Heidi Klum poses in a red string bikini ahead of her 48th birthday

Heidi Klum may be proudly passing on her modeling torch to 16-year-old daughter Leni, but the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover star shows no signs of slowing down herself.

Just days away from turning 48 on June 1, the German beauty spent Memorial Day weekend by the pool in the company of husband Tom Kaulitz, 31. The couple were joined by by Kaulitz's twin brother and Tokio Hotel bandmate Bill Kaulitz and some canine pals.

The photos — which drew approval from fellow supermodel Gisele Bündchen — show the beaming mother of four wearing a bright red bikini paired with a straw hat and large frameless sunglasses by Max Mara.

"We love the California sunshine," she captioned the pics.

Klum, who inspired the nickname "The Body" during her days as a Victoria's Secret Angel, has in the past credited her upbringing with helping her feel comfortable showing skin.

"I grew up in a very free environment with my parents," she told Ocean Drive magazine in 2018. "We’d go to nude beaches. We’re very open-minded, but you can’t say that about all Germans. We didn’t have a lot of money, so we’d go camping a lot and my parents chose nude campsites, so nudity became normal for me. You stand out more if you cover up. And I loved it."

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Klum, who has also launched a swimsuit collection, also told the magazine, "I tend to not wear a whole lot of swimsuit when I am sunbathing. So I usually go for a tie-string bikini, something that has less coverage, and if no one is around, I’ll wear only the bottom. I grew up being very comfortable with my body and very free.”

She also defended herself from critics charging that she should cover up more.

"I see it like this: We only have one life," she explained. "This is our life right now and our moment, and our moment shouldn’t be over after a certain age. There’s not a time frame for only being able to wear a certain thing or to be in love, to go out. Thirty years old is not the cap and then you have to hide yourself and not go dancing anymore. I’m not saying people should be doing what I’m doing, but I hope that one day I will be an old woman looking back and able to say I enjoyed every phase of my life."

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