It’s no wonder Elle Macpherson goes “to bed with a smile”.
She’s got a lot to be thankful for – a career spanning more than 40 years, two handsome sons, movie credits alongside George Clooney and Anthony Hopkins, a stand-out brand in the multi-billion-dollar wellness industry and, of course, she’s still got her supermodel good looks.
For the Sydney-raised, Florida-based Macpherson, feeling good on the inside has always been paramount to her vitality. But the woman who was nicknamed ‘The Body’ – for obvious reasons – wants fans to know, as she celebrates her 60th birthday, that everyone is on their own path.
“I’ve come to understand it’s not wise to be like anyone else. You have to be your actual self,” she told Sydney Morning Herald this month. “What people find so attractive and charismatic is our individuality, and I think it’s critical that people nurture their individuality and be comfortable in it.”
You can, however, follow her lead. “When you feel confident with who you are, it changes everything – you sit differently, you speak differently, you shine your unique beauty into the world,” the birthday girl recently told designer Amanda Wakeley on her Style DNA podcast.
But winning the genetic lottery isn’t enough. It takes a lot of maintenance, something she didn’t learn until she “hit a wall” physically and mentally at 50. The ordeal became a life lesson. “Everything that I was doing, I sort of learned how to do, wasn’t working anymore,” the WelleCo mogul explained, telling Wakeley, “I realised I couldn’t just rely on genetics.”
So, she wiped the slate clean and devised a whole new health and wellness regimen more appropriate to her age and needs. She cut caffeine and alcohol from her diet, took a gentler approach to exercise, and prioritised sleep.
She now starts her day with a tried and true lemon, salt and water elixir, and a “gratitude list”. She also partakes in some “gentle, slow movement”. She told Wakeley, “I’ll get outside, stretch, maybe do some sun salutations, or a bit of yoga … and just move my body … It really makes a huge difference.”
It’s subscribing to her own personal needs that leaves her with a full cup. “I go to bed with a smile,” she shared. “I go to bed with a happy heart. And a night mask. And no clothes. [Just] my skin.”
Her night-time routine is one we’re sure her boyfriend of two years, musician Doyle Bramhall II, embraces. Macpherson told Fitzy and Wippa’s radio show that they’re now collaborating in the studio. “It’s been a really fun process together working on music and lyrics – he’s opened up my perspective because he’s so free,” she said. “His creativity comes from his heart. That teaches me a lot on how to apply that in my own life.”
Macpherson herself is feeling more liberated than ever. “I feel free, I am free,” she said in 2023. “There’s nothing better than the feeling of freedom within my body and mind and spirit. Freedom is everything.” This month she returned to the runway to open the Melbourne Fashion Festival. “Every time I come home, my heart expands,” she told Fitzy and Wippa. “I remember why I love my Australian heritage, the landscape, the light, the people… It’s been incredible to be home.”
Happy birthday, Elle.
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