Body Confidence

Cheryl Tiegs

Jane Fonda, Raquel Welch, Iman, Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Tiegs and Jayne Kennedy—their figures made them famous, opened doors and shaped the way we look at women. How did that make them feel? And how do they feel today?

At age 58, Cheryl Tiegs still likes to wear short skirts. "Putting on a bathing suit doesn't scare me," she says. "I've done it all my life." At 19 she was on the cover of Glamour and went on to make the cover of Sports Illustrated three times. Posing in 2004 for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit anniversary issue was "totally easy," she says.

Most things seem easy for Cheryl. "Like anyone else, there are days I feel beautiful and days I don't, and when I don't, I do something about it." Like what? "Go out and exercise. It gets the endorphins going and brings a glow to the skin."

In her 20s, Cheryl gained 35 pounds and was once sent home from a photo shoot. She tried many diets, which failed, until she learned about nutrition and devised a regimen that she's refined to a science. It includes three sessions of yoga, two of weight training and some cardio exercise every week, and she avoids eating pasta, bread, dairy or sweets. Is it onerous having to live like that to stay in shape? "It's a pleasure," she says. "It's the easiest thing."