Linda Evangelista
The long ordeal of the former supermodel
© imago/ZUMA Press
Linda Evangelista was diagnosed with breast cancer twice. Years earlier, she had suffered serious complications during cosmetic surgery.
At the peak of her career, she said the phrase she’s still famous for: “We don’t even get up for less than $10,000 a day.” Linda Evangelista (58) was one of the most successful supermodels of the 90s, she and her “colleagues” Cindy Crawford (57), Claudia Schiffer (53), Naomi Campbell (53) and Tatjana Patitz (1966-2023) were considered the most beautiful women in the world World. Later it became quieter around her, Evangelista completely disappeared from the public eye for a few years.
Now it’s clear: the native Canadian had to cope with a series of serious blows of fate after her mega career. Especially in terms of health, she has a long ordeal behind her.
In 1999, at the age of 34, she became pregnant for the first time; her partner at the time is France’s ex-national goalkeeper Fabien Barthez (52). In the sixth month she suffers a miscarriage. Her son Augustin was born seven years later; The father of the child is the French luxury entrepreneur François-Henri Pinault (61), who is now married to Salma Hayek (57).
“I was brutally disfigured”
In 2015 and 2016 she underwent several beauty treatments (“CoolSculpting”) to remove fat cells on her thighs, stomach, back and chin. This leads to serious complications: Instead of a decrease, the treatment caused an increase in fat cells. “I was brutally disfigured”, she writes on Instagram.
According to doctors, the model suffered a rare side effect of the treatment (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia). Evangelista undergoes corrective surgeries, which also fail, withdraws completely from the public for several years. She is suing the company that offers CoolSculpting for $50 million: “The procedure not only destroyed my existence, it also plunged me into a cycle of deepest depression, deepest sadness and deepest self-loathing.”
In 2021 Evangelista dares to go public again and reports on her suffering. “I want to walk out the door with my head held high even though I don’t look like myself anymore.”
“Breast Cancer Won’t Kill Me”
But the unsuccessful operation should not remain the only health stroke of fate: In an interview with the “Wall Street Journal” Linda Evangelista has announced that she has been battling breast cancer for five years. The cancer was first discovered in 2018, when Evangelista decided on a bilateral breast amputation (mastectomy): “Breast cancer will not kill me,” she said to herself at the time.
Last year she suddenly felt a lump in her breast. MRI and biopsy show: The cancer is back. A tumor in the pectoral muscle, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation follow. Just before the surgery, Evangelista tells her doctor, “I want you to poke a hole in my chest. I don’t want to look pretty, I want to see a hole in my chest when you’re done. I’m not going to die from this. “
Now, a year later, Linda Evangelista’s prognosis is “good” but not “very good,” she says. “Once the cancer comes back, there’s a risk.” The 58-year-old wants to continue fighting for her health. Her biggest support is her son Augustin (16). “I know I have one foot in the grave,” she says. “But I’m still in the mood to celebrate.”