You might think supermodel Yasmin Le Bon has it all. Mother to three beautiful women, grandmother of four boys and this year, the former 1980s supermodel – who turned 60 last October – will mark 40 years of marriage to her beloved husband, Duran Duran star Simon.
But even with what she describes as an “unbelievably lucky life” she has faced difficult challenges.
“I feel very blessed in life; I’ve been unbelievably lucky,” she tells us in this exclusive interview. “But you know my world – like everyone’s – is not perfect and doesn’t smell of roses all the time. And I think it can be really difficult.”
As she speaks to HELLO! from the library of her family home in south-west London, it’s clear that Yasmin – who is funny, forthright and a joy to talk to – is constantly counting her blessings.
Yet the legacy of her modelling days has certainly taken its toll. For the very profession that brought her fame led to her suffering crippling back pain for many years.
“You don’t do what I’ve done for a living and not pay the price somewhere down the line,” she says. “When I was working a lot in the Eighties, I used to spend all day long doing balletic leaps across a set, like Zebedee in stiletto high heels on concrete. Now nobody does that because that’s bonkers, but I did.
© Red tailored top £16, Red tailored shorts £14“’ve had times in my life where it has become really, very depressing when I couldn’t walk without pain, couldn’t do anything and it’s really hard,” she continues.
“I feel for anybody who’s had back pain or is going through it. I think it’s a mental thing as well, getting through the fact that maybe you’re going to have to live with a certain amount of pain. You can do that; you just have to change the way you do everything.”
© swimsuit, £16In addition to her back problems, Yasmin has endured what she calls her “deep, dark menopause days”. However, she developed her own strategy for dealing with them by facing her feelings with colour and fashion.
“I went through a big shift where I stopped wearing black for a long time,” she explains. “I felt like I needed my mood to be up. I think through the menopause, I really needed colour in my life. That sounds crazy and it sounds shallow, but it’s a funny thing. Black was beginning to drag me down.”
© Striped waistcoat £12, striped wide leg trousers £16And as Asda celebrates its 60th birthday, Yasmin looks radiant as she models its fashion line George’s exclusive summer edit, comprised of versatile pieces styled with effortless chic and a touch of glamour.
“It takes you from the everyday into the evening with ease,” she says. “The thinking behind it is fashion that feels as good as it looks – wearable, stylish and accessible to all.”
“I see a lot of people around me struggling – it’s hard to make ends meet, it’s hard to pay bills, and I just felt like fashion in general needed a big kick up the butt,” she says. “It should be for everybody, to be able to have that perfect T-shirt, or that lovely little sun dress, and it shouldn’t really cost the earth.”
© Black dress, £28George’s exclusive summer edit is available in selected Asda stores and at george.com.
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered to your door each week or purchase the digital edition via our Apple or Google apps.
Styled exclusively by Yasmin Le Bon for George
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