At 51, ‘Sports Illustrated’ Model Molly Sims Says She Isn’t ‘Trying to Look 20’

Kayla Blanton

May 29, 2024 at 12:31 AM·2 min read

2024 sports illustrated swimsuit issue launch party — Molly Sims Is Not ‘Trying to Look 20’ at 51Gotham - Getty Images

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Molly Sims, 51, opened up about aging and working in the public eye.
“I’m not trying to look 30. I’m definitely not trying to look 20,” she said.
The model and actress is comfortable with her age, and looking it, whatever that means to her.

Alongside Gayle King, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, and other icons, Molly Sims recently posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue’s 60th anniversary edition. The star-studded launch garnered lots of expected attention, which, naturally, put a spotlight on Sims’ age. In a new interview with Us Weekly, she opened up about aging and the well-meaning compliment she finds insulting.

Sims, a longtime Sports Illustrated model, actress, and entrepreneur, turned 51 on May 25th—a number, she learned, many spectators find hard to believe. “I hate when people are like, ‘Oh, my God. She looks good for 50,’” she told Us. “Listen, I’m not trying to look 30. I’m definitely not trying to look 20. I am trying to look the best that I can.”

And she certainly does—but she also feels it. Appearing in the special edition of Sports Illustrated was monumental in comparison to her six other shoots with the publication, she wrote on Instagram. “Because the woman I am today is so much more than the 20-something-year-old girl in a swimsuit,” she explained. “I’m a mother. A wife. A friend. An entrepreneur. The hardest days always turn out to be some of the greatest because age has taught me how to persevere. How to fight. How to evolve and pivot.”

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It’s also taught her how to properly care for her skin, which is probably why so many people mistake her for being younger. Sims started her skincare brand, YSE Beauty, in April 2023, per Us. In fact, in June of last year, she shared a side-by-side comparison of her current skin and it in 2015—and her skin is “better now,” she wrote, than it was then. “I am not trying to look younger but I FEEL brighter,” she added.

With that being said, she does try to balance the scales by reserving some space for youthful energy in her life through her brand’s messaging. “I don’t want to be spoken to like I’m someone’s grandmother. I don’t want to be targeted like, ‘I’m sorry you’re so old,’” she told Us. “I don’t want my products to reflect that.”

We think she hit the nail on the head there. You can shop the skincare favorites that keep people guessing Sims’ age below.