Xeeis —In a candid revelation, supermodel Linda Evangelista has disclosed that she has been privately fighting breast cancer for the past year. This marks the second time she has faced this formidable adversary.
Evangelista shared with the Wall Street Journal that her journey began with a bilateral mastectomy in December 2018, following the discovery of cancer during her annual mammogram. Believing she had conquered the disease, she felt she was “good and set for life.” However, in July of the following year, she uncovered a new lump on her chest. She has since undergone additional surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and her prognosis is now described as “good.”
Speaking about her decision to keep her battle private, Evangelista stated, “Only a handful of people knew. And I’m just not one of those people who has to share everything. I thought to myself, I will share this one day but while I am going through it, absolutely not. I don’t want the ‘Daily Mail’ waiting outside my door like they do every time something happens.”
This disclosure comes as part of a deeply personal interview with the Wall Street Journal, coinciding with the release of a new book that explores her extensive professional collaboration with photographer Steven Meisel.
For the digital cover of the Men’s Style fall issue, Evangelista gracefully posed in a series of romantic black-and-white photographs taken by Meisel, capturing her in a bed. She revealed that her hair is “all new” following her experience with chemotherapy, stating, “It came back very dark. It’s even curlier than it used to be.”
Despite a period of seclusion, Evangelista has made a triumphant return to the fashion scene over the past year. Her comeback included a vibrant British Vogue cover by Meisel in August, following her revelation in 2021 that she had dealt with paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), a rare side effect of the CoolSculpting body-contouring procedure, which had left her with significant swelling and thickening of fatty tissue.
Reflecting on her journey, Evangelista humorously referred to the 1992 film “Death Becomes Her,” where a potion grants immortality with macabre side effects. “I took a drink of the magic potion,” she quipped. Last July, she announced the settlement of her $50 million lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics, the firm responsible for the cosmetic procedure gone wrong, though the specific terms of the settlement remained undisclosed.
Despite her health challenges, Evangelista has secured several high-profile engagements, including a recent Vogue cover alongside supermodels Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford, all of whom are set to star in the forthcoming Apple TV+ series “The Super Models.” She also made a surprise return to the runway, closing out Fendi’s runway show last September.
Amidst renewed attention from the internet and tabloids, Evangelista faced criticism regarding her attire during the Fendi show. She revealed that the comments questioned, “What’s she hiding under that dress?” To which she candidly replied, “If they only knew—my (post-surgical) drainage tubes had just been pulled.”
As she navigates her cancer prognosis, which she describes as “good” but not “great,” Evangelista remains in a celebratory spirit, declaring, “I know I have one foot in the grave, but I’m totally in celebration mode.”