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Supermodel Linda Evangelista shared her first set of photos after being away from the public eye for nearly five years following a cosmetic fat-freezing surgery that left her “brutally disfigured” and “permanently deformed.”
The model posed for a brand new photoshoot and opened up about her surgery in a new cover story for People magazine. She shared:
"I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know. I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak."
Linda Evangelista underwent seven sessions of CoolSculpting procedures between August 2015 and February 2016. Unfortunately, certain areas of her body were left completely deformed instead of getting the desired changes.
The 56-year-old reportedly sued Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., CoolSculpting's parent company, in September 2021. She claimed $50 million in damages, mentioning that she failed to get work following the botched transformation.
A look into Linda Evangelista’s health issues after CoolSculpting procedure
Linda Evangelista started undergoing a CoolSculpting cosmetic procedure in 2015 to shrink areas around her chin, thighs and bustline. However, three months after her session, she noticed the same areas growing, hardening and turning numb.
CoolSculpting (also known as fat-freezing) is an FDA-approved non-invasive procedure that serves as an alternative to liposuction and helps in the process of cryolipolysis and fat reduction.
The procedure removes fat by freezing it within a temperature range between −11 to +5 °C and causing subcutaneous fat tissue death.
Evangelista told People that she started dieting and exercising after her procedure but failed to fix the recurring issues:
"I tried to fix it myself, thinking I was doing something wrong. I got to where I wasn't eating at all. I thought I was losing my mind."
The model eventually visited a professional dermatologist in June 2016 and was diagnosed with Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH), a rare form of side-effect in CoolSculpting patients:
"I was bawling, and I said, 'I haven't eaten, I'm starving. What am I doing wrong?’… And he told me no amount of dieting, and no amount of exercise was ever going to fix it."
PAH reportedly affects only one percent of CoolSculpting patients and results in the thickening of the affected fat tissue. Alan Matarasso, plastic surgeon and professor at Northwell School of Medicine in New York, detailed the condition while speaking to the publication:
"Patients go in to have something reduced, and now it's enlarged. And the problem with PAH is that, in some instances, it may not go away. In many circumstances the affected areas are no longer amenable to liposuction like they would've been in the first place."
Linda Evangelista also underwent two liposuction procedures to treat her health condition but could not achieve the desired results.
The model said she had to wear compression garments like girdles and a chin strap for eight weeks to prevent her condition from returning, but the PAH came back even after a second liposuction in July 2017:
"It wasn't even a little bit better. The bulges are protrusions. And they're hard. If I walk without a girdle in a dress, I will have chafing to the point of almost bleeding. Because it's not like soft fat rubbing, it's like hard fat rubbing."
The Ontario-native also mentioned that her condition affected her posture as she can no longer place her arms flatly along her sides:
"I don't think designers are going to want to dress me with that… I don't look in the mirror. "It doesn't look like me."
In her lawsuit against Zeltiq, the model alleged that CoolSculpting agreed to "make it right" and offered to pay for her liposuction upon learning about her PAH diagnosis.
However, she claimed that a day before her surgery, the company said they would only cover her expenses if she signed a confidentiality agreement. When she refused the offer, Evangelista had to pay for her own procedure.
In the emotional interview, the model also shared that she lost her identity while facing health struggles:
"I don't recognize myself physically, but I don't recognize me as a person any longer either. She [supermodel Linda Evangelista] is sort of gone."
However, the model said she decided to break her silence and share her trauma with the world to help other people facing the same situation as her.
Linda Evangelista’s career highlights in brief
Linda Evangelista is considered to be one of the top supermodels of all time. She was featured on more than 700 magazine covers and was regarded as one of the most famous women in the world from late 1980s through 1990s.
The Canadian model graced the cover of over 700 magazines and was known as the muse of fashion industry giants like Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, Italian designer Gianni Versace and renowned photographer Steven Meisel.
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour told People that "no model was more super than Linda.”
Evangelista began her career in the fashion industry after signing with Elite Model Management in 1984 and never explored any career options other than modeling. She earned her first major break that same year after appearing on the cover of L’Officiel.
Over the years, she was featured on the covers of international publications like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Elle, W, Marie Claire, Allure, Time, Interview, Mademoiselle and Rolling Stone, among many others.
She has also modeled for fashion brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Calvin Klein, Max Mara, Perry Ellis and Herve Leger as well as non-fashion brands like Visa, American Express, Pizza Hut, De Beers, and Elizabeth Arden.
Linda Evangelista was voted "The Greatest Supermodel of All Time" on the television show Fashion File in 2008.
