses her desire to live life to the fullest. She says:

''I want to be a grandmother, but not in the immediate future,” she says. That’s her way of saying she wants to keep going, to grow old, to accept some, if not all, of the wrinkles.''

She continued:

''I’m alive. I’m alive. I’m alive, and I’m going to do what I have to do. I’m going to fight because I don’t want it any other way. I’m not done.''

Linda has a son, Augustin, with ex- François-Henri Pinault. As Linda graces the cover of Harper's Bazaar's May 2025 Beauty Issue, it marks her return to the public eye.

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